Bananas.org - Transplant Now or Spring in NW FL??

Hey guys, first post, been reading and learning over the summer though. Great site, and thanks for all knowledge and info.

I live in Gulf Breeze just over the bridge from Pensacola Beach in Florida. I moved here from Detroit in the fall of 2004 and never left. 2 1/2 years ago I moved to a house on the sound and the previous owners completely neglected the landscaping. It was a mess all overgrown and wild and it was a shame because it had so much potential. I have a black thumb and I've never had any luck with plants including cactus, but have managed to do all right with the plants in the yard.

I have canna lilies, Chinese lanterns, Asiatic ginger, Mexican petunias, wandering Jew. Wow, I just realized I have a pretty ethnically diverse yard! I've also had a ball with the common saw palmettos wildly growing everywhere, and making them look like expensive little pigmy date palms. Well, when I moved here I also stuck in three banana trees that someone had given me without giving them much thought. That was the summer of 2010, and this summer I got the most awesome tastiest bananas off of one of them. After it died the one that grew up beside it is now also producing bananas! Needless to say I'm bananas for bananas now.

A couple months ago( just a few days before hurricane Isaac, had no idea it was coming) the same person gave me seven more banana clumps which I planted. Even though I had to cut the tops off of them and stake them so they wouldn't blow over in the storm they have since grown beautifully, and even with the cold we've had, are still pushing up new leaves and pups.

Another friend has offered me his entire stand of bananas, a patch about 16 years old, which leads me to my question:

I was wondering is it better to do it now when they will be going dormant soon when we get our cold spell, or is it better to wait until the spring when new growth starts. Or is it better to do it in the middle of winter when they're already dormant in the transplant won't cause any further shock to them.

My thinking is it would be better sometime this winter when they are already dormant and there'll be no shock to them, but you guys are the experts.

Also, I want to start some newsstands with my canna lilies and ginger and since they are both bulbs, with the same advice apply to digging them up and separating?

Thanks a lot guys for your input I really appreciate it. My banana trees look nothing like some of the ones you guys are growing, but here are some pictures of what I've done with our yard over the last 3 summers trying to whip it into shape and create our own little slice of paradise. All these pics were taken on the 18th.

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And this is my favorite, weekend before last project, same day these pics were all taken. Drove the piling, and the rest was cake.

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