New to bananas - 2nd season question
 

Last spring was our first year ever trying banana trees in our yard out by our pool. I’m not familiar with them at all, so forgive me if I can’t give specifics on exact types, but we had several mini trees in pots and one full size we planted in the ground. A couple in our pots ended up with black spots on the leaves and the original main tree ended up becoming kind of gummy and dying off, but was replaced by new shoots off of that one (I’m sure there’s something I need to learn about what was going on with that also). Our full size tree that was planted in the ground did extremely well! Started off maybe 2-3 feet in size and ended the season well over 6’ with beautiful big leaves and multiple shoots of 2’-3’ (I actually tried to transplant a couple of these, but didn’t work!). We live in northwest Louisiana (hardiness zone 8) and typically don’t have too harsh of winters, with maybe a handful of days we might get to freezing, but those days are few and far between. Of course until this year where the majority of the US froze over for multiple days! We had snow/ice on the ground for about 5-6 days with temps staying below freezing that many days, maybe a couple more. So I’m just wondering, has anyone had experience with bananas in those type weather conditions and did they come back? And in general, is there anything I need to do to encourage new growth if you think they may have survived. Thanks for any and all advice/tips you may have for these things and generally anything someone should know that’s new to bananas!

Re: New to bananas - 2nd season question
 

As long as the corm didn't freeze the plant will come back. Many members here in the more northern zones cut their plants off at 3ft or 4 ft (or to the ground) then warp with insulation & straw and a thick layer of mulch on the ground. .... In your location the cold hardy nana varieties should do well without the warping. .... In the spring, before new leaves start, just cut off the upper part of the plant that is mushy/soft feeling as that part froze to speed up new leaf growth.



Your container plants are a different situation. I suggest putting those in the ground soon.

Re: New to bananas - 2nd season question
 

Just know that bleach / Chlorine in tap water and pools is designed to kill algae / plant life and is not great for plants