New grower in Indiana need winter tips
 

Hi I.ve been reading the forum for a couple months now. I bought 2 small cold hardy bananas at Lowes back in May. Don't know what breed they are. They grew really well I thought. Main stems are about 6 inches thick at the base and stand 6 ft tall. The leaves are about 3-4 feet long and 18 inches across. We had a light frost and most of the leaves turned black and droopy. I cut all the leaves off and cut the main stems down about a foot tall. I plan on making cages around them with plastic fencing and filling the fencing with leaves and straw. Right now i laid all the leaves on top of the stems to protect them until I get the mulch on them. Do I need to remove the banana leaves bfore mulching? Would ground hardwood mulch work instead of the leaves and straw?

Re: New grower in Indiana need winter tips
 

Welcome to the org! I don't have an answer to your question, because of living in Northern, Illinois we bring all of our bananas inside for the winter. I wish you good luck on overwintering your bananas.

Re: New grower in Indiana need winter tips
 

Depends where you are growing the bananas - how cold does it get? Any insulator will work, it all depends on how thick it has to be for your area. If you live in the north, it would have to be quite thick, south, just enough to keep the frost away.

Re: New grower in Indiana need winter tips
 

Hello Turtle,

Did you take any photos before chopping them down?
We bought 4 nannas from Lowes (Marion)this summer listed as Cold Hardy, but are 2 are not Basjoos! You may have to move them for winter.

Re: New grower in Indiana need winter tips
 

I think Lowes just slapped the cold hardy "Basjoo" on the label so we'd buy them. I have 4 and none of them look like Basjoo's.

Re: New grower in Indiana need winter tips
 

Found the label that came in the pot. Says they are Musa basjoo.

Re: New grower in Indiana need winter tips
 

I have one photo from across the yard. Can't tell much from the pictuire.

Re: New grower in Indiana need winter tips
 

If they are indeed Basjoo, then you simply need to mulch around the p-stem heavily. I use straw, and a base of shredded hardwood mulch under that. They will come back in the spring.
If they're not Basjoo, pot them up and bring them inside.