Oh, what to do.
 

I live in southern Virginia and I have a banana plant, not certain what kind but it looks like an Orinoco but its not. I bought it at Lowes knowing that its not an eating banana. Anyway the problem is that it currently has 3 pups growing out of it but they're too young to have their own roots. I'm planning on digging this plant up, cutting off almost all the leaves and overwintering it in a crawlspace. I was just wondering that, should it get too cold, should I leave the pups on it over winter or cut them off and pot them inside? Thanks for any help folks.

Re: Oh, what to do.
 

How big is mom and big are the pups?

Re: Oh, what to do.
 

If you got it at Lowe's and it's non-edible, it's probably Basjoo. They were selling a lot of them this year. If that's true, they could survive with a good mulch in the ground in VA.

Re: Oh, what to do.
 

Mom is about 7 ft. tall. The 3 pups are about 4", 6", and 12".

Re: Oh, what to do.
 

So you are suggesting that I cut the stem back and leave the pups attached? I wanted to dig it up and take it inside so that it will be full height in the spring when I replant it.

Re: Oh, what to do.
 

I know others have dug theirs up and left the pups attached, though once you dig it up you could just separate them - I plan to do that with a few of mine. Though I'll be putting mine in pots to grow over winter. Not sure if you have that same option with the pups. If you don't separate them, they'll be nice to have once the parent stem blooms. As long as you don't damage their connection to the mother corm, I'd think they would be fine over the winter, even in storage.