I've had a banana tree for about a year that is about 3-4 feet high. It was attacked by knats- so I put it outside. The nursery I purchased it from said it could surivive outdoors with temperatures going as low as -20 degrees. It was outside for one day covered (at about 40 degrees) and the whole thing wilted. If I just leave it, can it revive in the spring? or have I murdered the poor thing?
2007-02-19 08:42:09 · 6 answers · asked by Helena 3 in Home & Garden ➔ Garden & Landscape
Depending on which variety you have it could withstand quite cold temperatures and still survive. Musa Basjoo is cold hardy to -20 degrees when mulched properly. Assuming that is the variety that they sold you. Musa Basjoo is the hardiest of all bananas. In warm weather months it can grow up to 2 feet in a week. It's mature height is 18'. It can flower and bear fruits at 10' or whenever it has 35 leaves. The bananas are not edible. This handsome broad leaved variety can be grown in almost every state since it can handle temperatures of 15 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit if the ground is mulched properly in the very cold months. At 40 degrees it will stop actively growing and at 28 degrees the leaves will die back and the tree can be cut back to a 2'or 3' height. It will grow back rapidly as the warmer season approaches, or take it back into the warm and it should spring back.
Remember, they like sandy soils and they will rot if the soil is kept too moist.
2007-02-19 09:17:09 · answer #1 · answered by Karl 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
bananas are tropical plants, very delicate
the nursery person who told you -20 was pulling BS out of his a.s.s.
remove as many dead leaves so that they con't produce liquid as they decay--providing a moist environment for fungus and small insects to thrive in.
it could still come back but you have to protect it from cold and insects in its debilitated condition
2007-02-19 08:46:44 · answer #2 · answered by center of the universe 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
pending on where you live....
the soil may cause the tree to go bad...
talk about frozen bananas
2007-02-19 08:48:45 · answer #3 · answered by appleseed_99 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Nope, its already dead. You killed it. Its a tropical plant, it cant survive in the cold. If you noticed, banana stem are soft,and contains 80percent water, so u basically freezed it.
2007-02-19 09:31:10 · answer #4 · answered by Ramani 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
as long as you cover the trunk with burlap to protect it from getting too cold, it will come back.
2007-02-19 08:51:26 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Those trees are WAY stronger than you think.
2007-02-19 08:45:49 · answer #6 · answered by jjayferg 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋