I live south of Birmingham, Al. I want to know what to do to keep my banana trees over winter. Cut or cover?

Question

I live south of Birmingham, Al. I want to know what to do to keep my banana trees over winter. Cut or cover? I cut them last year and more came up this year, will this continue to happen? I do not know what kind I have but they will be three years old now. I started with two and have seven now. Any advice at all?

Answer 1

Cut back all the leaves and let the plant sit a day or so then wrap in heavy black plastic all the way to the ground. A good pile of mulch around the base will help too because remember, a bannana plant has a heap of water in them.

Answer 2

sounds like you have a hardy banana plant.....at three years, if they've never given you bananas, they may well be the hardy ones.... if that's the case, then if your area is likely to see a good heavy frost, wait until then and then cut them back.... about 18 inches to two feet above ground, with a sharp angle to the cut..... if you cut at ground level, you'll injure the growing tip and it won't come back..... after they're cut, pile up some leaves around the stubs.... prob not necessary in ALA, but I do it here to mine ...... look up 'musa basjoo'... the hardy banana..... now, if your plants are the real mcCoy, and should give you real bananas that are edible, then my advice is no good.... a real banana tree must live thru two seasons at least to make blooms and fruit... so you cannot cut them down....but then, if it freezes, they cannot live, either.....

Answer 3

You've gotten some good advice and some bad. It surely is possible for you to get bananas. I've seen them produce in Brookside (NW of B'ham) and in Sylacauga (SE of B'ham).

In the Florida Panhandle, where we get frosts and freeze, we cut them back after first frost and that's it. In the Birmingham area I would suggest you mulch them well because you can get really cold there. I don't know about the black plastic.

Answer 4

Most bananas are very cold sensitive and probably wont survive the winter even if covered. They will re-sprout pups in the spring. Note that fruit is produced on second year plants so you will never get bananas.

Answer 5

banana is a tropical plant, it wont proceed to exist in the winter in case you left it outdoors, pot it and brig it in, water it once you notice the soil is dry and sunlight it lots of the time close on your window

Answer 6

try keeping the roots as warm as possible,,, heavy mulch,, mabey black plastic to draw heat ,and let nature do its thing