In my estimation, with the exception of palms, there is nothing that creates the tropical effect like bananas. They are the foundation for getting that exotic, tropical look. What’s not to like … they’re easy to grow, relatively inexpensive, require little maintenance other than water, and look fantastic. Their big drawback, like a lot of other tropical and subtropical plants, is that they are just gone with the first freeze.
At least here in Dallas (Zone 8), you can keep most varieties alive by just having a deep layer of mulch around them. They will die to the ground for sure, but they will almost always come back the next season.
Since I have many small banana “groves” and consider them key to my tropical look, my frustration has always been the time it takes for them to come back the following spring, to a size that will make a tropical impact. Some seasons, that might be late June and I’m just not that patient. My delima… how can I get my bananas to make an impact quicker the following season, without having to buy new plants??
So, I started experimenting. Basically, bananas will start growing again from wherever the stalk remains undamaged. Soooo … if I can protect say 3 ft of the stalk from freezing, the plant starts growing from 3ft tall as opposed to the ground. A BIG improvement.
I tried all kinds of extravagant things like building wire cages around the clumps and filling them with insulating materials. It worked, but was extremely time consuming and/or expensive. Finally, I stumbled on an approach that is simple, inexpensive, and has worked well so far …..
Of course, I apply the deep layer of much around all the banana plants. That’s a must to assure they live through the winter. Then, before the first hard freeze, I select some of the best plants and simply wrap a single layer of old carpet around the trunk up about 3-4ft. I use string or duct tape to secure. I have too many plants to do all, but I do enough to assure that I have some “effect” earlier in the spring, while the other plants are regrowing from the ground. It has worked like a charm for me. Questions, ideas, other suggestions????
Cheers …
Tags: Banana Plants Winter Care, Tropical Backyard, Tropical Pool Landscape
Here’s a suggestion for zone 8a bananas – try the japanese fiber bananas. For the past several years here in Dallas I’ve just let them stand after pruning the top foot or so off in the fall – they start out the season at 4-5 foot tall that way, don’t require wrapping, and look tropical by the end of April.
Thanks for the suggestion Paul. I know I’m always looking for new stuff. Just to clarify, are you referring to Musa balbisiana ?