Banana - Overwintering

Recently I described how to store summer-flowering bulbs for the winter. Let’s continue the discussion this week and focus on other plants that are not reliably winter-hardy but which can be kept with a bit of effort.

BANANA Given a mild winter and a sheltered location banana trees occasionally survive Atlanta winters untended. More often, the stem and roots turn to mush by spring. Gardeners who like the tropical look bananas afford but who don’t like the cost of replacing them every year can try a couple of methods to preserve them.

My friend Kathy Henderson recalls digging tall bananas with her family in fall and dragging the whole plant under the house, to rest beside the base of their fireplace. The marginal warmth there kept their bananas from harm. Some folks still insist on bringing their big plants into a basement or garage to protect them but I can attest from experience that it is a hugely messy and unwieldy process.

If the banana plants are in a spot that doesn’t get raked by frigid January winds, try protecting them in the landscape. Cut the stalk down to twelve inches from the ground and cover it with a discarded gallon plastic pot. Pile a thick layer of pine straw over the pot and keep your fingers crossed that temperatures don’t go lower than the ‘teens this winter. With luck the base of the trunk will survive and it will sprout new growth in late April.

Probably the easiest way to overwinter a banana is to remove the daughter plants that usually sprout next to the base in fall. Each “pup” can be planted in a three gallon pot and kept as a houseplant until frost-free weather arrives next spring.

ELEPHANT EAR With the advent of expensive, exotic varieties such as ‘Frydek’, ‘Jet Black Wonder’ and ‘Black Magic’ a “leave it in the ground and hope” attitude can be costly. Like caladiums, elephant ear corms should be dug just after frost kills the leaves. Be careful to keep the caustic sap from squirting in your eyes as you remove the stem just above the thick corm. Store several of the roots together in a plastic tub, covering all with perlite.

GERANIUM The bright red or orange flowers of geraniums have brightened many a hanging basket and flower bed this year. It seems a shame to let cold weather kill the plants. If they could be kept alive, next spring could be resplendent that much faster. Here are three ways to keep the plants alive over the winter.

>>DEEP MULCHING OUTDOORS Cut the plant back to eight inches tall. Cover a plant or a small group of plants with an inverted, shallow cardboard box. Cover the box with at least ten inches of dry leaves. Cover the leaves with a sheet of clear plastic. The leaves and plastic will trap and hold the earth's heat. In average winters, the plants will spring to life when uncovered in late March.

>>IN A SUNNY WINDOW Landscape plants can be put in indoor pots and in baskets hung from the ceiling in front of a sunny window. Either may need to be cut back so they fit in the space you have. Cool, bright windows seem to be better than hot windows. Water occasionally but do not fertilize until putting them back outside in the spring.

>>IN THE BASEMENT Remove plants from pots or baskets. Enclose the entire plant in a plastic bag and put a wet cotton ball inside. Poke a few holes in the bag to allow a bit of air circulation. Hang each one upside down by their roots in a cool basement. In mid-March, take the plants down, remove the plastic and soak in a bucket of water. They can be put outside when it warms up. It is surprising how fast those little sticks perk up and sprout leaves once again!