I have raised many kinds of Banana Plants here in Zone 6. My experience with them includes the red banana, blood banana, plantains, dwarf varieties and some big ones that can attain a height of 14 to 16 ft. this far north. One year I had 48 banana plants in my backyard, several of them produced bananas that were only 3 to 4 inches long. Banana Plants seem to thrive in any kind of soil and seem to do very well in clay soil. They prefer full sun and lots of water. As with any kind of tuberous rooted plant they will literally "go bananas" with a little potassium nitrate added every few weeks during the growing season. It is amazing to see each new leaf unrolling itself out through the top and within a couple of days there is a completely formed new leaf.
The problem with large varieties in the north is finding a place to put them for the winter. Heated basements get too warm for them to go dormant and do not have enough light or ceiling height for them to continue growing. My old house has an unheated cellar. This is perfect for storing Banana Plants, Elephant Ear, Caladium, and Canna Lily bulbs and tubers. It is important to keep these tubers and bulbs up away from concrete, stone or brick floors or they may freeze and rot by spring. They should be put in large plastic garbage bags. I cut the leaves away from the stalks at the fist sign of frost, usually at the end of October here in my area. I put the root ball into a large plastic bag and tie it up loosely around the stalk and store it in the cellar up off the concrete floor on a wooden skid. I have stored as many as 45 Banana Plants in this manner and had them all come back to life when I set them back out into the ground in early May after danger of frost is over. The really big ones can get very heavy and may require two people to move them. Usually when they are that large they will produce bananas, when that happens the plant is finished and must be discarded. A plant that large will, besides producing the large flower that produces the bunch of bananas, will also produce several "suckers" from around the base of the plant. These suckers, or baby plants, can be cut away from the parent plant and grown indoors for the winter in a window that gets lots of light. The suckers can also be stored in the plastic bags just like the larger plants. I have a large 10 ft banana plant that I just brought in for the winter growing right next to where I work. There are skylights and a fair amount of light. The plant will not thrive in this location, but it will survive the winter, giving me much pleasure working under its leaves, until I set it out again in the Spring.
People who are fortunate enough to live in Zones 9 and 10 don't really have to worry about any of the problems associated with winter care of Banana Plants. There are exceptions though, even in those warm climates. I remember a temperature of 6°F during Christmas in New Orleans during the winter of 1989 or 1990. Icicles were hanging from those beautiful balconies in the French Quarter and many plants, including the bananas, really suffered.
The 2 ft specimen shown above was propagated from seed. It takes a little longer than propagating from cuttings but with patience a Banana Plant will begin growing and future generations of it can be started from the suckers it will produce. Always try to give Banana Plants the summer vacation they deserve by planting them in the ground or at least leaving them in large containers outdoors in full sunlight and 2 or 3 times a week give them a heavy watering if there is no rain. Banana Plants grow so much faster outside during summer months compared to growing indoors even in the brightest of window light.
This specimen was photographed at my home in Louisville, Kentucky, November 1, 1998.
© 1998 Michael King
