Last spring we planted some banana plants on the homestead. There are a number of videos online with instructions of how people have learned to grow these very pretty plants up north and even get fruit from them. So this year, we decided to give it a go and see what happens. After all, we are still technically in the south and people north of us have done well with them.
And yes! It's True, you can get fruit from these plants if you winterize them. The variety we have on our homestead is called the California Gold which is actually a cold tolerant variety to begin with. They can sustain temps down to the low 20's or upper teens anyway. There are a number of banana plants on the market you can choose from but I wanted one that would have the best chance to survive the winter and still produce fruit.
There are other varieties that will not produce edible fruit but grow in lower temps. They are purely ornamental plants. If the California Gold variety seen here doesn't make it, we will try those.
Materials List:
- Machete or large field blade
- Large 55 Gallon trash bags
- Bubble wrap
- Lots of Insulating material (leaves, hay, straw, wood chips)
- Packing or Duct Tape
- Chicken wire or cage material to hold your insulation
First off you want to trim off your leaves. Cut each one down to the trunk of the plant.
Take the top off as well. All the leaves need to be gone so that you can get the plant properly wrapped with bubble wrap.
Begin wrapping the bubble wrap around the plant from top to bottom. Secure with packing tape but don't attach the tape to the plant.
Place your cage around the plant and begin filling with your insulating material. Any natural material can be used. We used straw, some sorghum scraps and some wood chips.
Use a shovel or some object to pack your insulating material down.
Fill your cage all the way to the top with your insulation.
Use a couple of 55 gallon trash bags to wrap around your cage. We had to split two of them in order to make them fit around the cage.
Tape together with duct tape or packing tape until secure.
And that is it!
The true test will be this spring to see if they survived and if we can expect some more amazing growth from these trees! Be sure to check back then and we will do an unwrapping and report back to you.
Have you ever had to winterize banana plants? Let us know your results!
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