It’s time to put the Hardy Banana (Musa basjoo) to bed for the winter. Set the banana tree plant in a location that receives a minimum of 12 hours of bright light. Aftercare Instructions: Grow on in warm well lit conditions. There have been reports of this species surviving the winter months outside in zone 7b, providing they have appropriate protection. Unfertilized they will tend to grow very slowly. Bananas are ultra-healthful, packed with fiber, potassium calcium and iron, plus the good looks for a tropical-inspired tree. Hardy banana trees grow rapidly, as much as 12 feet (3.5 m.) with 6-inch (15 cm.) Tropical gardens across the United States feature the Musa basjoo, also known as the Japanese or hardy banana. basjoo, is a hardy banana tree that grows up to twelve feet tall and produces leaves several feet long.Although they freeze back to the ground each fall, with proper care they will resprout in the spring. Bananas need moist, fertile, well-drained soil and lots of sun. To over winter your hardy banana, prior to first frost, cut back stems and leaves, leaving 8-10 inches (10-25 cm.) The tops may die out but they will regrow in the spring once the temperatures warm up. In the spring, after the last frost date in your area, you can plant your banana tree in the garden again. I even have to wrap my Chinese windmill palms each winter. However, there are hardy banana trees that can grow in cooler zones than usual. Mix soil for the banana tree planting using a 5-to-1 ratio of well-draining soil to perlite. You have alternatives for … In the spring, cut the plant back to about 4 inches and replant it. That's what you'll get with the Dwarf Cavendish Banana Tree. Run a cool mist humidifier near the banana leaf plant to raise the humidity of the room in which the plant is kept. If you get the correct materials and plant and care for your tree properly, you can grow your very own banana tree right at home. In the past, as a means to safeguard my existing stock of plants, I would always dig up several pups of new banana … Known and loved for its snow white flesh and delicious flavor reminiscent of vanilla custard, this variety of banana grows between 8 and 15 feet tall. But if the temperature drops much below freezing, under 22 F, for example, or if the freeze lasts for an extended period, such as a week, the rhizome may die along with the leaves. She has been involved in the Pet Industry for over 15 years. If this is lacking, the color of the large leaves can be impacted. Aftercare Instructions: Grow on in warm well lit conditions. Light: The more sun you can provide, the better.Ensete leaves grown in a spiral from the short central stem and resemble banana leaves, except they are reddish, with a strong red midrib. For a container plant that you're not able to move indoors, cut the foliage down to soil level after the first frost. leaves in one season. Whether you grow an ornamental flowering banana (Musa ornata) or an edible variety (Musa x paradisiaca), you need to plan carefully if you don't want to lose the plant when the temperature drops. Once banana trees are established the roots are frost hardy but young plants do not tolerate the cold nearly as well as older plants. Given the right conditions and temperatures, snow banana trees are very fast-growing. Susan Lundman began writing about her love of gardening and landscape design after working for 20 years at a nonprofit agency. Set the plant's container on a shallow tray filled with water and decorative pebbles; as the water evaporates it will provide the banana leaf plant with additional healthy humidity. Moisture / Light. Keep it happy and thriving with regular mistings, or place it in a high-humidity area of your home, such as a sunny bathroom. How to Care for an Ice Cream Banana Tree. Ensete species like the snow banana tree are known for being much more difficult to propagate than their banana (Musa) relatives. To help establish your new Ensete Snow banana tree, fertilize sparingly at least 6 inches away from the base, tri-annually with a slow time release 15-5-10. Mix soil for the banana tree planting using a 5-to-1 ratio of well-draining soil to perlite. Growing Conditions . My experience is that zone 8 plants do not do well here without a lot of special care. Bananas are heavy feeders, to help establish your new Snow Giant Banana Plant, fertilize ten inches away from the base, four times annually with a slow time released product. Winter Care Indoors Continue to give the banana plant as much light as you can during the winter, placing it in a south-facing window with direct sunlight. A little extra effort will ensure thriving bananas that bring tropical cheer to your garden. You have options if you need a more cold-hardy variety, such as Japanese banana (Musa basjoo), USDA zones 5 through 10, or Musa 'Orinoco,' USDA zones 7 through 10. These trees are heavy feeders. Banana plant care indoors All of the same tips apply when thinking about banana plant care indoors: get a well-draining soil. While the leaves will be damaged or destroyed by freezing weather, the roots will survive and grow new shoots the following spring. You have alternatives for protecting outdoor bananas, depending on their size. If you ask people to name tropical plants, banana trees would be near the top of the list. From bare root to delicious fruit requires less than three years. Ornamental banana plants thrive in USDA zones 5B through 11. Why Dwarf Cavendish Banana Trees? A constant daytime temperature of 80 degrees F is also preferred, along with an evening temperature of approximately 67 degrees F. Step 3 Maintain a relative humidity as close to 50 percent as possible. Photo by David J. Stang / Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Snow banana trees appreciate plenty of sunlight. See and discover other items: indoor tree plant, banana plant, banana tree plant, winter fertilizer, tree seed, tropical plant seeds There's a problem loading this … How to Care for a Banana Plant in Winter Where it Gets Down to Freezing Damage from Freezing. Snow banana trees are best grown from seeds. How to care for a Banana Plant in the Winter Container grown bananas: During the winter, gardeners can move the container inside as a house plant. Introducing "One Thing": A New Video Series, The Spruce Gardening & Plant Care Review Board, The Spruce Renovations and Repair Review Board, Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International, Prefers a fertile and well-drained variety. A little extra effort will ensure thriving bananas that bring tropical cheer to your garden. Temperatures above freezing, beginning at around 53 F, may stunt a banana plant's growth; freezing temperatures can darken and kill the plant's foliage.