For you southerners, When is the best time to cut these things down? Also should i dig em up or just pile mulch on em...I havent been able to get a straight answer on this.
Do you want to try and get rid of them permanently or are you just trying to cut them back?
Cutting them back: Any time is as good a time as any. You'll probably especially want to cut them down should they sustain freeze damage in winter time.
Removing them: Good luck! Nearly impossible... But, not quite impossible.
O no they are vital to this poolside tropical landscape. I want to save them for going into next year. I forgot about them last year and lost them. Had to replace them this year.
I know I'm north, but the ones I have can only sustain a few freezing days. I would imagine as mentioned should give you enough insulation. I have to bring mine inside. They took a few freezing nights, but I brought them in on a 70* day and they are fine. I love them, I want to get some more and actually put them in the ground.
I have about 100 banana trees in my yard. The tallest one is 20+ ft high. I no longer cut the stalk off at the ground after a freeze but I will cut off the limbs. I leave the stalk intact throughout the winter. Come spring, I get new growth out of the top and dont have to wait for the tree to grow out from ground level. It does look ugly having a bunch of limbless stalks throughtout the yard but I dont care to wait months for the trees to obtain its original height. Banana trees have high fertilizer/water needs. My trees produce edible bananas. After the fruits produces, the tree will "die off" but before that happens, It will sprout a new seedling shoot tree to replace the dead one. Twice my big tree has put out fruit but I have cut it off because I didnt want it to die back.
Well mine are fruitless. Your zone yeh they will survive, but it gets to cold down here for that. I wish i could just cut them back a bit but thats what we did last year and it didnt work. They grow super fast so im not to worried about the height.
With tropical plants in a cold environment, you can dig them up, cut the limbs and store them in a dark basement over the winter like you would any bulb.
The dark basement should make them go dormant and still survive, almost like cutting them and leaving them in the ground in a warmer environment.
I have about 40 banana trees in my yard. I just cut them down to the ground and put mulch over them. They come back every year no problems. Just cut them next month or before the first freeze, and even if it freezes, they will still come back, just will be harder to cut down as they get mushy...good luck!
Here in Florida the state extension service has many articles on horticulture. I am sure your state has one too but here is a link that may interest you on Banana trees http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/topic_banana
I have about 40 banana trees in my yard. I just cut them down to the ground and put mulch over them. They come back every year no problems. Just cut them next month or before the first freeze, and even if it freezes, they will still come back, just will be harder to cut down as they get mushy...good luck!
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