Cold Hardy Banana Trees: Overwintering Musa Basjoo

A cold hardy banana tree exists, but it is the ornamental Musa basjoo, not a fruiting banana. NC State says Musa basjoo growth dies back to the ground in zones 5 to 8, and the rhizomes are cold hardy to minus 10°F if properly pruned and mulched. Fruiting bananas are zone 9–11 plants: UF/IFAS says temperatures below 28°F (−2°C) may kill them to the ground. This guide expands on the cold section of our banana plant guide with which plant to choose and how to overwinter it.

Hardy ornamental or fruiting banana?

Pick the plant that matches your goal, because the two are not interchangeable.

The University of Arkansas Extension calls the hardy banana the most cold-hardy banana, surviving winter temperatures of minus 5°F without protection or minus 20°F with heavy wintertime mulch. It says the plant is perfectly hardy through most of the South and can be grown throughout much of the Midwest. It is grown for its big tropical leaves, so plant it for the look and not for a bunch of bananas.

How cold hurts a banana plant

UF/IFAS says plant growth slows below 60°F (16°C) and stops at 50°F (10°C). Chilling damage and irreversible freeze damage may occur at or below 32°F (0°C), and temperatures below 28°F may kill plants to the ground. The signs of a freeze are a water-soaked look, then browning and death of leaves, pseudostems and fruit (UF/IFAS).

A freeze is not always the end. CRFG says plants can survive short dips to 28°F, and that if the temperature does not fall below 22°F and the cold period is short, the underground rhizome will usually survive. The plant you see is replaceable. The corm below is the part to protect.

Which method for which situation?

Method 1: Mulch the rhizomes

LSU says a good layer of mulch over the rhizomes can help them survive winter. It is cheap and works in zones 9–11, where the risk is a few hard nights rather than a long freeze. Spread leaves, straw or shredded bark over and around the base once the weather turns cold. Pull it back a little in spring so the soil can warm.

Method 2: Prune and mulch a hardy banana

This is the routine for Musa basjoo in zones 5–8, and it is what the photo at the top shows. NC State says the rhizomes survive minus 10°F outdoors if properly pruned and mulched, and Arkansas says minus 20°F with heavy wintertime mulch.

1. Wait for the leaves to be killed by frost. A hardy banana is happiest growing until the first hard frost. Once the leaves are brown and collapsed, the plant is dormant.
2. Cut the stalks back. Cut the pseudostems back to short stumps. Remove the dead leaves and dispose of them, so they do not rot against the stumps.
3. Build a cage. Make a ring of wire mesh or hardware cloth around the clump, wider than the stumps and a little taller.
4. Fill it with dry material. Pack the cage with straw and shredded leaves, covering the top of the stumps. Keep it as dry as you can, because wet mulch holds cold and rots the stumps.
5. Cover the top. Lay a board or a sheet of rigid plastic over the cage so rain and snow shed off, and weigh it down.

In spring, remove the covering gradually once hard freezes have passed. New growth should push from the base. Be patient, since a hardy banana can be slow to wake up.

Method 3: Bank soil, or dig and store

TAMU gives two options for a fruiting banana in colder locations. The first is to bank soil around the trunk just before a projected cold spell, which better protects the underground buds and lets the plant regenerate in spring. The second is to dig the entire plant, rhizome and all, remove the leaves and store it dry in a heated area over winter.

Digging suits a plant you can lift and a place you can keep warm and frost-free. Replant after your last frost, when the soil has warmed.

Method 4: Move a potted banana

A pot makes winter easy. CRFG says bananas, especially dwarf varieties, make good container specimens, and a pot lets you bring the plant under cover. Move it into a bright, frost-free room, garage or greenhouse before the first frost, and water less often, since growth slows below 60°F (UF/IFAS). Our banana plant in a pot guide covers pot size and care.

What to cut after a freeze, and when

Wait before you cut. The plants differ in how much they lose.

• Clearly dead and mushy pseudostems: TAMU says that after a major cold period in which there is no doubt the bananas were killed to the ground, cut them off at ground level within a couple of weeks of the freeze.
• Trunks that may still be alive: LSU says these should not be cut down, because new leaves and flower stalks can emerge from the top of the trunk. Remove only the dead leaf blades.
• When unsure: wait. Cold-damaged tissue turns soft and brown, and living tissue stays firm. Check again as the weather warms, and cut once you can tell.

Mulch stays on until the worst of the cold has passed. When growth restarts, feed the plant as in the banana plant guide, and remove extra suckers so the clump has a few strong stalks.

Choosing a banana for your winters

If your winters are mild, choose a fruiting banana such as Dwarf Cavendish and protect the base. If they are cold, choose Musa basjoo for the look, and a pot-grown fruiting type for the bananas. Our banana varieties guide compares them all.