Overwintering Abyssinian Banana: Protecting Large Specimens

The "trunk" of a banana is actually tightly rolled leaf sheaths protecting the true stem inside. Cutting back a 10-foot plant to fit a greenhouse damages the embryonic flower stalk. Best practice:

• Move smaller offsets to the greenhouse.
• Cut the large plant to ground level after frost.
• Mulch heavily with leaves; it often resprouts in spring.

The plant's energy is stored in the underground corm, not the pseudostem.