What zone are you in? I usually cut mine all back to the ground. I like the look of leaves all the way up the trunk. I think the trunk will survive if protected only if the banana is hardy enough. I would not leave my Siam Ruby in the ground here. But basjoo trunks come through our winters undamaged in leaf cages.

One something that I would want to get fruit, pretty much any type other than basjoo, your best option is to dig it up in the fall and keep dormant till spring. You can try and protect as much of the P-stem while inground but if you lose it or have to cut it to the ground youll lose all that growth and end up starting over.

Mike

I feel pretty sure I can protect it during the winter now that I have done some reading.

Thanks for the replies.

I got called away so I did not get to finish my post.

My plan is to protect it in ground using the same system I use for my citrus. I will cut off the leaves then build a PVC pipe-cage a little higher than the height of the trunk. I will put a 100 watt bulb at the bottom then run a string of C-9 outdoor Christmas lights the full length of the trunk. Then I will wrap the cage in clear stretch plastic leaving the top open and and a small gap at the bottom for air flow. Inside will be a wireless thermometer.
When it gets cold I will cover the pvc-plastic cage then turn the lights on if needed.

I might try one like that and dig and store the other.

That is the plan anyway but I am open for comments.

Here is a link that might be useful: Citrus Freeze Protection

May want to try a thermocube. Something that will turn on and off with the temperature so not to cook your pseudostem. And I would keep a pup inside just for insurance.

Goodluck,

I am half a zone colder than you and am growing hardier musas (basjoo / sikkimensis).

I think my protection techniques kind of depend on how many plants I have of a particular type and how they did the year before. If I have only one of something and its the first year in the ground, then I tend to over protect.
(something like ice cream banana would be good for over protection in the ground the first year or too for sure)

At this point, I have enough plants to loose a few if I under protect.

Last year was the easiest yet- I waited for a few frosts to wilt the leaves and make them flop down, then I bunched them up around the stems, put a ring of wire fencing around the mat of nanner plants, filled it with leaves and put plastic sheet over that.
Only the bits of stem sticking up above the leaf pile were damaged.
I see no reason to cut the stems off, that just delays their growth the next season.
I just wait until the next season and cut off any dead parts then.

I cut my Basjoos down to the ground the first three years thinking it was best to do so. This past year I left them alone for the first time ,mainly because I did not have the time and I am glad I did. Result was instant full grown banana trees this spring.No line,no wait!

chadec thanks for the thermocube tip. That is interesting.