I definately don't like the plastic bag option. Moisture in a plastic bag all winter means you'll have mush in the spring. You could get away with it in the summer when there is active growth, but not in the winter. This is just my .02 opinion, but I would hate for you to loose your plants this way. I would choose the bare root path if it were me. Others may have better feedback.

I agree with maury... plastic will back-fire on you because it doesn't allow the plant to get any air. You'll end up with a plastic bag full of rotted, moldy mush.

Put them in paper bags or in burlap. You might find real burlap at a fabric store on sale - at the remnant table or by the yard. Also, try a thrift store.

Check the link for all the info you need about storing over winter. : )

Here is a link that might be useful: All you need to know is here

Thanks everyone for all the information, I will store them bare root....momo1....Thanks very much for the link on overwintering, absolutely fantastic site....Picture by picture on how to overwinter.....I hate to see the summer end, but I guess we will get some rest from all the yard work. I sure won't have as many Brugs next year, they nearly worked me to death trying to keep them watered. At least I know bananas won't have to be watered but once a day.

Thanks again,

David

Aloha David,

They used to have "cold frames" in the winter in northern climates to grow vegetables in during the winter months. It was sort of similar to raised bed gardening, but they had a glass top to their containers. They would use a couple foot deep bed of straw and manure from the livery stable under the dirt they grew the vegetables in and the heat from the composting straw and manure would keep the vegetables warm. If you had an extra banana or two, you could try leaving it in the ground but covered with several feet of composting straw and manure to keep it warm over the winter. That would make the banana field extra nutritious for the next year's growth, too.

A hui hou,
Cathy

actually...i did just what David/snc299 suggests...after the first frost wilted the leaves (late october here in London, Ontario), I cut the leaves off of my bananas, dug up the root balls and placed them in large clear plastic bags (of the type used to bag fallen leaves). I then stored the banana roots/stems in my cool basement in a darkish room...the plastic bags were left open and were mostly just to contain stray bits of dirt....i didn't mist them or water them at all and this past spring around late April/early May I dragged the bananas back out into the yard and put them back in their spot, the stems died and I thought the plants were goners....but probably 5 weeks or so later they spouted up...I've now got another giant cluster of bananas to dig up this fall!

my two cents
David

i dig up about 40 of my plants, 10 fruit, i give pups away and leave about 40 for the next year. i have put the corm in black plastic bages for ten years and have never lost a plant when i let them go dormant in a cool dark basement. i have never had them rot.