Not sure it will live up to the hype. Plenty of plants will survive a mild winter but to reliably produce fruit you want plants that thrive here. I have all sorts of tender tropicals that made it through this past winter but here it is the beginning of August and they are just now looking like something you would want in your yard (just barely).

If it was me, I would rig up a temporary greenhouse (hoophouse) and extend the warm weather long enough to get a crop AND use this spray to help the plants handle winter weather.

John,

I am not looking for a viable crop, I just want as many different types of bananas as possible to survive without having to buld special structures.

My experience is limited but I will share what I have. First off I started working with Banana last year. I picked up a Musa Basjoo and a Musa Allysium last year. Honestly I'm starting to think I have a bad area in the yard. The only plants I've lost have been in that one spot. I lost the Alyssium, and thought the Basjoo was gone from the drought last year. I also lost a Washington Robusta in the same area. But the Basjoo did come back this spring with no measures for overwintering, honestly I thought it was lost. I dug it up, split the main plant from the pup I saw and planted the main plant in a different location. It's now about 2.5 ft tall and the pups, yes multiple, I planted in a pot with very rich soil on my deck. Those are now about a foot tall. I also picked up an Ice cream banana this year, it's doing quite well. All the bananas are putting on the leaf a week rule of thumb for a healthy plant. I've also got a dwarf Cavindish in the house in a pot. It's also doing the leaf a week thing and is now up to about 2.5 ft from a 6 inch pup when I got it in May. I plan to overwinter in the yard for my outside bananas this winter, using a pre-formed tomato basket and some extra mulch. The DC will remain indoors this year and I plan to move it out, in a larger pot this spring. I've also got some citrus as well I plan to handle the same as the DC. Like I said I started from scratch and have NO experience with these guys. But I'm barely in Z8 according to the most recent maps I have seen. I'm normally a slight bit warmer than Charlotte. Hope this info helps and best of luck with them!! :-)

I have basjoo bananna plants that started as one plant purchased at the flea market.I split them this year and took all the pups and moved them . They are about 4-5 ft tall. I don't do anything special except give them lots of rain water. In the winter after frost hits them I cut them almost to ground and put a cover of mulch on them. I see other people seem to have taller plants with less leaves and wonder if they don't cut theirs down as low? Going to try that on one or two this year and see if it makes a difference.

That spray sounds promising. I would try it.

New homeowners of a colonial style home in Raleigh. We are seeking ideas on plants or flowers to add color and spruce up our front yard that is sloped.

Crystal, you will probably get a better response if you do this as a new posting and tell us a little more about your yard, i.e., is it full sun and currently in grass?

Would anyone kindly tell me what zone raleigh is in because i myself am growing banana plants here and it would help me tramendously.

We have always been considered zone 7b, but recently are considered 8a.