The only thing I had time to figure out for my Dwarf Cavendish (sp?) before it got too cold for it, was to overWinter it in the basement. It will supposedly go dormant down there. I didn't really find out if I was supposed to cut the leaves, leave it in the pot or take it out, etc., so it will be good to see if any knowledagble (of tropicals) folks in the TN area answer this post! =)

ive had dwarf cavendish bananas for years and what i do is just bring them inside the house for the winter and give them a bright door to sit by.. ive never had any problem this way... also i keep all the brown leaves trimmed, i dont necisarrily cut them back, just keep them healthy. i would not recomend putting them anywhere dark because remember bananas grow in the tropice where they grow all year, i dont think they know what dormancy is... anyways, im not an expert by all means but this is how i do it every year and next year when it is warm enough i will again put them outside....

Well, I checked mine after almost 2 months basement dormancy & it appears to be doing just fine, even after a freeze or two. I cut back all the leaves on it except the 2-3 newest. My Dwarf Lime is also doing well down there. I guess i'll stick with the GW member recommended basement dormancy, at least until I build my PVC greenhouse for Christmas! =)

I wintered them over in the pots last year. Under lights in basemant. I really would like to take them out of the pots and store them bare rooted. The guy who gave them to me told me I can't kill them. He must be right, I totally negelected them this summer and they sprouted new plants and were happy.

Here is a link that might be useful: garden blog

That's good to know! lol...It's my first year growing mine & it seems to have done awesome. It grew about 2 feet tall in only three months...from this small little root looking thing with a half dead 2 inch long leaf on it to a 2 ft tall plant with 12 or so huge leaves.

Disclaimer: I am not a grower of anything tropical. But, if I remember correctly, I think my mom has told me that you can store them bare-root (or maybe with a little dirt still on them) in a cellar/basement/whatever. Seems like she talked about digging them up and putting my sister's in her dark underground cellar, maybe wrapped in newspaper, and just leaving them there until spring.

Kathy, my Lemon Balm is still doing well in its pot. :) Do I need to bring the pot in for winter? Or just tuck it in somewhere a little insulated outside?

Connie, The lemon balm will do OK outside in it's pot. Thanks for the advice about Banana trees. i thought I had heard of folks wintering over like you discribed. i'm going to try it. I'll let ya'll know next spring if it works.

Here is a link that might be useful: blog

My Lemon Balm actually seems to be thriving in this cooler weather! =) It's huge. I need to harvest & dry a good bit of it.