Here are the Pictures. As you can see, first I wrapped old Towels around them, then I put the can over the top and cut a small hole in the top, filled it up with leaves and then the black plastic bag and tarp. The stakes and bungee cords kept it in place. Seems to have worked. I just hope it's not too early to have been uncovered. Fingers crossed.

They probably will burn in direct sun, but in reality it's not a big deal, the next set of leaves will be fine.

Hi Dan,
Hows the bananas now? Are they coming back ok?
Mzkrista

Nice job, Dan! And I think you were smart to take off the garbage can now.

Last year I had about 18" of pseudostem survive (no cage and just a pile of leaves for mulch but it was a mild winter). It was white like that. I didn't have leaves yet, but I didn't get any burning on the stem. It greened up pretty fast once it got exposed to sunlight.

UPDATE
Their doing geat. It WAS time to uncover them. All 3 have straightened up and are pushing out a new shoots. Their already a foot taller hence the warm weather and rains. I only had the chairs over them for 2 days and decided that xerophyte was right, the first set will burn but, won't hurt the new growth. I got the idea to use lounge chairs last summer when I purchased bare root Roses online in the heat of July. It worked like a charm as they all survived 90+ degree days bare root.

Watergal, I tried just covering with a huge Burlap Bag of leaves two years ago. All I got was mush come spring time. They rotted from top all the way to the roots. Nothing survived, not even a pup. I think it would have worked had I tarped the top to keep out the excess moisture. I was pissed. Lesson learned. It was a really cold winter here in south Jersey. How did yours survive this year? Did you save any pseudostem height again?

Not sure yet. There might be a couple inches under there. I haven't removed the mulch yet - been sick - hope to get to it soon.

Two years ago I didn't save any pseudostem, but I had pups popping up all over.

The first year I built an elaborate cage, stuffed it with straw, covered it with plastice, and made a great home for the voles, who promptly moved in and ate every bit of the corm. Luckily, I had overwintered a pup indoors, so I replanted. We live next to a farm - lots of mice, voles, occasional rat - so I don't bother with the cage anymore. I'm not aiming for tallest banana, getting 8 feet in a season from scratch suits me fine. I just want some tropical effect.

I do have a great microclimate - the basjoo is next to a concrete house foundation wall, and there is a pond on the other side that stays semi-thawed all winter, so the soil doesn't get very cold.