Hi,I live in northern Utah and we have pretty cold winters with snow. I have sucessfully overwintered mine for two years now by cutting it down to about 18 inches tall and then filling lawn bags full of leaves and placing them in a circle around the plant. I then add more leaves to the center and throw a tarp over it to keep it dry during the winter. I think leaves or straw makes a good insulator for the banana and you could stuff the container with leaves.

Good Luck!

Linda

This is to Linda. I have a basjoo in a huge pot that is around 7ft tall now. She has pups which I have seperated and potted up. Anyway, I hate the thought of cutting this huge thing down...is it too big to do that anyway? I could bring it inside with the help of about 3 or 4 people, but it'd be so much easier to cut it down, get it out of the pot and then put it back inside the pot-and what-put it in the basement? I love this bannana...

Yes, you can cut it down. It won't hurt it at all. Mine was about ten feet tall last year when I cut it down to about 18 inches. You could bring it in inside but you probably will have to deal with spider mites all winter. I think it is just easier to keep it outside if possible. I have also heard the people cut them back and leave only the newest leaf growing and then store them in a cool dark place like the basement. If you try that method, you should water very sparingly, maybe only a couple of times during the winter with about a cup of water. I have not tried this method because I have found it very easy to keep it growing in the ground. Good luck!

Linda

I am in zone 7; I cut the leaves off my M. basjoo after frost kills them but leave the pseudostems standing. I pile up mulch and/or unfinished compost and don't do much else. The pseudostems freeze and die to the ground over the winter but then I cut them down in the spring and the plant springs back in no time at all.

Don't know what winters are like in Denmark but if you're truly zone 8, you probably don't need to worry much about winter protection. Depending on how snowy your winters are, waterlogged soil is probably the biggest risk; otherwise a thick layer of a loose or lightweight mulch should be adequate to get it through the winter. The bigger concern is that 40 cm (about 16 inches) tall is still very small and the plant should have put out much more growth by now. With reasonable care a small pup should grow at least 5-6 feet (up to 2 m) in its first growing season.

Anybody in the Brentwood area (94513) trying tropicals? Hibiscus, Bougainvillia, Basjoo, gardenia?
Thanks,
Newcal