It's hard to tell without knowing your exact climate, but as long as there are no more overnight freezes, there's no need to protect the root-zone from a freeze.

Thanks for the info, but I believe its too late. I uncovered both of my banana trees that I mulched heavily with straw last fall and to my shock and horror, I believe they are toast. They were all soggy and gross. I am still in denial and hoping that they will snap out of it but I am sure its pointless. I guess I did something wrong last fall. I waited until the first frost, cut them down, put a wire cage around them, then crammed them with straw. And I do mean crammed. I thought for sure this would be enough. I uncovered them to find the mush. Our last frost date is not until the end of April, beginning of May but I thought I would uncover them to let some light and warmth in, and then recover lightly each night. Should I give up on them? Thanks again.

I am in Zone 7 and I uncovered my Basjoo and found the base of the stalk and it was completely full of water and mushy as well. This tree was purchased at Lowes last year and advertised it to be hardy to -25. I think the coldest this winter got to was 21 or so. I am just hoping for some babies to appear but I do not know when to expect them. At this time the Basjoo was supposed to be a remergent cornerstone in my garden so I was hoping to see them before June 1st since that is when I hang up the shovel until Mid October.

I know they grow in the ground here since I see them a few miles away from my house growing rampant between 2 homes much later in the summer.

Only time will tell I guess. If this one is dead I will buy another and plant it somewhere else just to try again.

I wouldn't give up. I don't have hardy bananas but do have a tropical variety that froze when I lost power to the GH for 3 days last winter. The plant turned into mush so I cut it back. The corms were also mushy. I just stuck it in the back of the GH intending to toss it in the compost pile. I finally got around to clearing out the dead plants a couple weeks ago and noticed new growth.

We've only shopped at Lowes once, since the nearest store is about 25 miles away. So, I really don't know whether or not plant tag ID's are accurate.

Living in zone 5, I find the most hardy banana is Musa Basjoo. There are a few others they call hardy, but hardy to where? Fl? GA? For those of us who live in z6 and under, our best bet is Basjoo.

I think it's best to uncover leaves when days are longer and night temps are 40F and higher. They'll grow under mulch, but foliage will be limp and pale.

2008/9 has been really icy. I'm praying my banana grows this year. So far nothing, but they are late sprouters. I know not to expect growth until, at the miniumum, mid-May. So for those who removed mulch and found limp growth, if temps are above freezing, might as well keep it off.
BTW, bananas, even though they have inedible fruit, are sun-lovers. If your temps are higher than 50F, perhaps a low-dose of fertilizer might promote new, stronger growth.
I use a banana fertilizer bought at Ebay. It's slow-release. Just sprinkle and water. Toni

Don't worry I planted mine three years ago as long as they are covered in leaves or mulch they will come back last year was very rough on them they didn't get as tall but they seem to come back even though they seem mushy and toast

Have faith

The bananas grown here in FL almost always come back without any covering when the weather warms up, but this covering and uncovering can be rather tricky, even here in FL. The problem is that the night temp and the day temp can be drastically different. With the sun heating it up in the day, the plant can easy perspire profusely ... resulting in the mushiness when the cover is on. You would have to monitor the heat and humidity level constantly to make sure what's right for the plant which I think it's rather tedious and maybe next to impossible?

My experience with the covering is mainly with my coconut tree which is sensitive to the cold here. I thought I was doing it a favor to cover it during the colder days, but fact is I often have not kept up with uncovering it when the day temperature rises. There are two problems I have experienced in this covering thing. Firstly, the mini heater which I use under the cover, while able to warm the plant up actually produces the side effects of drying up the plant as the humidity level is lowered, thus causing it to get toasted. In the day time, whenever I forgot to uncover, the plant perspires and gets mushy. Right now, I think my coconut tree might be dead.

That said, bananas behave a little differently. Since the comb is the most important part of the plant, as long as they remain protected, even the whole stem is destroyed, it still will come back rather readily. Some people refer to bananas as a kind of grass, so they're can bounce back as with other grasses ... lol. But, I do understand that in minus zero, anything can get damaged quickly. For now, I would cut away all the damaged parts and continue covering it with a layer of thick straw/mulch. Otherwise, if you want to make sure that it will definitely survive the Winter, you can also dig the comb out and store it indoor where the temp is not so harsh. Put it in a large enough pot and cover it with dirt. When the comb starts to send out new shoots as the weather warms up, you can then plant it to the ground again. Would love to see your bananas come back for ya :)

That is very typical if no christmas lights/ heating cable are used here in zone 5b. I used to grow them in ground outside for 3 or 4 years.

It might send up pups in May. I would keep the area covered with a small tarp. If you wanted to see if it is still alive before may you can big around where the stems were and find out if the corm is still solid. Remember to cover it all back up if you choose to do this. Best of luck, they are even nicer the second year!

When can I uncover my musa basjoo? its April 10 and our last frost date is around May 20. However, it is very unlikely we will get much cold. My plants are about 12 inches below ground and I am not worried about the top getting some frost bite if I can get them growing early. Will the corm still be affected if I uncover now?