i live in ohio usa. my daughter was given a bannana tree about 4 ft tall. she was told it is one year old. as winter is approaching our area, how do i care for this plant. i have several elephant ear plants that i cut at the base and bring the root bulb inside for winter. are these plants treated the same?

We use to have banana trees at a previous home and to winter them we would cut them off at the base and bring them inside. We live in Georgia so I know your winters are even worse. They are greats plants to have. Every spring we would take them back outside and replant them in the same spot. Once or twice over the summer we sould make a mild feeding solution by taking about a handfull (small hands) of 10-10-10 in a five gallon bucket and fill the rest with water. The plants sometime grew as high as 20ft. We even had bananas on them sometimes. They were small and unedible but they were pretty. Remember that they also keep water stored inside of themselves and they are hard to kill. Only pure neglect will kill banana trees.

Hi Gwen,
I also live in Georgia and have a bannana plant that has really taken off this year. I kept it in a pot last winter when it was only about 4 feet tall but this year it has grown to about 25 feet out in my back yard. I really want to assure it's survival but it is huge and I can't take it inside. Please explain in detail what you do to yours in the winter. I'm afraid to put it in my basement because I had some plants to rot that way one year. Also, it has several small plants that i would like to seperate and move to a different location. Any hints on the best way to do this? Any advice would be greatly apprecitated.