Protecting Cold Hardy Bananas Over Winter.

Protecting cold hardy bananas over winter allows them to develop and maintain a stem.  Ultimately this can lead to the production of flowers and fruit.  For this task you will need:

1. Chicken wire
2. Straw
3. Horticultural fleece.
4.Clothes pegs.
5. Decorative covering (optional but highly recommended.)

As the onset of winter approaches you will need to keep an eye on the weather forecasts.  You will need to have your bananas wrapped before the first frosts.  Very minor and brief frosts can be handled but it is a risky game with high stakes.  It is a good idea to have all the necessary equipment on your premises.  In the unlikely event that the weather forecasters get it wrong and you have only a few hours left for protecting your cold hardy bananas, you will at least not have to worry about finding all the stuff.

1. select your plant. In this case, an eye clearly was not kept peeled for the weather forecast.  The plant sustained minor frost burns which made removing the remaining leaves less emotional.	Frost singed Musa sikkimensis
2. Remove the leaves.	Leafless stems of Musa Sikkimensis
3. Make chicken wire frames to surround the trunks.   Mulch the roots with manure.  Soil borne beasties will pull the goodness into the soil, ready to feed your emerging plant in the spring.	Wire frames awaiting straw
4. Pack straw around the trunks.	Straw filled frames
5. Add a second chicken wire frame and pack these with straw.  Continue upwards until all the stems are covered. Forming a frame around each individual stem is less straw intensive.  The frames can be placed accurately over the stems.  Straw can then be packed uniformly around each stem. If a single frame is made around all the stems there tends to be a huge amount of straw in the middle insulating nothing more than the odd rodent.  The outside of the frame also has relatively little straw.	Nearly there