How to winterize your bananas and cannas

When there have been a few frosts your bananas or cannas will look scary!

Once they look like this it's time to winterize them before the ground freezes.

Here's how to do it (the proceure is the same for both cannas and bananas):

Step 1: Move any mulch away from the base of the stems.

Step 2: Cut the stems off! It may seem drastic, but it'll be OK! Next spring the new leaves will emerge from the center, bigger than ever!

Step 3: Cover the stems with a few inches of mulch. Mix in some leaf litter so that there is some air circulation. The stems will weep fluid for a few days that could cause rot if there was no air circulation.

Step 4: Uncover in late spring! You'll probably see a little green starting to poke up through the middle of the stems you cut off!