I was NOT expecting a "freezing" temp last night so I thought my dwarf cavendish banana was safe in the open garage for one night. I awoke at 4 this morning and the temp was 31.7.
Raced downstairs and brought the plant in. If it is bit - will it necessarily be dead !
charlotte
a cold banana...
It got a lot colder through the state than I expected too. I had ice on my mailbox this morning and some on the car. We only partially covered our remaining plants last night because they said frost danger was over. I didn't see any frost on the ground, but the ice concerned me.
Hope your banana is alright. I left my own basjoo uncovered outside, so I'm hoping I didn't kill it back too.
The dwarf Cavendish should be fine if Plant Files is correct about it's hardiness--it's hardy to zone 9a where temperatures can dip below freezing sometimes so I doubt if one night at 31F would even bother it. And the basjoo should be fine as well, it's hardy to zone 6 or 7 so unless your temps were getting down to the single digits or below zero it should be fine.
I grew my dwarf cavendish outside in Columbia and it made it through several winters just fine. If your plant is established it should lose a few leaves and bounce right back.
John, stop worrying about that Basjoo; you can't kill it.
Thank you both so much. I am really not a tropical person (just no room here) so I was upset to think I had let my banana get killed after having to step around it in the kitchen for 4 days !!
charlotte
I think it will be fine.