Disclaimer: This post shares my personal DIY gardening experience and observations from my own property. It isn’t professional horticultural advice or a guarantee of results — your climate, soil, and growing conditions may produce different outcomes.
I’ve Been Chasing a Tropical Backyard for Years
Ever since I was a teenager, I’ve been drawn to tropical plants — bananas, figs, palms, anything with big, dramatic, evergreen foliage. There’s something about giant leaves swaying after a summer rain that makes a backyard feel like a vacation.
The problem is that we live in the Midwest, in USDA Zone 6b, where winter temperatures can drop below 0°F and occasionally hit around -10°F. That kind of cold will kill most tropicals outright. I tried plenty of them over the years — I even attempted a Chinese windmill palm, which is supposed to be cold hardy, and insulated it carefully, but it still didn’t make it.
After a lot of trial and error, I finally landed on a method that has worked beautifully for years. I enjoy a genuinely tropical garden for roughly eight months out of the year, and I even built two dedicated planters specifically for these plants. Here’s exactly what I do.
Musa Basjoo — The Cold Hardy Banana That Actually Works
In my experience, the one tropical that reliably survives our winters is Musa Basjoo, commonly known as the cold hardy banana tree. It’s a vigorous plant with enormous leaves that completely transform a space.
To be clear, this isn’t an edible banana. It will occasionally set small fruit, but the bananas aren’t worth eating — at least not the ones mine produce. This plant is grown almost entirely for its incredible foliage.
My Biggest Lesson: Protect the Roots, Not the Leaves
The single insight that changed my success rate is this: the plant doesn’t live in the trunk — it lives in the root system. The rhizome and roots spread out widely underground, and that is where the entire plant is stored over winter. Protect that, and it will come back. Lose it, and the plant is gone.
For years I bought banana plants that died simply because I was protecting the wrong part. Once I shifted my focus entirely to insulating the root system, everything changed.
Why I Cut the Trunk Every Fall
Around the middle of October, just before the first hard frost, I cut the trunk down to roughly 2 to 4 inches above the ground — essentially flat. It’s hard to remove such a beautiful trunk and canopy of leaves, but it’s the right move. Some years I’ll even wait until frost takes the plant down and then cut it; the timing matters less than protecting the roots that follow.
My DIY Winter Insulation Method
As soon as I cut the plant back, I insulate the area heavily, building it up in organic layers:
- A thick layer of fallen leaves (fresh and dry — there’s plenty in the fall)
- Several inches of mulch
- Another layer of leaves on top
- The large banana leaves I just cut, laid around the mound — they still hold nutrition as they break down
The finished mound can easily reach 15 inches or more. I deliberately leave it breathable. I used to cover everything with plastic and tarps, but that never worked well for me — the root zone needs air and the ability to shed moisture. Natural materials let rain and air move through while still holding warmth around the rhizome.
The whole goal is simple: insulate the trunk base and the entire root system as thoroughly as you can, because in a Zone 6 winter the temperature can fall hard.
What Didn’t Work for Me
Before I settled on this approach, I tried rigid foam, styrofoam, plastic sheeting, and a handful of other methods. In my conditions, none of them held up — the plants still froze. The organic leaf-and-mulch layering has consistently given me the best long-term results.
I’ll be honest: even with this method, an especially harsh winter occasionally wins. It depends on how cold it gets and how exposed the planting is.
Raised Planters Make It Harder
Mine grow in large raised flower beds I built into the patio, and I insulate them from the inside as well. Raised beds expose the roots to colder temperatures than planting at ground level, so they can still get cold despite my best efforts. If you plant directly in the ground and cover well, your odds of overwintering success are even better.
Spring: Uncover and Let It Go
Once the hard cold has passed — usually late March or April — I pull the insulation away, clean everything off, and let the sun reach the soil again. New shoots start coming up almost immediately. Watching a plant that looked completely dead burst back to life never gets old.
This plant is remarkably resilient. Give it sun and water and it will grow. That really is the whole secret: clear the mulch, let it breathe, let it see the sun, and it takes off.
The Growth Rate Is Incredible
Once warm weather settles in, the growth is explosive — often a couple of feet a month, sometimes more. It takes a little time to establish, usually getting going in May and June, and by July it’s growing rapidly. By October, before the cold returns, mine often reach 10 to 11 feet tall, throwing off a cluster of small pups around the base. It completely changes the atmosphere around our patio and fountain, giving the whole space that lush, tropical feel.
Watering and Fertilizing — Keep It Simple
My care routine is intentionally minimal. The only plant food I give them is Ferti-Lome Root Stimulator. And whenever I plant a new baby, I always start it with Myke Tree & Shrub Inoculant — which isn’t a fertilizer but a mycorrhizal root inoculant that helps the roots establish and take off. That’s really all I use.
Water is what really drives the growth. On hot Kansas days I water every day, because these plants drink heavily. When it’s milder, every other day or every third day is plenty. Consistent water through the heat is what fuels those huge leaves.
If One Doesn’t Survive, Start Again
From time to time a particularly cold winter still takes one out. When that happens, I simply remove the old root system and replace it — either with one of the pups the plant produced or a new Musa Basjoo from a local nursery. They’re affordable and grow so quickly that you recover the lost size within a single season.
My Advice for Zone 6 Gardeners
If you’ve wanted a tropical-looking backyard but assumed it wasn’t possible in the Midwest, don’t give up — just be realistic about which plant to commit to. I’ve tried a lot of tropicals here, and in my experience nothing else has come back year after year the way Musa Basjoo does. Someone with a more sheltered spot may have luck with others, but this is the one that has worked for me.
If you want something affordable, low-maintenance, and genuinely striking, plant a cold hardy banana, protect the roots over winter, and enjoy the show every summer.
Subscribe so you won’t miss the next garden and patio post.
Products I Use
- Ferti-Lome Root Stimulator — the only plant food I give them
- Myke Tree & Shrub Inoculant — mycorrhizal root enhancer I use when planting a new baby
As an Amazon Associate, Homeject earns from qualifying purchases. See our affiliate disclosure.
Related on Homeject: See how these tropicals fit into the rest of our outdoor space in the full Patio section.
Leave a Reply