This is absolutely stunning. Growing bananas in a Chicago summer! You've done the impossible. Hope you get all this well documented. I don't know if anybody in the past has done that before. Perhaps some university extension might have already done that in their greenhouse? I presume this plant has already given off some pups. Are you going to do the same with the them? Thanks for sharing the pics--congrats and a job well done. Look forward to more pics.

dig em' real nicely so you get as much roots as possible. I dont think it will kill them,it might slow them a bit though. i suggest planting them 3-5 feet apart since they are dwarf. could you post pics?

Pitangadiego's info is helpful. I took this risk of transplanting my Kru to a more protected area in my garden. It was 10 ft from base of stem to tip of leaves and the pseudostem itself was about 6 ft. I had to take this risk of relocating it because the mother plant died early this year leaving this baby to thrive on. It was on the northside of my yard and the mother plant did not take the cold spell well. This was about a month ago. I didn't know if it was going to survive. At first, the older leaves started to droop and turn yellowish, but today I went out to check on it and was surprised with the progress it has made (picture attached). Kru (the taller one shown in this picture) after the relocation: New leaf growth So, I think it should be ok to try, though I'm not so sure whether it would reestablish itself quickly with your forthcoming mild winter. If there's global warming again this year, maybe it will be fine, but as pitangadiego said, worst case scenario, the plant dies back and most likely throws out some pups when the weather gets warmer. Either way, I think it would be better than chopping off your plant now for it may survive transplanting it whole. All the best!

It's not at all unusual that bananas that fruit in zone 9 don't produce a lot of hands. It's more of a timing issue. When I have a banana that makes it through a mild winter and fruits in April or May, I will get a lot of hands of bananas; otherwise, it almost always going to be a smaller bunch. How much water and fertilizer do you provide it during the summer growing season? Steve