I never do anything to any banana till after the first 'killing" frost. I leave basjoos alone & let the dead leaves serve as extra insulation to the pseudostem. I never clean them up until late feb, early march when new growth starts to appear. Its probably not necessary but if we have forecasted temps below 15F I do throw a few inches of mulch around them just to be safe. All other bananas I cut off at the top of the ground and lay a large garbage bag over the cut pseudostem & then mulch heavily (at least 6 - 8 inches). The garbage bag will help keep out excess moisture & prevent rot.

I think the reason for damping off is due to bacteria or fungi that the tiny plants really can't cope with. It has happened alot for me last spring. Especially with sikkimensis and ornata. Here's what I have figured out: -Try using as sterile equipment as possible. Put soil in the microwave a few minutes before you use it. - Make sure light is good. Forget what they say about "no direct sunlight", bananas love light and that's all there is to it. As the tiny plant puts out new leaves, it will grow stronger and stronger. - Try to keep humidity high as well as circulating air. A small fan in the room/greenhouse will suffice. A banana seedlings (or any bananas') worst enemy is dry and hot air combined with low levels of light. Good luck to you! Erlend

Not enough light? Not enough 'food' (fertilizer)? I bet they don't like being that close to your fence even though you do have it painted white to maximise light levels. Bananas generally like growing out in the open, with lots of sunlight from morning to evening! -just a thought or two..

Hi Wxman: Your Orinocco bananas look like they are slowly starting to sprout out. You might help them by temporarily pulling back that lighter-colored mulch and letting sunshine warm the dirt right around them. If you're Really Devoted, put the mulch back around them at night to help hold that warmth in! As for your palms, even the little guy that's so fried looks like he's got a good spear point starting out from the center. As with the bananas, I'd pull that mulch away in the day. And if those older leaf stems are dead, I'd cut them away and consider putting a little tomato cage or something around the plant itself. After all, you don't want someone to walk into it because they can't see the little bit that's left. But if you leave all those branches to just wrack in the wind, that can be hard on a little palm trying to get itself rooted into its new world. Best of luck; you are a devoted soul after my own heart, and I know only too well what it's like to struggle to grow plants from other zones! ~J.