Ed, i dont know how that process works but i have brought in fig plant before and it lost its leaves but i dont think it goes Fully dormant like in my garage but like a semi dormant where it does not grow or anything which i dont think is a proper rest, along with that each year i bring in my potted oleander and jasmine plants from outdoors into home and they always lose there leaves and do the same that the fig tree i once brought in then. In spring i do the same as with fig trees ( bring in and out )and they wake up. Personally i think a Prolonged cold spell could spell death for the one on balcony but afer seeing my garage temps last year for a good while (several weeks) in the teens with no sunlight to speak of as they were covered with bed sheets i think if properly stored on balcony it would be ok because we do get days in winter that do fluctuate enough as opposed to a place that stays cold period like say a MI upper pennisula in winter. Gong back to what i said Prolonged cold spell could spell death for the one on balcony, from reading the forums about folks northeast like in New York who have seen trees around neighborhood that are good size and therfore cannot be winter covered i can bet every so many years that plant does get harmed but because of its root system will grow back pretty fast and may not produce like the year before but will produce somewhat and be back to size the year after. Then it may take another 10 years for that 1 real cold winter to do that cycle all over again. Like Tapla said once root freeze thats it for plant and im sure it can do that quicker in a pot than inground because of limited root size in pot than inground. So in short i think the plant will survive on balcony but a good enough cold winter which will happen here every so often will kill the plant one winter, last winter Might have been the one if that plant was out there even protected in its pot. Best Health Martin

joenflowermound, I just joined and i know it's been a 1 1/2 years since your inquiry but for what it's worth i have had banana trees since about 95/96 and my mother tree came from all places from our in laws in tennessee! i have learned a lot since that first tree; one, i have cut them back to within a foot of the ground and i have left them as they were and it didn't matter they came back i have chosen to just leave them as they are pull all the leaves off in early spring lop off about 2 ft and beleive me they will do fine; second, split off as many offshoots as you want in the early spring make sure you use a very sharp cutting tool most people including my self use a sharp shooter make sure you have at least 3 or more roots on the one you remove i know there are some that disagree with this but i have accidently separated one last year without any roots and for funzies i put in a small bucket of water and it grew roots and leafed out!;third, if you want to spend the money for the fancy dancy specilized fertilizer go ahead but i have use the old reliable miracle gro and by mid summer my back yard looks just like the caribean islands (the 3 palm trees help); fourth, by now you have figured it out banana trees love the sun the more the merrier; fifth, i have a sprinkler system and around the palm and banana trees i use soaker hoses and they get watered every 4th day and do great; sixth, the banana tree i have and more than likely you do as well is called a plaintin banana they get about 6" long and for cooking when ready to pick you can split the banana in half (lengthway) smuther in butter, sprinkle sinnamin and sugar on it bake for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees remove the meat from the skin and either eat with a fork or make you a nanner sandwich by the way did you know that when you heard of Elvis Presly eating a nanner sandwich this is what he was eating! we learned while visiting Graceland Elvis was that just about everything Elvis ate was fried! and finally if you wish to learn more contact the 'county extension office' in ft worth and they will send you information on this subject or any other subject dealing with plants in texas if your curious about your soil you can request a soil sampling kit they come in 2 varieties low cost and high cost (it's been over 15 years but the last time i did this it cost me about $15 for the basic and it was about $30 for the more extensive but i imagine it cost a lot more now). I hope this helps oh! one other thing banana trees grown in north texas love high acid soil.

Hi everyone! Yes I am still here, unfortunately I have had to deal with some personal problems which did NIT allow me to come here and reply.... 1) No we don't have a separate room where we can put the cats. The layout of the apartment just is not conducive to it. 2) We are going to wrap the pot, pull it back into the corner where it will be protected and wrap with burlap the top. and make a not permanent version of a 'greenhouse' with plastic and wood. We also can't get lights to it, we are also thinking of bringing it in to the basement, one of our neighbors said we can put it in a spot with her plants which include a hibiscus and an olive for the winter. 3) I have another question, the fruits, the ones that are on the plant, what do I DO with them over the winter, do I wrap them? or do I take them off? Thanks for all the tips. It did really help.

Final update: the fig held over in the garage is now outside permanently (will pull it back in if we get a late freeze), leafing out and has several breba figs already! I had unwrapped it March 31, but I didn't bring it outside, just gave it some water now and again, and left the garage door open for short periods a few times a week. I started bringing it out fully into sun about 10 days ago, and left it out permanently about 6 days ago. The younger smaller fig that was held in my basement started leafing out in February, so I brought it upstairs and gave it some water. It rapidly put on about a foot of growth with 4-5 leaves, then stalled. I figured that it wasn't getting enough light (even with the south facing window, as the sun gets higher less direct light gets in) so started with the inside-outside dance, the plan being putting it out in the shade for short periods at first, then lengthening its time outside, then giving it more exposure to sun gradually. It hasn't been happy; it lost a couple of the lower leaves and others were sunburned even in the shade! The new growth remains weak and spindly. It has pushed out another leaf on each stem, but those are developing much more slowly. The in-ground fig had some green buds when I unwrapped it, but by the time we got those two overnight freezes two weeks ago, those had turned brown and dried. Despite that, I did cover it for the freeze nights. I do still see a tiny bit of green color low down on a couple of young stems that had the buds but most of the stems look dead. I'm hoping that it will start to push out some new growth from those few. I'll be watching for a sale on DCarch's panels.