It will take a while to settle in and grow a good root system, so don't expect too much growth this year. I've never started with one that large, but I'll make a wild guess of somewhere between 6 and 10 feet, depending on how big a shock the move was, and how much you fertilize. Use your regular fertilizer at full-strength per the label. I like to use Osmocote time release and supplement with half-strength MiracleGro liquid every few weeks, but that might be a bit much for one that's just been planted. Some people swear by organics or even lawn fertilizer.

I'm new to bananas, just trying to grow my first, so I don't have "the" answer. Hopefully someone else will. That said, I think I read somewhere, probably on this forum, that when a banana suddenly starts putting out smaller leaves, it's about ready to flower. Don't take my word for it though, I may be wrong. :)

Greetings Laura, Briefly, after the first good frost, cut off all your leaves and spray the entire pseusdostem with COPPER based fungicide then wrap the stem in burlap. Then I would build a simple cage a foot or two around the stem and fill with DRY straw or other types of mulch. Afterwards, cover everything with plastic or a tarp to keep everything dry. In regards to keeping a potted plant outdoors, I would strongly discourage this as potted plants are more susceptible to the cold even if you mulch heavily. If you like I could show you some pics of my crude wintering process. Regards Phil

That's not good news Turquoise. I read they are hardy, with mulch, to zone 5. Even read (unconfirmed) reports of someone in zone 4 growing them. Of course all this gets me thinking that perhaps zone 3 is a possibility. Not likely I guess. Anyways, apparently there are other ways to overwinter, such as storing the plant in a cold room, or trying to grow it as a houseplant over winter. I did this with my ensete (Abyssinian Banana) last winter. Put it in a north window (the only window available), watered sparingly (very sparingly, I thought the plant would wilt though it never did), sprayed with neem oil once in a while to ward off bugs, and made sure the heating vent didn't blow hot dry air on it. To my surprise it survived winter, though any growth it gets over winter is basically weak and easily damaged when trying to get the plant used to outdoors again (but the new outdoor growth is healthy). I guess it's sort of like the cold storage method, as long as the corm survives (by whatever method) the plant will send up new nicer growth. Glen