For everyone to see, here are my banana stories with pictures to boot as well. In the pictures you see, you will see a white pot with a bunch of banana plants in them. These are the SDC bananas that I am currently overwintering this year in the basement. The biggest of the bunch is in the ground, is also a SDC. Read more in these threads. Early summer thread with pictures CLICK HERE. Late summer thread with pictures CLICK HERE. gila, yes, you can overwinter the SDC in an unheated attic, but just be sure that the attic temperature does NOT go below freezing or get cold enough for water to freeze. Also, the KEY is to not water it and make sure that there is NO light. Minimize the light whenever possible. Cut off all the leaves, except the newest one so that you minimize photosynthesis in the plant and save then energy in the corm. I bring out my bananas after all danger of frost has passed. Usually in late April or early May. The SDC was about 2 years old. Last year I left the plant in the ground and did not dig it up. Since I have another 6 stemed SDC in a pot, that's why I let it die. The thing got to be around 4 feet tall with huge, very nice green leaves. It started out being about 8 inches tall in the spring. It never did fruit. SDC are very hard to fruit, IHO. hockeyplayer, I doubt your plant will completely die. As for the psuedostem, cut off anything that is dead, including the leaves and parts of the stem. What I think is happening to your banana is that you may be watering a little too much and the plant isn't getting enough sunlight. Your banana will pup like crazy over the winter. I use those to plant in the ground in the spring, leaving one pup in a pot to repopulate next years banana. If you have room in the yard, I suggest you try to plant them in the ground over the summer. Take the remaining pup in the fall and store it in a cool dark dry place until winter and not water it or bother with it until spring. BTW, I played hockey as well. Here in the states, and also in Canada in the Niagra Falls area.

Thanks, but it shouldn't be a shock issue. It has been growing in the same spot in the same conditions for about three years.

kclost: Not sure. But the general rule for ALL pesticides is -- don't spray when temps are above 80F OR when the sum of the temp and the humidity is >140. I know in the midwest that's tough to do with weeks on end being high temps AND humidity. What I do during those times of the year is try to find a break when it's going to be low 80's max for a few days and spray in the evening. My reasoning behind this is I know the pesticide gets degraded as the days go by and hopefully by the time the temps start to rise again, it's degraded enough to not cause foliage harm. Agree with Mark. As long as conditions improve, the plants do too. Kevin

I'm leaning towards painted/stained floors with throw rugs. I know it's cold but fun can be had with all the acid staining type swirly colors (can be more subtle or as wild as you like) and if you get the right kind it's not going to have issues. Depending on how all else is decorate or designed, it can be appropriate looking for an old look, a mid-century look, a loft or industrial look or just something plain modern. It won't be warm and a glass cup could shatter but with a few cool throw rugs, some heat added in some form or another and attention drawn elsewhere, it *can* be a relatively inexpensive and trendy solution that's durable, mildew-free and doesn't hide scary stuff. It also doesn't add hight. You can even have lines drawn on it that make it look like wooden planks or tile (!). Here are some examples of stained floors: http://www.stainedconcrete.org/gallery1colors.html