Agree, also I don't think there is another species that looks like that in GA. A more recent name for it is Diphasiastrum digitatum.

Would you say you have dense shade or partial shade? If it is dense (less than 2 hours of sun would be my definition), grass is not going to do well. Fescue is actually one of the most shade tolerant grasses. Zoysia would probably be something to consider, but not as tolerant as fescue for shade. Fescue is available in sod and would best be planted in fall because it thrives in cool weather and would establish better then. Fescue will struggle a bit during the hottest and driest months, but that may be a trade off you have to take. Consider installing a minimal irrigation system if it is that important to you. I was just discussing with my neighbor his poor shady, fescue lawn. It looks awful and is very sparse. He doesn't use the lawn area for anything, so I was encouraging him to get rid of some of it so he doesn't have to keep spending energy trying to make it work. Of course limbing up some of the bigger trees to let more light into the area is something to consider. That would make the grass growing effort a bit more successful. A professional tree company could advise you on that once you explain the situation. Here is a link that might be useful: Lawns in Georgia

If you want the banana to get big, put it in the ground. Amend the soil a bit with sand & top soil and maybe mix in a slow release fertilizer like Osecote 14-14-14. Also add miracle grow once a week to your watering...Bananas love water and fert...Oh, if you are going to pot it, don't use the liquid fert as much...If its a cold hardy banana like musa basjoo, you can leave it out all year. It may die back after a hard frost but will come back bigger and better in the spring... even up here in Ohio. Mine have grown about 3 feet already...Good luck!

With a good layer of leaves as mulch and not trimming down the the branches until February or March, my pineapple sage returned for 4 years (until I forgot to mulch it and we had an extremely cold winter!) That was in zone 7a with occasional lows down to 9 degrees. It does take them a long time to show life in the spring - sometimes it is juts easier to buy a new one. In years that I've bought a new one after I've given up and of course the next week the old one showed some life, they both end up about the same size and would bloom at the same time. Good luck!