Question
SHOULD I CUT THE TREES IN THE WINTER.  IF SO HOW FAR ABOVE THE GROUND SHOULD I CUT THEM?

THANKS

Answer
Cut the plants down to the ground and cover the area with a thick layer of mulch. Top off the mulch with a layer of strong plastic to provide insulation to keep the roots and soil around them as warm as possible.

Mulch. Once the cold weather has well and truly hit ?the plant has been hit by a first frost and the leaves are all curled with frost. Cut the hardy banana plant to the ground. Do not let those leaves and stems rot as the rot will go to the roots. Do not mulch right away but let the cool weather tell the plant that it is indeed winter. Once you抳e had a serious frost, then mulch.

The trick is to cover it with a solid six to eight inches of mulch (but more ?up to twelve inches in colder areas is good too). Use straw or peat moss.

The second thing in cold climates where you抮e going to have a spring thaw before you have spring (think melting snow and ice and then refreezing) is to cover this mulch with a plastic sheet or something to keep the mulch dry. This is why peat is good ?the top inch or so might get soaked but because it resists wetting, the bottom will stay dry.

The objective is to keep the damp away from the root to prevent rotting. Wet mulch on top of a root is not a good thing to have.

In the early spring, before growth starts, remove the plastic, remove the mulch (or most of it anyway) and let the plant come back when the ground warms up.