So is there a good way to overwinter these plants in a garage? A local garden was pulling some out to compost them and I claimed one. I'll probably get it out of the trunk of my car tomorrow (it is heavy and is in a big nursery pot that is hard to get out. They cut it back to just above the soil line and I have the whole root/rhizome clump. Is it at all feasible to keep dormant over the winter (and if so how)
Absolutely! The best way will likely be to haul it into the garage and put it along the portion of the garage that's attached to the house (if it's an attached garage) or if not, then on the South wall - you're looking for the warmest spot in the garage for it. Wrap the pot in burlap, and water it about once a month, very sparingly - basically when it's dry to the depth of your second knuckle. Then, once the frost is gone, you can plant it into the garden and start watering more regularly once you start to see growth. Be warned - Ensete ventricosum (which is what your plant is) gets REALLY big, even in a single season. I have a friend in New Jersey who is cursing his, because it's 20 feet tall and must weigh half a ton. However, it's also a completely stunning plant and well worth the bit of effort it takes to overwinter it.
Thanks, I hope I can keep it alive over the winter. I've heard the corms are edible and would like to propagate it and eat the excess.... though keeping it alive over the winter is the first order of business- actually getting it out of the trunk of my car is the first order of business.
Propagation with Ensete is most often by seed, rather than offsets (it's unique among the Musaceae this way - it doesn't produce pups unless it's under an undue amount of stress, and even then only rarely.) However, once you've brought the plant to flowering and collected the seeds, the resultant corm is an excellent source of protein and starches.
