I have been growing banana trees for about 10 years. I always have a bunch of bananas at the end of the growing season. I take the banana stalk and put it upside down in a bucket of water and wait until the bananas ripen, about Christmas. I take up the whole tree and put in a box in my basement over the winter and replant in mid May. I have trees that grow to 12 feet tall regurally ever year. I do enjoy the tropical look of my garden of banana trees. I grow some on my patio and some in the ground around my patio. My neighbor, J.B. Kendall, makes banana pudding from his around about Christmas. A very enjoyable hobby even though it calls for a lot of back braking work.