QUESTION: I was given a rather large banana tree by a woman who says she puts hers in the basement to winter over, and then replants them outside in spring. My basement ceiling is too low for it. Can I just cut it back to the last emerging leaf?ANSWER: Hand-me-down plants are wonderful, but most times they come without enough information. There are numerous banana species, some much hardier than others, thus having different needs. To be safe, let's assume yours is not one of the hardier ones.Note that banana plants are not trees. They have what is called a pseudostem rising from a corm or rhizome, which gives a clue about dormancy and what can be cut back (crocus and gladiolus also grow from corms, iris and hedychium from rhizomes). You can cut the pseudostem as short as a foot or two above the soil line; one Pennsylvania banana grower I know cuts his to 4 feet.Place the pot in a cool basement and keep from drying out - putting it in a sealed large trash bag will help retain moisture. Some growers remove the plants from pots or flower beds and place them horizontally, wrapping the roots and soil in burlap and again keeping them from drying out.Gardeners in the North are finding that growing banana plants among the iris and daylilies is quite doable, if you have the right one. Musa basjoo is one of the hardiest bananas, reputedly capable of surviving minus-3 degrees, colder if in a protected and mulched situation.

QUESTION: People have told me that to root forsythia I can just take a piece and place it in the ground and it will sprout. I prefer to place cuttings in water and get a little root before planting them. Have you found success with the first method?ANSWER: Forsythia roots easily, and if you hurry you may be able to get some going now (the best time is late autumn through early winter).But first, check around an established forsythia and see if it has done the work for you on its own. Often, when long stems of forsythia are left unpruned for several seasons, they arc over to the ground and take root. If you find some self-layers, as they are called, wait until the brunt of winter is past, then sever from the main plant, dig, and plant where desired.To propagate by cuttings, fall is better, but there's no reason not to try now (but don't delay; once the plant's buds are swelling, it's too late). Cut stems about eight inches in length, selecting younger ones less than pencil thick. (In fall, you should be sure to select stems that have hardened; at this point, unhardened portions will have shriveled, so only hardened ones will be available.)Cut the tips off just above a leaf node. Trim the bottoms just below a node. A powdered rooting hormone, available at garden centers, may be used, but forsythia really doesn't need it. A porous soil or medium is best.If the ground is not frozen and you have a spot in the garden that's protected from wind and hot midday sun, and is well drained, use a spade to make a 6-inch deep slit in the soil. Insert the prepared cuttings so that three-fourths of their length is below the surface, spacing them 3 inches apart. Firm the soil around the cuttings, and water. Leave them in place until next fall, being sure to keep them watered all summer.It may be easier to root them in pots; fill a pot with a mixture of some soil and a porous medium (commercial potting soil and perlite, for instance). Tamp it down lightly, use a pencil or chopstick to make a hole, and insert the cutting. Depending on the size of the pot, you can get four or more in.Water and place in a protected place; easiest would be along the north side of a building or solid fence. Make sure they do not dry out, since eaves may prevent the rain from reaching them.

QUESTION: Many years ago, I brought back a ginger plant from Hawaii. It goes outside in the warmer weather and inside in my sunroom in the cold weather. It has wonderful fragrant white flowers. Is the root of this ginger plant the same as the edible roots we use in cooking?ANSWER: No. Please do not eat it.What you probably have is Hedychium coronarium, a tropical that is unhelpfully called ginger lily by retailers and Southern gardeners.H. coronarium has long been grown in the South, where it will survive winter in the ground. Lately, some stunning colorful varieties have become available, but they are less hardy and many lack fragrance.I grow white H. coronarium and a pastel orange one in the ground, in the way caladiums, elephant ears, and other tender bulbous or rhizomatous plants are treated. I lift the rhizomes after first frost, putting some in soil in the cold frame and a couple in pots for indoors, and giving the rest away, since the rhizomes double every year. Hedychiums prefer light shade, soil with lots of organic matter, and generous watering. They bloom quite late - some years I have cut the buds before a freeze warning, and they open inside.Culinary ginger, Zingiber officinale, is related to hedychium, but not particularly attractive.Send your gardening questions to Michael Martin Mills, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Box 8263, Philadelphia, PA 19101, or send e-mail to: Millsm@phillynews.com