What plants would do well in a "buried in leaves" winterized banana circle?

Hey everyone!

I'm in central Georgia 8A/8B and I started experimenting last year with the technique of surrounding them with chicken wire and 5 feet of leaves to get them through the winter.

It didn't work, but we also had that Christmas freeze. And I realized the spot I placed them becomes a wind tunnel. And I miscalculated how low the sun gets in the winter, so they were a lot more shaded than I expected. While they did survive, I'm going to want to plant some elsewhere.

I am also trying Moringa this year and looking into its winterization, I'm noticing its the same thing: wrap it in chicken wire and mulch.

So this has me thinking.... should I just do a banana circle polyculture? If I can find a collection of plants that respond well to being buried in several feet of leaves, I could just mulch over the entire thing each winter and have a collection of zone pushed plants.

There are quite a few cultivars that will survive zone8 without any extra work.

GRANDE NAIN:
A cultivar of Cavendish, this is Chiquita's favorite. The name refers to its relative height, as distinguished from the Giant Cavendish and the Dwarf Cavendish. The leaves often become torn or tattered from the wind. Its name is French for "Large Dwarf".

Grand Nain grows from 6-8' tall and can produce 40-60lbs of fruit at a time. It likes a somewhat acidic soil pH of 5.8-6.2. Grows in full sun to partial sun in zones 8-11.

DWARF CAVENDISH:
At 6-7' average height, this banana is one of the shortest of the Cavendish bananas. Expect up to 8' in a greenhouse, and even 10' outdoors in South Florida. Juvenile leaves will have some reddish-purple markings, but later more mature leaves will be all green. Fast growing. Winters well indoors. Grows in zones 8-11.

'Pisang Ceylon' LADY FINGERS:
Pisang Ceylon 'Lady Fingers' is the most common variety grown by Dole and used for their 'Baby Dole' or mini banana. It is an improved 'Mysore' banana. It is one of the best tasting Lady Fingers in the world, and the most popular variety grown in India.

Also known as 'Sugar Bananas', the fruits are quite sweet and only 4-5" long.

S B, do you know of anyone doing so successfully? The only folks I've managed to find in my research growing them unprotected are barely into 8b, pushing 9. And they still lose a lot in colder winters. I feel it would be inverse for me: losing them a lot winters and only surviving the mild ones.

Plus, if I already do the work to push the zone with other plants, why not bananas? I love bananas.

DWARF CAVENDISH takes 9month to harvest, so it's winter kill safe.