Question
QUESTION: Greetings,

I have a five foot red banana tree in front of the house here in south west Florida. We had a bad frost here this winter, and we lost a lot of plants. The banana tree looked all brown, and droopy, I cut away the dead leaves, several weeks have passed, and it is just getting darker, and if I squeeze the  trunk it feels soft and fibrous, is it dead?
Can It be saved?
There is also a fishy smell coming from it, is it rotting?
There is a small sapling coming up next to it, should I relocate this to a safer area?
If i do remove the originally tree, will I harm the sapling?

Please advise.

~M in North Port Florida

ANSWER: Hi Mat, I am in Port Charlotte, so I know what you have gone through, you need to cut the trunk back  about halfway from the ground; if the Corm (underground root system) is still viable, then new growth will commence from the center of the cut, and this will happen within a week. The "sapling" is what is known as a pup and is a new plant emerging from the Corm. Wait and watch after cutting it back, I think you will be amazed at the resilience of your Banana. Be patient! ...Nick

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks Nick,
Glad to know your so close!
When you say to cut it back halfway, it sounds like your saying cut it in half... is that right?
Thanks again Nick

Answer
Yes, normally you would just cut off the damaged leaves etc. but when a Banana is severely compromised like yours, then it needs to be cut "in half", and new growth will come right out of the center of the cut and within days; a Banana will continue to try to grow, until it produces fruit, then it will die back, but the underground Corm will continue to send out new plants to replace the ones that die. Don't worry, your Banana will be fine, and even if the Mother doesn't fare well, new plants will emerge as the  weather gets warmer. Mine (and I have many different varieties...) were also melted from the freeze, and they are all doing just fine now.