Question
Nick,

Great site.

I live in Allen, Texas.  I have 2 outdoor, potted banana trees, which I don't know the type but I bought them at Home Depot Landscaping store in March of 2007.  They seemed to be doing just fine until Dec, 2007 when we got our first freeze (not frost).  I didn't have the pots or ground covered in any way.  The freeze caused the leaves to completely wilt and turn brownish & purple.  After reading your site, I immediately covered the ground around the plants with towels and trimmed all leaves back to the stalk.  The stalks are now turning a brownish, black color.  How do I know if I killed it?  What should be my next course of action?

I also have an outdoor, potted Palm, which I don't know the type.  The stalk is wrapped in burlap and seems to have survived our freezes.  My question for it is how much do you water it during the winter?

Thanks for the help.

Brett


Answer
From your description, I'm afraid the banana is toast, but the palm should be ok, but don't water it until it starts showing new growth, or you will rot the rootsystem, when a plant is stressed, it isn't actively growing, and the water will just sit at the roots and rot them. The banana would have been ok if the corm was protected, but you said it wasn't, so I'm inclined to think the roots froze too, which is indicated by the pseudostem turning brown. Nick