I just purchased my first Red Abyssinian Banana (Ensete ventricosum 'Maurelli') and have it planted in the ground with lots of amendments - manure, peat and bone meal - as I learned on this forum. Boy is he happy. New leaves already and smiles all around. :)

So here's my question. I live in Jacksonville, Florida, which is located in the northeast corner of the state. Even though yes, it is Florida, we get a couple of hard freezes every year - low of 27.6 this year for several hours. The freezes turn most everything brown and some tender plants freeze back to the roots. When a Maurelli freezes back, assuming it doesn't die, does it basically have to start over each year with new growth from the ground up? So will you have the same height plant - 4-6' - each year? Or will it come back a little bigger each year due to the established roots? What I'm trying to say is, will I ever have an 8' or 10' tall banana? Since it is planted in the ground, I won't be bringing it in, and it will only be heavily mulched for protection, so it will almost certainly get some freeze burn.

Thank you so much in advance!

Carol in Jacksonville