Overwintering Elephant Ears and Banana Trees
Elephant Ears and Banana Plants bring a tropical feel to the landscape with their large, dramatic foliage. Grown in the ground or in containers, many varieties can be enjoyed year after year when given the right growing conditions and winter protection.
Freezing temperatures and heavy frost can quickly turn their beautiful foliage dark brown or black. But don’t assume the entire plant is dead! Depending on the variety and the severity of the winter, the underground portions of the plant may survive and produce new growth once warm weather returns.
Will They Come Back After a Freeze?
For cold-hardy varieties, damaged foliage may die completely to the ground while the underground roots, rhizomes, corms, or pups remain alive. Once the soil warms in spring, new growth can emerge.
However, winter hardiness varies considerably by species and variety. Some Elephant Ears and Banana Plants are much more cold tolerant than others, and an unusually severe or prolonged freeze can damage or kill plants that normally overwinter successfully in East Texas.
Container-grown plants are also more vulnerable to cold because their roots don’t have the same insulation they would receive when planted in the ground.
Overwintering Elephant Ears
• You can leave frost-damaged foliage in place temporarily or remove it once it has collapsed and turned brown or black.
• If you choose to cut the plant back, use clean, sharp pruners and remove damaged foliage near the base without injuring the underground portion of the plant.
• Wear gloves when handling or cutting Elephant Ears. Their sap contains calcium oxalate crystals and can irritate the skin and eyes. Keep cut plant material away from children and pets.
• After the plant has gone dormant, add a protective layer of mulch over the root zone to help insulate it from temperature fluctuations. Avoid piling wet material tightly against the crown where it can encourage rot.
• In spring, pull back excess winter mulch as temperatures warm and watch for new growth. Be patient—these tropical-looking plants often wait for consistently warm soil and air temperatures before they begin growing again.
• If you’re growing a variety that isn’t reliably winter hardy in our area, the corm or rhizome may need to be dug and stored indoors or the entire container moved to a protected location for winter.
Overwintering Banana Plants
• After a hard freeze, Banana Plant foliage may collapse and turn brown or black. This is normal freeze damage and doesn’t necessarily mean the underground portion of a cold-hardy plant has died.
• Once the foliage has been damaged, remove the leaves and cut back the pseudostem as needed. For very large plants, removing the leaves first can make cleanup much easier.
• Banana Plants contain a watery, sticky sap that can irritate some people’s skin and stain clothing, so gloves and old clothes are a good idea when cutting them back.
• Add a protective layer of mulch over the root zone to provide additional insulation during winter, especially for younger plants.
• Once warm weather returns in spring, gradually pull back excess mulch and watch for new shoots emerging from the underground rhizome or surviving pups.
• As with Elephant Ears, not every Banana variety is equally cold hardy. More tender varieties may require additional winter protection or need to be moved indoors or into a protected area.
Don’t Give Up on Them Too Soon!
After a freeze, Elephant Ears and Banana Plants can look pretty rough—but what’s happening above ground doesn’t always tell you what’s happening below it.
Give cold-hardy varieties time to warm up in spring before deciding they didn’t survive the winter. With the right variety, good drainage, and a little winter protection, these tropical-looking favorites can return year after year in many East Texas landscapes.