hey did you possibly get your Tetrapanax from PlantDelights?
How tall did it get for you? Been tempted to order one myself but haven't yet. Like you, I love anything big & tropical looking. Thanks!

I did not notice any real difference in height by the end of the summer by leaving the old trunks. I personally like the newer trunks because they don't look frost burned like the old ones do.

Virginian,
I think I traded premature height for new-looking trunks. I like having tall trees in April, but the trunks have suffered, like you say. I don't know if I'll leave the old trunks next year.
Also, I have a couple trees that might not have made it through the winter, but they're in clusters with other trees, and I'm going to have to be real careful when I try to cut them shorter to see if they're still alive further down. Normally, when I cut them back in the Fall, I just use a chain saw on the whole lot of them at about 3-4 feet. However, chain saws are blunt instruments, not surgical tools. It could be tough to use one to remove just a few feet from one tree in the middle of a group.

I find that it just makes it easier to deal with in the long run. Also, give those Musa Basjoos that look dead a chnce to come back as the corm or tuber is probably still alive. I had one in an exposed windy place and the corm just started making little shoots.