my neighbor has been overwintering bananas in the ground in Indianapolis for years..pic#1,2 are screenshots from her real estate listing April 2020 (she moved 🙁)..pic#3 shows mine..a gift from her..mine are undersized..her method is to cut them down to about 10 inches in the fall..then mulch and cover with plastic..I used leaves covered with a box..my eastern exposure doesn't get much rain or snow..one year I tried encircling the stem with garbage bags filled with leaves..but it was hard to keep them close to the stem..then in the spring the bags were full of soggy wet leaves..messy so I did that just once..my neighbor says mine don't get enough sun but that IS my best location..I still enjoy having them..you might do some searches on the banana forum..

if you leave a tall stalk the dead tissue will block the new leaves from emerging properly.

Yes that is what most do. In zone 5 a/b you will have to add some christmas lights old c9 I think they are called. To prevent the ground from freezing. Some years I would wrap the stem to ensure a taller plant the following year. Any plantings right beside a house will help a few degrees.