Come to think of it, I had this happen to my Ice Cream in a plastic 5 gal container last winter. I thought the plant had died, then noticed a bump on the side of the trunk down low, about a foot above the soil line. That bump eventually broke through the side of the trunk and became the new trunk. When I trimmed off the old top it was all black and mushy inside and smelled like a rotten fish! That plant is now in the ground and doing well.
