A banana plant in a small garden? Our tips for making it work

A banana plant for small spaces: a real ornamental asset

The banana plant is fairly adaptable, provided it has a sheltered spot. Its tropical origins indeed make it a sculptural, yet delicate feature in the garden. The small garden, compact in size, is often an asset to consider: a small walled garden, an urban garden, a courtyard or a sunny patio are all ideal configurations, allowing the banana plant to benefit from a microclimate that facilitates its growth.

Whatever region you’re in, give it a very sunny spot (at least six hours of sun per day) and, above all, a sheltered spot in the garden,

You can either regard it as a structural element, lending a jungle feel to the garden, or as the focal plant on the sunny side, offering other more classical options on the shadier side when you don’t want a total exotic look.

Place the banana plant at the back of the garden to visually enlarge the space and as a perspective effect.

Finally, in your layout don’t forget low-growing plants (lobelias, impatiens) or groundcovers to create strata and highlight its silhouette!

To ensure its winter cultivation, read our articles: Banana plant: how to protect it from winter cold? and Which banana plant to grow depending on your region?

Compact banana plant varieties suitable for small gardens

Obviously, planting a banana plant, whether in a pot or in the ground in a small garden, requires choosing a species and variety suited to its scale. Among the best space-saving banana plants, not growing taller than 3 m, we recommend the following, some being dwarf varieties, but also a few larger varieties, interesting for their hardiness, which will always stay much wiser in a pot:

The dwarf banana plants

These are the species and varieties preferred for planting in the ground

• Musa acuminata ‘Dwarf Cavendish’ : 2 to 3 m, hardiness –5°C (with protection)
• Musella lasiocarpa : 1.5 to 2 m, yellow lotus-shaped flowers, graphic foliage
• Musa x paradisiaca ‘Dwarf Orinoco’ : a Venezuelan dwarf banana plant for warm climate (it suffers at 0°C), 2 to 2.50 m

Banana plants suited to pot cultivation

• Musa basjoo : the hardiest down to -10°C in a well-protected pot, and luxuriant foliage
• Musa velutina : 1.5–2 m, also known as the pink banana for the striking colour of its flowers and fruits, hardiness: -5°C
• Musa sikkimensis or Sikkim banana plant: 2–3 m, variegated red/green leaves, hardiness: -5°C
• Ensete ventricosum ‘Maurelii’ : 2–3 m; spectacular red foliage, but it is frost-sensitive, to be brought indoors in winter

Learn more in our article: Banana plant in a pot: planting and care.

Play with bold foliage

One of the most ornamental ideas is to pair a banana plant with bold, striking plants, equally exotic if you dream of a jungle garden. We then go for plants with the most beautiful exotic-looking foliage!

Depending on the region, they will be planted in pots, which can be brought indoors in autumn, alongside a beautiful Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia) or canna lilies whose leaves are almost indistinguishable from the banana plant, and a Alpinia zerumbet with variegated foliage. Add a few more broad, interesting, contrasting foliage plants, such as the blue-green foliage of a Melianthus major, and depending on your region, a small palm, such as a Sabal or a Chamaerops humilis.

Banana plant, Strelitzia nicolai, Melianthus major et Alpinia zerumbet

A banana plant in a small walled garden

A walled garden, protected by walls that concentrate heat, is a boon for creating an exotic atmosphere. The sight of a handsome banana plant instantly whisks us away on a journey through this tiny cocoon of greenery.

Planting a banana plant in a large tub will keep it within its dimensions. You can thus opt for Musa basjoo, the hardiest, which will grow there more slowly and with less vigorous growth, or the stunning Ensete ventricosum with purple leaves. Otherwise, a dwarf banana plant planted in the ground will be welcome.

To emphasise the exotic look, surround it directly in the tub or at its base with flowering plants or foliage that share the same needs (heat, sun and cool substrate), often to be found among annuals with an exotic look, trailing, with pretty flowering or foliage: for example a purple Pennisetum setaceum, pink-tinted Arum ‘Captain Melrose‘ or Coleus.

Around them you can plant Lagerstroemia indica with vibrant flowering, such as ‘Red Imperator’, either in the ground or in a tub, and a Brugmansia with its quirky pendulous, cream flowers, in a large pot to bring indoors for winter in most regions. Together, they vie for whimsy and beauty. All that remains is the radiant flowering of a few Alstroemeria, chosen in pink, orange or red shades…

Ensete ventricosum ‘Maurelii’, Brugmansia, Lagestroemia ‘Red Imperator’ et Alstromeria Majestic ‘Henri’

A small garden vibrating with summer colours

Discover our tips to create a vibrant summer display that lasts into autumn, starring a banana plant as the focal point.

For this, start with the essentials Cannas, which pair so well with banana plants: they indeed need heat and a fertile, cool, and well-drained soil. Base the palette on yellows, oranges to salmon (Canna ‘Angélique’, Louis Cottin (Indian Shot)), or on red if you’re pairing with some purple foliage. For late summer, a few Hedychiums, majestic with their yellow to orange inflorescences, fit perfectly. To complete this entirely exotic atmosphere, consider inserting into your border one or two cordylines, like mini palms.

Musa lasiocarpa, Hedychium gardenarium, Canna ‘Picasso’ and Cordyline ‘Electric Flash’

One banana plant, yes; a whole tropical garden, no!

Would you like a banana plant, without turning your small garden into a lush jungle? In this case, pair it with perennials, climbers and bushes offering a rambling, colourful look, which will complement its presence without looking out of place. The best option is to plant it on the side that is most sheltered and sunny with non-spreading dwarf bamboos, and an evergreen bush such as small-leaved Pittosporum.

On the slightly shadier side of the garden, rely on a star jasmine, some Hostas, a semi-evergreen Fuchsia magellanica ‘Ricatoni’ in mild-winter regions, and a few grasses such as Hakonechloa macra—bright.

Clockwise: Banana plant ‘Basjoo’, Clematis ‘Taiga’, Trachelospermum jasminoides, Fuchsia magellanica ‘Ricatoni’, Hosta ‘Marlylin Monroe’ and Hakonechloa macra

In a small kitchen garden

The kitchen garden, or edible garden, isn’t the preserve of large gardens. It is perfectly feasible to design a small space dedicated to growing fruit trees or ornamental and exotic vegetables that take up little room in a garden with limited space. And even if your banana plant doesn’t bear fruit, the display will still be there!

We’ll include potted plants that will surround the banana plant, perhaps including common ginger and a Curcuma longa from which we’ll harvest the rootstocks, and the lemongrass… Also adopt a Brazilian feijoa by planting two to ensure fruiting and enjoy its unique late-spring blooms.

For warm colors, consider daylilies (with edible flowers), pineapple sage for its aromatic leaves, and the exotic-looking American groundnut for its harvestable tubers. Don’t forget ‘‘Jet Black’ sweet potatoes for a striking addition.

Clockwise from the top: Basjoo banana plant, lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus), Curcuma longa, lemon tree and Brazilian feijoa

Polish the decor

A banana plant planted in a small garden will be the star, and it is particularly wise to reinforce the tropical effect with an exotic ambience. Whether in a courtyard or a garden, opt for teak- or acacia-wood furniture, accessorised with a few pieces of rattan seating, and openwork lanterns. A small Asian parasol fits well in small gardens, and, chosen in warm tones, further reinforces the tropical ambience.

On the sensory side, the gurgle of a fountain or the tinkling of a bamboo wind chime are decorative touches not to be overlooked, adding an extra layer of relaxation. If space allows, a hammock or a hanging chair will also be welcome!

A few carefully chosen decorative elements and warm colours enhance the tropical effect