Landscaping Around a Palm Tree - Ideas for You

Have you thought of landscaping around a palm tree that's the focal point in your yard? Maybe you planted it and it's growing well. That's wonderful!

But you'd like some design elements to compliment it. Making a nice tropical look. Where do you start?

We have some tips here. Derived from expert advice from garden designers.

Here at Mission: Palm Trees

Palm lovers can calm their palm-related search tasks & worries. Our articles are intended to inform, while having fun, easily Finding What You Want or Need. Without unneeded shoptalk & tiring endless research. We Research For You!

1st Think About This!

Basic Designing Ideas

Healthy Designing Tips

Design Your Landscape

Be Safe in Landscaping

Front Yard Tips

Planning Your Palm Tree Landscape:
Essential First Steps

Palm tree in a fenced yard surrounded by other plants

Let's think of Initial Planning for landscaping around a palm tree. What's the best way to be ready? It's important to put the right plant in the right place!

What climate do you live in? Know Your Planting Zone for the best option for choosing companion plants.
How much sun does the outdoor space around your palm tree get? Direct sunlight or some shade?
Which native plants would you prefer? More palm species, like Landscaping With Foxtail Palms, or others with a tropical vibe?
How much space do you have? Would you like to add in a rock garden, bench or pavers?

Financial Decision-Making: ideal plan vs. your budget.

For savings try recycled product stores, like Habitat for Humanity's ReStores.
For efficiency, use an Online Planner for palm tree landscaping.

Creative Palm Tree Landscaping Ideas
For a Tropical Paradise

For best results...

When planting, consider the natural flow of rain water. And think of your soil type, that it has good drainage.
Use contrasting colors to brighten up your landscaping around the standalone feature, the palm you're enhancing. Try for varied trunk patterns & colors of Palm Fruits.
When living in cooler climates. Plan for species of palms or tropical plants, like Sago Palms (a cycad) or Windmill Palms, that Tolerate Cold Temperatures.

Maintain Palm Tree Health
Within Your Landscape Design

You want to keep your original palm tree species healthy. Maintaining your important feature that your landscaping will surround. That palm has its own soil type conditions & especially the ideal fertilizer with Important Nutritional Needs.

It won't match up with fertilizer for the lawn or native flower beds you'll plant.
Solve it by ensuring there's empty soil space under the crown. Whether you mulch or not.

DON'T DO THIS

Not Ideal for Royal Palms in This Park. They Won't Do Best With Grass Fertilizer.

INSTEAD, DO THIS

Palm trees planted to keep turf away from the trunk

The Turf is Away From these Palms
Best to Keep the Turf Away from the Trunk

Palm Design Ideas With Tropical Landscaping Plants

We've found it more fun, and definitely less $$$ from the budget to do much of the design & garden work ourselves. Rather than hiring garden designers or landscapers when not essential.

Think you would also?

cellular mobile phone with link to saving money

Check our suggestions in using the best palms for your pool deck area, or ways for plants to grow under palm trees in your back or front yard. For Types of Palms with best results.

So you'll have that tropical feel when you're landscaping around a palm tree.

See the Newest

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Poolside Landscaping Design With Palm Trees

A key plant designing tip is to go with odd numbers of the same species.

City Landscape With the Best Practice
Odd Number of Palms

Is your current palm tree near your pool, as a standalone feature? Is that palm among one of those Tall Palm Trees, that's your poolside focal point? But now it looks lonely! 🫤

You could place three smaller palms around your featured palm area.

Prepare a Mediterranean Fan Palm landscape plan.
Or try landscaping with Pygmy Date Palms.

For desert palm landscaping Arizona stye, places with arid climates, the Tree Morning Glory may be an alternate to palms.

Scatter tropically styled flowers suitable for your climate in between.

Backyard of a Home with 2 palm trees near the pool

Line of Plants Adjacent to the Poolside Palms
What Else Can Be Done? How About Placing a Few Potted Palms

Ideas for Landscaping With Pygmy Date Palms

Phoenix roebelenii is an ideal clustering (usually) triple-growth accompaniment.

Likes dryer warmth, US Planting Zones 9-11; 8 may be fine. Known to tolerate momentary freezes.
Slow growing to at least 6ft/2m tall.

Pygmy Date Palms don't need lots of water & want full sun.

Mediterranean Fan Palm Landscaping in Your Garden

Chamaerops humilis, aka European Fan Palm, Zones 8-11.

Can spread out to 30ft/9m wide. Growing slowly, it may reach 20ft/6m tall.
Fronds have varied green shades. Watch out for frond petiole endings: nasty spines!
When landscaping around a palm tree armed like this one, keep them away from walkways.

European Fan Palm at Christchurch Botanic Gardens

Begins With a Single Trunk

European Fan Palm shows its multiple trunks

New Trunks Cluster Outward as It Grows

Designing Ideas for Smaller Poolside Palms in a Landscape

You won't want to overwhelm smaller palms in your poolside palm landscaping. Here are several things you could do:

Surround it with three types of ornamental grasses, specific to your climate.
Use one type of ornamental grass, planted thinly. Intermix these with three different species of flowering tropical plants that grow higher than your chosen grasses.
Or just plant flowers, maybe with three different colors.

backyard pool surrounded by palm and other plants

The Multi-Stemmed Palm
Adjacent to a Huge Palm & a Neighbor's Humungous Palm is Kind-of Overwhelmed!

Creating Depth & Interest:
Layering Palms and Tropical Plants

Here's a stunning way to bring focus to landscaping around your palm if you have room. Layers of tropical plants to draw viewers eyes through your tropical garden design!

Layering Smaller Plants Around a Focal Palm Tree

Try this plant layering technique...

Planting two smaller palms in front of your tall focal palm tree makes a delightful layered effect. It draws the eye upward, adding depth to your landscape.

small palm tree in front of many more tall palm trees

An Example of the Eye Being Drawn Upward
From the Smaller Palm in Front to Those Large Palms

In the next row forward, think about planting a bed of short tropical flowering plants. For a pop of color amidst all the green.

Perhaps Tropical Hibiscus for Zones 9-11 (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis)
Or Crocosmia (Crocosmia aurea even works for Zone-6).

You can intermix tropical greens like Taro ((Colocasia esculenta) with flowering plants. Or plant the greens together, with flower beds in front of them.

Row of palm trees as sun is setting in San Diego California

Five Palms During a Pacific Sunset.
Why Not Have a Tropical Flower Garden in Front of the Palms?

Double Row Palm Landscaping for Expansive Yards

Top Ideas for Landscaping Around A Palm Tree

Fit in that iconic double row of palm trees to go with with your already growing standalone feature palm. Here are suggestions, whether that planted palm focus is large or small:

Plant two more of the same species of palm trees as the one you already have. You'll have three in a row at varying heights.
Then add a second row of smaller palms in front. You could place two, so there will be a total of five, staying with the odd-number principle.

Bungalow in the tropics surrounded by palm trees

A Property With Three Coconut Palms Near Each Other
Then Two Smaller Palms in Front.
What Could Be Done Better?

Plant four palms, two on each side of your featured palm.

In front of them for the second row, plant the best ground cover for palm trees by adding palms that act as ground covers.
Like Chamaedorea microspadixor Chamaedorea cataractarum.

the Hardy Bamboo Palm for Landscape

Chamaedorea microspadix is very cold hardy. If Damaged by Extreme Cold, it can regenerate.

Gets 12ft/4m tall, spreading 8ft/2.4m wide.
Dark green stem has whitish rings, reminiscent of bamboo.

Hardy Bamboo Palm growing in a clumping manner

Hardy Bamboo Palm
It Tolerates Some Cold Temperatures.
And Comes Back From the "Dead"

Cataract Palm Trees in Your Landscaping

Chamaedorea cataractarum (aka Cat Palm) is native to Mexican rain forests. Best in Zones 9b-11.

Clustering palm gets about 6ft/2m tall, expanding to 8ft/2.4m feet wide.
Loves water. Humidity with partial sun, too.

Cataract Palm which is even shortened to Cat Palm

Often Called Cat Palm for Short. An Ideal Ground Cover.

Backyard Landscaping With Palm Trees

Are you wanting to place landscaping around in your backyard palm?

When looking for palm tree garden ideas, many tips for poolside & layering can be used there.

You want your current palm to coordinate with additions to your landscape, while using contrasts for Frond Types, trunk patterns, colors and/or sizing. Plus being sure to match up any added tropical plants to your own climate.

Also think of the current placement & size of your palm.

Is your palm close to any buildings? Like your own home.
You won't want to obstruct window views with new plantings. Choose additions for height expectations.

Home with palm trees all around the property

Front Windows Have Wonderful Viewpoints. How About Out the Home's Side Windows?

Do you have children who use backyard play areas? Avoid palms well-armed with spines.
Is your backyard huge, or is your palm tree landscaping for small yards?

With lots of planting area, you could consider planting multiple palms of different sizes, incorporating your palm with others into a palm grove.
In small spaces, add a few smaller scale palms and fill in with some colorful tropical flowering plants.

Are you looking for privacy landscaping with palms?

Here's an idea:

Dwarf Palmetto Palm Tree for Backyard Gardens

Sabal minor is the most northerly naturally growing U.S. palm.

Good for Zones 6-11. With caution try 5b.
It likes water. Doesn't have to be in a swamp, but prefers moist soil. And tolerates drying out for a bit.

Dwarf Palmetto growing happily in a swampy preserve in a U.S. southern state.

Front Yard Landscaping Ideas With Palm Trees

Front yards are neighborhood displays. You'd want to plan carefully without overwhelming a welcoming entrance. Think of your current palm's placement. Two smaller palms nearby may be suitable. Surrounding the three with some flower beds.

Here's a jungly front yard landscaping idea.

Tropical plants and palm trees planted at the front of a home

Nicely Layered Plants of the Tropics

Pindo Palm Trees for Your Front Yard Design

Butia capitata is also called Jelly Palm. A hardy flexible palm, for zones 8-11. Adaptable to arid type areas, or those with more rainfall. And full sun or part shade.

Producing edible fruit, invite neighbors to sample them. Or gather them for recipes. Otherwise cut down its yellow-flowering stalks after fading, to avoid fruiting.
Solitary trunk to 35ft/10m tall. Nice size to accompany your tall front yard palm.

Surrounding the Palm With Compatible Tropicals in a Tight Space

Landscaping Design With Desert Palm Trees

Most palms love regular watering. Yet there are those doing well with less. Do you live in an arid climate? And already have a Mexican Fan Palm or Canary Island Date Palm?

Use the prior principles above, with drought-tolerant palms you can add to your landscape. Amidst your cacti.

Cacti to the Left, Palms to the Right - Rainbow Up Above!

Bismarck Palm Trees in Your Desert Garden

Here's a drought-tolerant species of palm tree you could love! Bismarckia nobilis is medium sized (40ft/12m+) & is a stunner.

Gorgeously silvery green palmate leaves give it a massive feel.
Zones 9-11 can suit it fine. Water well until you have it established.

Palm with a nice round crown growing in the front yard of a home

Bismarck Palms Have No Problem With Sandy Soil Types

Mazari Palm Tree Landscaping for Best Ideas

Nannorrhops ritchiana is a full sun lover native to Middle Eastern desert hillsides. Why it's drought-hardy. Easy to Grow From Seed.

Good for Zones 8-11, and with watchfulness in 7. Quite low-temp tolerable in dry humidity areas.

Slowly maxing to about 20ft/6m tall. Spreads to about 15ft/4.5m wide.
Palmate fronds are wedge shaped or semicircular.

Mazari Palm at Botanischer Garden in Heidelberg Germany

Mazari Standing Pretty
In Botanischer Garten
Heidelberg Germany

Essential Safety Tips
For Palm Tree Landscaping Projects

Contact your local area's system for underground utility location. Essential when landscaping around a palm tree.

You can google, as we've done: "find underground utilities in Tucson." Got the number for the free location service. Be aware some try to get you to hire them.
Regulations may exist for distances to utility lines for plantings. You'd want to know that.

Don't Be Surprised by Hitting Into These! 😮

More Precautions for Creating Your Tropical Landscapes

Are there prior homeowner underground sprinkler, electrical or drain installations? If you suspect that, dig slowly & carefully into your plant bed.
Be familiar with using tools. Reading instructions helps!

Make Sure Your Tools Won't Be Shocking!

Wear eye protection when digging, raking, etc. Will you stir up dry soil, causing rising dust? Or using products with warning labels? Yuk! NO inhalation please...

Inhaling that stuff can cause lung problems. If not immediately, it's possible further down the road. (Believe me, We Know!)
A typical work N-95 mask is best.

Man wearing an N95 Work Mask, gloves and a hard hat.

Who's That Masked Man?
Someone Who's Being Smart, Doing Safe Work!

Avoid planting when you're too tired. Gardening while drinking alcohol or taking calming drugs can also be hazardous.

Tired Gardening people resting with their head on a table.

Wanted to Do Landscaping - But Took a Nap Instead!

Landscaping Around a Palm Tree Takeaways

There's a lot to think about for planning landscaping around a palm tree focal point. The key word is Planning! Along with imagination to visualize your end result.

Plant other palms? Plant palmy look-alikes? Plant small palms near the large one in a pleasing pattern. Plant other tropical plants?

Hope we gave you some helpful ideas for landscaping around a palm tree! To keep your focus plant from being lonely!