Should bananas be planted in rows or a circle?

[Kanana]

I have an open area free of trees or shade so I am wondering for the benefit of the banana trees growth is it best to run them north to south or in a circular cluster. I don't have a huge area, quite small actually 1/4 acre lot, but I have 8 bananas (maybe 9 if the fake blue java shows signs of life if the P stem comes back). Right now I have them all under a shade screen (again) after previously having them out there before that cold snap a coupe of weeks ago when I took them inside. Any thoughts on this would be helpful, thanks. Right now they are all in pots and would be thinking of planting them in ground when the time to do this is right.

[Akula]

I think it depends on the best use of the shape and location of the sunny area of your yard, direction of sun exposure, and how much yard you have available.

My mother's house faces west and her backyard has a bunch of oak trees around the perimeter so she really only has a circular spot that has good sun available. I plan to plant in a square formation with the two or three taller ones in a line on the west side (backside) of the square and two or three shorter ones on the east side (frontside) of the square. The plants will be visible from her kitchen window. The minus is the patch will block her view of the yard between the patch and the fence but she doesn't have anything out there. Small yard 0.25 acre.

My patch runs along my backyard fence in a line east to west so they get southern exposure all year long however they are susceptible to a north wind which is a minus and tend to bend away from the fence towards the house due to the wind and chasing the sun (a bit). This Spring I will extend my patch about twelve feet running out of the corner of the fence north to south in a line. I will have my tall namwa's running east to west and my shorter raja puri running north to south out of the fence corner so they are not blocked by the taller plants. Probably should do it the other way because of wind exposure but I don't want to dig up those big namwas (shorter plants do better in wind). I had one namwa pup planted along the north-south line and he did really well this past season. Small yard 0.30 acre.

Planting in a circle might be helpful if you have a lot of wind so the outer plants protect the inner ones or you live in a dry climate to establish a humid micro-climate in order to reduce evaporation however it seems to me that in time the varieties will be jumbled up and it will be more difficult to get access for harvesting, pup thinning, etc. There are guys on here that plant in circles and do well hopefully they will share its advantages.

Good luck!

[sputinc7]

It likely would make little difference as far as plant growth is concerned so long as you space them far enough apart. 10-12 feet apart at least. I agree with Akula about it being difficult to get in there after a while, though if planted too close.

[cincinnana]

Originally Posted by Kanana

I have an open area free of trees or shade so I am wondering for the benefit of the banana trees growth is it best to run them north to south or in a circular cluster. I don't have a huge area, quite small actually 1/4 acre lot, but I have 8 bananas (maybe 9 if the fake blue java shows signs of life if the P stem comes back). Right now I have them all under a shade screen (again) after previously having them out there before that cold snap a coupe of weeks ago when I took them inside. Any thoughts on this would be helpful, thanks. Right now they are all in pots and would be thinking of planting them in ground when the time to do this is right.

A few fellow forum members on the Florida east coast do the circle .....just for compactness.
Youtube offers a few good vids on banana circles.

I have seen this and it seems to work very well on a typical lot in Florida.

If you can get your neighbors onboard to give you some yard waste ....all the better.
Circles are very easy to water and fertilize.

Rows....the same information applies.....but in rows


Banana circle