Dwarf palm trees – Want a palm tree for your yard or garden that comes in a small package? There are a lot of different kinds of dwarf palm trees, which is good news. In this article, we look at the most popular small palms for your garden or home landscaping.
Want to add a small palm tree or a dwarf palm tree to your yard or garden this year? Even though there are many trees to choose from, the right one depends on many things, such as its size and the climate it does best in.
The type of dwarf palm you plant in your yard will depend on whether you live in a dry area or a more humid one. Some can handle drought better than others, and some would rather live in a place that is always wet and humid. So, where to begin?
We’ve made a list of our favorite dwarf or small palm trees that can fit in almost any garden. Each of the trees on this list is less than 25 feet tall, which is pretty small compared to trees that are over 100 feet tall. With careful pruning, many trees can be kept much shorter on purpose than that. Let’s get down to business and look at some of our favorite small palms and where they do best.
Also check out our post on best pots for palm trees that will help your dwarf palm trees later on!
The Best Dwarf Palm Trees to Plant in Your Garden
Adonidia Palm (Adonidia merrillii)
When there isn’t much room for landscaping, the small Adonidia palm tree is a great choice.
The Adonidia palm is a small palm tree with a smooth, gray trunk that is long and thin. This popular Florida palm tree grows to about 6 feet tall and is also called the Christmas palm (2 m). The small palm with long, arching fronds that grow up to 8 feet (2.4 meters) wide can be recognized by its elegant crown.
This small palm gets its common name from the fruit that grows on it in December, right around Christmas. One benefit of having this palm in your yard is that it cleans itself and doesn’t need much care. That means that the Adonidia palm loses its leaves more quickly than some other palms, which makes it look better. In USDA zone 10, the Christmas palm grows well.
Use the Adonidia palm as a focal point in a sunny, tropical garden by planting it as a single tree. You can plant palm trees close to each other in the front or back yard because their root balls are small. This makes them perfect for small gardens.
Dwarf Sugar Palm (Arenga engleri)
The dwarf sugar palm makes a small front yard or backyard look nicer.
The dwarf sugar palm is a small palm tree with many stems. Because it grows in groups, it becomes bushy and looks like a large shrub. The palm grows to about 8 feet (2.4 m) tall and has green leaves that look like they come up from the ground.
Many people think that the dwarf sugar palm is one of the best palms for landscaping. The small palm bush that looks like a fern grows well in USDA zones 10B and 11.
This palm tree can be used as a focal point in a tropical garden if you plant a dwarf sugar palm there. Or, you can plant the low palm bushes together to make a tropical privacy screen.
Dwarf Palmetto (Sabal minor)
Dwarf palmetto grows in many places and is a small palm that can handle cold.
The dwarf palmetto is a great palm for covering the ground in warm climates. The short palm usually grows up to 3 feet (1 meter) tall. The tropical palm has leaves that look like fans and can get as long as 6 feet (1.8 meters). The hardy dwarf palm tree does well in hot and humid places, but it can also handle temperatures as low as 0°F (-18°C).
Uses of this palm tree in the yard: Dwarf palmetto palms are native to Florida. They can be planted together in a backyard to make a bushy screen for privacy. Or, you can grow them in pots on your patio to make it feel more tropical.
Palm Short Bottle (Hyophorbe lagenicaulis)
The small Bottle palm tree used for decoration has a thick, short trunk.
The bottle palm gets its name from the shape of its short, fat trunk, which looks like a bottle. The way the base of the stem bulges out lets you know that this is a small palm tree. The miniature palm is only 10 feet (3 meters) tall, but its fronds can grow up to 12 feet (3.5 meters) long.
As a palm tree gets older, its trunk gets a bit longer and more husky on the outside. In Florida and southern California, where it is warm all year, short bottle palm trees grow. The full sun is best for these small palms.
Uses for this palm tree in landscaping: Bottle plants are a great small palm tree for homes with small gardens. In places where it gets cold, grow bottle plants in pots and bring them inside to keep them from getting frostbitten.