Bean Companion Planting for Bananas

Bean Companion Planting

• Beans, both bush and pole varieties, grow well with other warm-season garden vegetables. Potatoes, cucumber, carrots, cauliflower and broccoli are all good companions for beans, because they all thrive in similar growing conditions and do not compete with the bean plants for nutrients and space. Onions, garlic and gladiolus flowers do not make good companion plants for beans.

Three Sisters Companion Planting

• Beans are one of the "three sisters," an ancient companion planting technique that's been used in the United States for centuries. Corn, squash and pole beans are the three sisters, crops that are planted together in a single companion garden. Tall, straight corn stalks give climbing pole beans the support they need. Meanwhile, the beans give nitrogen to the corn. Squash forms a dense ground cover beneath the corn and beans, preventing the growth of weeds that will rob both vegetables of their nutrients.

Banana Cultivation

• Banana plants are native to tropical regions, and they're sensitive to cold temperatures. Most banana cultivars may only be grown in U.S. Department of Agriculture hardiness zones 9 through 11. Plant banana trees in partial shade to full sunlight. The plants will thrive in a variety of soil conditions, as long as the planting site is well drained. Bananas make good container plants. Gardeners who live in cooler regions may turn to the hardy banana, Musa basjoo, which will survive below-freezing temperatures. Provide the hardy banana with full sunlight. Use insulating burlap or similar material to protect the plant from cold wind and frost.

Banana Companion Planting

• Cannas (Canna), ginger (Zingiber) and hardy palm trees make good companions for bananas and hardy bananas in the garden. Bananas are often called trees because they are tall and have a think, trunklike central stem, but their spreading growth is more like that of shrubs. Because both bananas and beans require well-drained soil, they may be planted as companions successfully. Plant them together in an open site to give the banana plant the full sunlight it needs, and it will provide some shade for the beans.