Companion Planting

Companion planting combines crops and herbs that benefit each other through pest deterrence, pollinator support, nutrient cycling, or shading. Some pairings are well-documented; others are traditional practice with mixed evidence. Pairings on this site are noted with their relationship type and rationale.

Beneficial pairings

• apple and chive . Chives planted around apple trees deter aphids and apple scab pressure through alliin volatiles.
• apple and comfrey . Comfrey accumulates potassium and phosphorus, providing a chop-and-drop mulch beneath fruit trees.
• apple and yarrow . Yarrow attracts predatory insects and parasitoid wasps that reduce codling moth pressure.
• peach and tansy . Tansy repels Japanese beetles and ants, both pests that affect peach foliage and fruit.
• peach and garlic . Garlic planted around peach trees suppresses peach borer and provides general fungal-pressure reduction.
• pear and borage . Borage attracts pollinators and predatory insects, supporting pear fruit set and pest control.
• plum-european and garlic . Garlic discourages plum curculio and provides general antifungal benefit beneath stone fruit.
• plum-japanese and clover . White clover fixes nitrogen and provides a living mulch under Japanese plum trees.
• cherry-sweet and clover . Clover groundcover supports beneficial insects and reduces erosion in sloped cherry orchards.
• cherry-sour and tansy . Tansy reduces fruit fly pressure on tart cherries and discourages aphids.
• fig and rosemary . Rosemary tolerates the dry sites figs prefer and provides aromatic pest deterrence.
• persimmon-american and pawpaw . Both natives thrive in similar soils and contribute to a polyculture that supports native pollinators and fauna.
• persimmon-asian and comfrey . Comfrey provides nutrient cycling beneath Asian persimmon, which is otherwise low-input.
• pomegranate and lavender . Lavender shares pomegranate's drought tolerance and attracts pollinators during pomegranate bloom.
• jujube and thyme . Thyme groundcover suits jujube's low-water profile and deters cabbage moth and aphid populations.
• pawpaw and spicebush . Native spicebush hosts swallowtail butterflies and complements pawpaw's understory niche.
• apricot and basil . Basil's volatile oils discourage stone-fruit pests and support pollinator visits.
• mulberry and comfrey . Comfrey beneath mulberry recycles nutrients from deep-rooted mineral uptake.
• apple and nasturtium . Nasturtium acts as a trap crop for aphids and codling moth larvae.
• peach and nasturtium . Nasturtium attracts predatory insects and serves as a trap crop for stone-fruit aphids.
• cherry-sweet and marigold . French marigolds suppress nematodes that affect cherry root health in sandy soils.
• fig and borage . Borage attracts pollinators and supports beneficial-insect populations near fig plantings.
• plum-european and yarrow . Yarrow draws predatory wasps that parasitize plum curculio.
• pear and clover . Clover groundcover fixes nitrogen and supports pollinator activity during pear bloom.
• apricot and tansy . Tansy reduces aphid and Japanese beetle pressure on apricot trees.
• mulberry and clover . Mulberry's deep roots and clover's nitrogen-fixing surface roots create a productive low-input pairing.

Antagonistic pairings to avoid

• apple and walnut . Black walnut produces juglone, an allelopathic compound that suppresses many fruit trees including apple.
• pear and fennel . Fennel inhibits the growth of most fruit trees through root exudates.