Companion Plant Finder

This companion plant finder shows which plants grow well alongside a crop and which are better kept apart, with the reason behind each suggestion. Choose a vegetable, herb or fruit, and it lists good companions, plants to avoid nearby, and why the pairing helps. The suggestions focus on reasons with practical value: shared growing needs, attracting beneficial insects, trap crops, shading, and keeping apart plants that share pests or diseases. Where a traditional pairing has little evidence behind it, the finder says so.

For a deeper look at the research behind companion planting, and which popular claims hold up, see our article Companion Planting: What Actually Works and What’s Folklore. This page is a practical reference for planning your beds.

How to use the companion plant finder

1. Choose a crop from the list.
2. Read the good companions. These grow well nearby, help attract beneficial insects, or make good use of space.
3. Check what to keep apart. Most of these share pests or diseases, compete strongly, or need very different conditions.
4. Read why it works, so you can apply the same reasoning to plants not on the list.

Companion chart for common crops

The reasons that matter most

Shared needs

The most practical rule of companion planting is to group plants that like the same conditions. Tomatoes, peppers and basil all want full sun, warmth and steady moisture, so they are easy to care for together. Rosemary and thyme prefer drier soil, so they fit better with each other at the edge of a bed than among thirsty vegetables.

Beneficial insects

Small-flowered plants such as sweet alyssum, dill, cilantro, yarrow and calendula feed hoverflies, lacewings and tiny parasitic wasps, whose larvae eat aphids, caterpillars and other pests. Scatter these flowers through the vegetable garden rather than only around the edges.

Trap crops

Some plants draw pests away from others. Blue Hubbard squash planted around a squash patch attracts squash bugs and cucumber beetles, which can then be removed from the trap plants. Trap crops work best when you check them often.

Space and shade

Tall crops can shade cool-season greens through summer heat. Fast crops such as radishes and lettuce can grow between slow crops such as broccoli and be harvested before the larger plants need the space. Climbing beans can use corn as support.

Shared pests and diseases

Most “keep apart” advice with real evidence comes down to shared problems. Tomatoes and potatoes share late blight. Crops in the same family attract the same pests, so large blocks of one family make it easy for pests to spread.

Know your crop families

Many companion and rotation decisions come down to plant families. Crops in the same family tend to share pests and diseases.

Rotating families to different beds each year, and mixing families within beds, both help reduce pest and disease pressure.

Sample companion beds

A tomato bed

Tomatoes staked along the north side of a 4-by-8-foot bed, with basil planted between them and parsley in front. Calendula and sweet alyssum fill the corners. Lettuce grows in the light afternoon shade on the north side of the tomato row in summer, and is replaced with fall greens when the weather cools.

A salad bed

Rows or squares of lettuce, spinach and arugula, with radishes sown between slow-growing carrots, green onions along one edge, and sweet alyssum dotted throughout to attract aphid-eating hoverflies.

A brassica bed

Broccoli, cabbage and kale spaced generously, with lettuce planted between young plants and harvested before the brassicas fill out. Dill and cilantro are allowed to flower at the ends to support beneficial wasps. Lightweight row cover protects the young plants from cabbage worms.

A Three Sisters block

Corn planted in a block of several short rows. Once the corn is several inches tall, pole beans are sown at the base of each stalk, and squash is planted around the edges to spread across the ground. This traditional Indigenous planting needs space and well-matched varieties, but it uses vertical and ground space efficiently.

To work out how many plants fit in each bed, use the square foot gardening calculator or the plant spacing calculator.

Flowers worth adding to every vegetable garden

• Sweet alyssum: low, fragrant and covered in tiny flowers that feed hoverflies and parasitic wasps.
• Calendula: easy, cheerful and attractive to many beneficial insects.
• Dill and cilantro: let a few plants flower; their umbrella-shaped flower heads are excellent for small beneficial insects.
• Borage: loved by bees, which helps pollinate squash and cucumbers.
• Nasturtiums: edible flowers, and sometimes used as a trap crop for aphids.
• Marigolds: colorful and easy. Certain types can suppress root-knot nematodes when grown densely as a cover crop.
• Zinnias and cosmos: attract pollinators and add color for cutting.

Common companion planting mistakes

• Relying on companions instead of row cover. For crops like cabbage and squash, physical barriers protect far better than any companion plant.
• Crowding. Companion plants still need space. Interplanting does not mean ignoring spacing.
• Letting tall companions shade sun-loving crops. Plan heights so tall plants are on the north side.
• Treating every chart as fact. Many traditional pairings are untested. Focus on the principles above.

If insects are already causing damage, the pest identifier helps you name the culprit and choose a control.

Herbs that make good companions

Herbs are some of the most useful companion plants, both for the kitchen and for the garden.

• Basil grows happily with tomatoes and peppers, sharing their love of warmth and steady moisture.
• Dill attracts hoverflies and parasitic wasps when it flowers. Keep it a little away from carrots, its close relative.
• Cilantro bolts quickly in heat, but its flowers feed beneficial insects. Let some plants bloom.
• Parsley is a host plant for swallowtail butterfly caterpillars, and its flowers attract beneficial insects in its second year.
• Chives form neat clumps along bed edges, and their flowers attract bees.
• Thyme and oregano make low edging plants and attract pollinators when they flower, but prefer drier soil than most vegetables.
• Rosemary and sage prefer dry, well-drained spots, so plant them at sunny bed edges or in their own containers rather than among thirsty crops.

Companion planting in small spaces and containers

Companion planting works at any scale. In a single large container, a tomato can share space with basil at its base and a few marigolds or nasturtiums around the edge, as long as the pot holds enough soil, at least 10 to 15 gallons for a full-size tomato. A window box can combine lettuce, chives and parsley. On a balcony, a pot of flowering herbs such as dill or alyssum among the vegetable containers draws in beneficial insects.

The main limit in containers is root space. Companions compete for water and nutrients, so choose small companions, use generous pots, and water and feed a little more than you would for a single plant.

Planning a whole garden with companions

1. Group crops by needs. Put sun-loving, thirsty crops together and drought-tolerant herbs together.
2. Place tall crops on the north side so they do not shade shorter ones.
3. Mix families within beds rather than planting large blocks of one family.
4. Reserve space for flowers in every bed, such as a few squares or the bed corners.
5. Plan interplanting. Pair quick crops with slow ones so the space is used twice.
6. Rotate families next year. Keep a simple sketch of where each family grew.

Interplanting fast and slow crops

One of the most practical forms of companion planting is simply timing. Slow crops such as broccoli, cabbage, tomatoes, peppers and winter squash leave bare soil around them for weeks while they grow. Fast crops can use that space and be harvested before it is needed.

• Radishes mature in about a month and fit almost anywhere.
• Leaf lettuce and spinach fill gaps around young brassicas and tomatoes in spring.
• Green onions tuck into edges and corners.
• Baby greens such as arugula can be cut young from strips between larger plants.

Sow the fast crop at the same time as, or shortly after, planting the slow one, and harvest it before the larger plants begin to shade or crowd it. The days to maturity listed in the plant database help you match pairs.

Keep notes on what works for you

Gardens differ, and the companions that work brilliantly in one garden may make little difference in another. Each season, note which pairings you tried, where beneficial insects were most active, and where pests caused the most trouble. After a few years, your own records will be the most reliable companion chart you have.

Frequently asked questions