Companion Plants by group: Herbs, Flowers, Trees, Vegetables, Berries, Fruit and Mushrooms
Trees are often features in gardens & companion planting guilds are usually arranged around trees.
Every thriving plant guild should include pollinator plants (like herbs and flowers), insectary plants (like yarrow and artichoke), nitrogen or nutrient accumulating plants (like comfrey), ground covers (like nasturtiums or sweet potatoe) and green manure plants (like legumes).
Buy The Medicine Garden Companion Plants eBook. It is a simple reference guide organized into eight categories with an alphabetical listing. It includes Herbs, Berries, Fruit, Flowers, Vegetables, Trees, Plants, and Mushrooms.
Companion Planting is an integral part of permaculture and a holistic approach to gardening where you plant different crops in proximity to maximize the use of space, providing nutrients, shade, or support, increasing crop productivity, attracting beneficial insects, pest control, repelling pests, pollination, and providing a space for beneficial creatures. The concept is an ongoing process of living and learning with nature and increasing biodiversity to support a sustainable ecosystem.
Below is a quick reference guide for tree companion planting:
| Name | Good Companions | Not a Companion |
|---|---|---|
| Almond | Comfrey, flowers, herbs. | |
| Avocado | Comfrey, shade loving flowers and herbs. | |
| Beech | Morel Mushrooms | |
| Cashew Nut | Comfrey, flowers, herbs. | |
| Elderberry | Give them enough space to grow, they make an excellent backdrop to any vegetable, herb and fruit garden. Comfrey is always welcome. | |
| Fruit Trees | Fruit trees should be planted in tandem (at least two together), in addition to their best companions are alliums, tansy, nasturtiums, marigold, marjoram, lemon balm, bee balm, echinacea, mustards, comfrey, dandelions, borage and other flowers. | Avoid plants that are prone to mildew and other fungal infections. |
| Hazelnut | Comfrey, flowers and herbs such as coriander. | |
| Macadamia | Clover, chives, nasturtium, comfrey, marigold and other flowers. | |
| Oak | Chantarella mushrooms, blueberries. | |
| Olive | Herbs, lavender. | |
| Pomegranate | Herbs and flowers will draw bees for pollination. | Fennel and celery. |
| Walnut | You get smaller varieties that are around 6meters tall. They can provide great shade for a mushroom patch, or any shade loving plants. | Black walnut is harmful to the growth of plants in the nightshade family such as eggplant, peppers, potatoe and tomatoe. |
Companion Plants by group: Herbs, Flowers, Trees, Vegetables, Berries, Fruit and Mushrooms
QUICK LINKS: Companion Plants online, Companion Plants eBook, Growing Guides, Basic Preparations, Plant Constituents, Plants for Bees – South African Calendar.