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Pairing strawberries with the right companion plants can significantly improve their growth, flavor, and overall resilience. Some companions attract pollinators and beneficial insects crucial for fruit production, while others naturally deter pests, reducing the need for chemical interventions. Certain plants even improve soil quality by fixing nitrogen, strengthening strawberry plants, and enhancing their sweetness.
While some gardeners remain skeptical about companion planting, many have experienced firsthand the benefits of strategically pairing crops. Healthier plants, fewer pest issues, and a more abundant harvest are just a few of the advantages that make this method worthwhile.
Here are 21 plants that can help your strawberries thrive.
Phacelia
Phacelia is an underrated gem in the gardening world, rarely spotted in most home gardens but absolutely worth planting—especially if you grow strawberries. This striking plant boasts delicate, fern-like foliage and intricate, lacy leaves that add an elegant touch to any garden bed.
Its mesmerizing violet-hued blossoms are more than just ornamental; they serve as a powerhouse companion for strawberries, attracting pollinators while improving soil health. With its unique beauty and practical benefits, Phacelia is a plant that deserves a place alongside your strawberries.
Nasturtiums
Nasturtiums are vigorous, fast-growing annuals. With their vibrant, trailing blooms, they do more than just add color—they serve as natural pest deterrents. These hardy flowers attract parasitoid wasps, tiny but effective allies that help control aphid populations.
Additionally,
Planted around or among strawberry beds,
Mint
Mint is a hardy, fast-growing herb. Its fresh flavor makes it a great addition to teas, drinks, salads, and a variety of dishes. Mint is easy to grow and low maintenance and makes a perfect match for your strawberries. Just be sure to give it its own space, as it can spread quickly.
Chives
Chives are superb companion plants for strawberries. Their strong, pungent scent helps repel aphids and reduce issues like fungus and fusarium wilt, which often affect strawberries. When allowed to flower, chives attract essential pollinators to your garden.
Additionally, as slender, shallow-rooted plants, chives won’t overshadow your strawberries or compete for water, making them an ideal choice for co-planting.
Oregano
Oregano, a staple in Italian cuisine, is more than just a flavorful herb—it’s also a fantastic companion plant for strawberries. Thriving in window boxes, garden beds, or containers, this hardy perennial helps deter pests with its strong, aromatic scent, creating a natural barrier against unwanted insects.
When planted alongside strawberries, oregano enhances the garden’s biodiversity and contributes to healthier, more resilient plants.
Basil
Basil is often the first herb that beginner gardeners grow; basil has a way of sparking a passion for both gardening and cooking. Its rapid growth makes it especially rewarding, going from seed to harvest in as little as three to four weeks.
Basil makes an excellent companion for strawberries, helping to repel pests while enhancing the garden’s overall health.
Lupine
Lupine stands out with its striking spires of blue blossoms, adding a bold and beautiful presence to the garden. Lupine is a valuable companion to strawberries, enriching the soil with nitrogen to promote healthier growth.
Thriving in cooler climates, lupine flourishes in full sun to partial shade and prefers well-drained soil. Though relatively low-maintenance, it benefits from occasional deep watering during dry spells to keep its roots hydrated. Hardy in Zones 4-9, this resilient perennial supports a thriving strawberry patch.
Onions
Growing onions near strawberries is highly beneficial. Like chives, the scent of onions helps keep away pests that usually target strawberry plants.
As members of the allium family, onions have a growth habit similar to chives, so they won’t overshadow your strawberries or compete for water. This makes onions an excellent companion for co-planting with strawberries.
Spinach
Spinach is a great companion for strawberries. It produces saponins, natural compounds that repel various garden pests. Additionally,
Lettuce
Lettuce grows low enough to enjoy the small shade from strawberries. It is a light feeder, so it does not compete with strawberries for nutrients or water. This doesn’t technically mean that lettuce improves or hinders the growth of strawberries. Instead, it gives additional yield from a limited space. Its large leaves mask the red berry fruits from being devoured by birds.
Dill
Dill is a good strawberry companion when it flowers because its flowers attract beneficial insects that feed on thrips and aphids.
Borage
Borage is beneficial for strawberry plants as it helps prevent worm attacks and attracts predator insects such as parasitic wasps. Bees and butterflies are drawn to borage’s nectar, and after visiting, they often move to strawberry flowers, aiding in pollination.
Sage
Sage is a useful companion for strawberries due to its musky smell, which repels pests and may even enhance the berries’ flavor. It’s also a culinary favorite, ideal for flavoring autumn roasts, soups, and drying.
Sage is particularly effective at keeping slugs away from strawberries. When allowed to grow freely, sage attracts beneficial insects and pollinators to your garden.
Catnip
Spider mites and strawberry aphids can harm strawberry plants, but catnip offers a natural defense. Catnip produces a substance called iridoid that repels these pests.
Additionally, its nectar attracts insect pollinators and predatory wasps, enhancing the garden’s ecological balance. Research has also found that catnip can be as effective as synthetic DEET in repelling mosquitoes and other flying insects.
Thyme
Thyme is a valuable addition to vegetable and fruit gardens. This low-growing perennial features delicate flowers that attract beneficial insects. Known for its natural compounds that repel ants and aphids, thyme is an excellent companion plant for strawberries, helping protect them from pests.
Marigolds
Their strong aroma helps repel predators. French
Yarrow
When grown together with strawberries, they magnify pollinators and predator bugs to help you grow better quality strawberries. They also make a nice cut flower table center display and are used in herbal treatments. Its foliage has a strong scent that repels critters.
Sweet Alyssum
It is a tried-and-true flower that attracts beneficial insects and predators to your garden. In addition, it protects your strawberries from pest attacks.
Garlic
Garlic is highly effective in the garden due to its strong aroma, which repels many pests and makes it a great companion for strawberries. Beyond its well-known culinary uses,
Leek
Leeks make excellent companions for strawberries. Their strong odor naturally repels many common berry pests, and strawberries thrive when planted nearby. This pairing enhances garden health and helps protect strawberries from unwanted insects.
White Clover
Clover is more than just a common lawn weed—it’s a nutrient-rich plant with a long history of culinary and medicinal use. Its leaves and delicate blossoms are edible, often infused into teas or tossed into salads for their potential antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits.
Beyond its edible appeal, clover is an excellent companion for strawberries, enriching the soil with nitrogen and attracting beneficial pollinators.
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