Choose plants that will help these cheerful flowers thrive.
Companion planting is when you put two plants side-by-side that help each other.
Sometimes that means that one plant repels bugs that often attack the other plant.
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Companion plants can also encourage pollination.
For sunflowers, there are sun-loving flowers, herbs, and vegetables that make colorful and practical companion plants.
We’ve rounded up sunflower companion plants to consider as you’re planning your summer garden.
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Laura Janneyis the founder and owner ofThe Inspired Garden.
Planting sunflowers alongside companion plants can help shield them from pests like beetles, aphids, and weevils.
But even more than companion plants benefitting sunflowers, sunflowers can help other plants thrive.
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What Are The Best Sunflower Companion Plants?
But they aren’t all function.
Because sunflowers tower over the tomato plants, they protect them from summer’s harshest rays.
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That helps reduce the amount of moisture tomatoes lose, which helps you extend the time between watering.
Plus, sunflowers will trap stink bugs, which are a known enemy of your tomato harvest.
Zucchini
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Zucchini are abeginner-friendly squashthat often leave gardeners with an abundance of fruit.
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Rather than the vines overtaking your garden, they’ll grow stem-in-stem with your summer flowers.
Think of them as a vibrant line of defense it’s possible for you to plant around your sunflowers.
That’s why it’s a beneficial plant to have around when you’re growing sunflowers.
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Corn
Think of corn and sunflowers as summer’s favorite brother and sister plants.
These two tall plants will grow side-by-side, each reaching for the sun.
They will, however, disturb pests, which are turned away from this allium’s strong odor.
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Shasta Daisy
Shasta daisies make a striking companion plant for sunflowers primarily based on their looks.
Sunflowers and daisies have a similar joyful appearance that’s perfect for the sunny days of summer.
When you plant shorter daisies beneath tall sunflowers, you get a sea of classicsummer blooms.
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Plus, the daisies benefit from the shade provided by the sunflowers.
For lettuce, the shade offered by sunflowers is a welcome respite during summer’s hottest days.
Meanwhile, sunflowers are glad that lettuce attracts ladybugs, which eat aphids and other pesky pests.
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Carrots
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Carrots and sunflowers grow well together because they don’t compete for nutrients.
Sunflowers provide much-needed shade for growing carrots, while the root vegetables pull moisture from deeper roots.
Carrots can be planted on the eastern side of a sunflower patch, or they can be planted together.
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The vines also stabilize sunflower stalks.
In return, cucumber leaves shade the soil and help keep it moist.
They spread across the ground, providing shade for sunflower roots and keeping weeds at bay.
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Sunflowers reciprocate by providing shade for nasturtiums and extending their bloom time into fall.
The flowers also complement one another with similar coloring.
Sunflowers and onions attract different insects, so they don’t fight for pest control.
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They also have the same watering requirements.
Janney continues, “Pair sunflowers with plants that thrive in similar soil and sun conditions.
For instance, while tomatoes prefer moist soil, sunflowers favor drier conditions.
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Since sunflowers require full sun, avoid planting shade-loving plants like hostas or ferns.”
Here are a few of the companion plants to avoid with sunflowers.
Because of the sunflower releasing allelopathic chemicals into the soil, the pole bean’s growth will be stunted.
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Hostas
Shade-lovinghosta plantsthrive in forest-like environments, which is the opposite of what sunflowers prefer.
Potatoes
Potatoes and sunflowers don’t get along because of the chemicals that sunflowers release.
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