4 Best Types of Companion Plants for Fruit Trees to Boost Your Harvest

Companion planting vegetables with certain other plants can deter garden pests and make veggies more productive without fertilizers or pesticides. You can apply this same concept when growing fruit trees by pairing them with the right types of companion plants. Whether you want to improve soil conditions, attract pollinators, or naturally repel pests, here are the best plants to grow under or near fruit trees and why these plant partners work so well.

Best Plants to Grow with Fruit Trees

Thanks to their height and adaptability, fruit trees get along with a wide variety of plants. But growing them with flowers, pest-repelling herbs, legumes, and groundcovers has major perks. If you want to get the most benefits out of fruit tree companion planting, try combining a few plants from each of the following categories and choose plants that bloom at different times to keep pollinators interested.

1. Flowering Plants

Growing flowers under or within 25 feet of fruit trees has several distinct benefits. Not only do flowers add visual appeal, but they also attract pollinators and beneficial insects that can increase fruit yields and keep pests at bay. Many native perennials, annuals, and bulbs can be planted with fruit trees, but here are a few ideas get you started.

Spring-Blooming Bulbs: Daffodils, crocuses, snowdrops, and other spring-flowering bulbs are easy to tuck in beneath fruit trees and they die back when temperatures rise. Growing these early bloomers beneath fruit trees can support spring pollinators awaiting fruit tree flowers. A few, such as daffodils, are also pest-repellant and can deter deer from browsing near fruit trees.

Native Perennials: Non-native perennials can grow well beneath fruit trees; however, native plants offer more benefits. For starters, native plants are more attractive to pollinators, but they’re also perfectly adapted to local growing conditions and will return year after year with minimal fuss. Look for species that are native to your region.

Annuals: Nasturtiums, marigolds, dwarf sunflowers, zinnias, and borage are just a few easy-care annual flowers that pair beautifully with fruit trees as long as they get enough sunlight. These plants won’t compete with fruit trees for space or soil nutrients, and they naturally die back at the end of the season for easy garden cleanup.

2. Scented Plants

Many fragrant plants also produce flowers, so there’s some crossover between these two companion plant categories. However, scented plants have an added advantage: their strong fragrance can deter an assortment of fruit tree pests so you’ll get more blemish-free fruit. Some of the best plants for the job include popular culinary herbs, but several other “smelly” plants grow well with fruit trees too.

Herbs: Herbs like sage, thyme, rosemary, lavender, chives, oregano, and chamomile can all be used as companion plants to deter fruit tree pests like the codling moth. That said, these plants grow best in full sun and may not thrive directly beneath fruit trees that cast a lot of shade. If this is the case, you may want to experiment with more shade-tolerant herb companions, like dill and cilantro.

Other Pest-Repelling Plants: Aside from culinary herbs, other fragrant plants that deter fruit tree pests include horseradish and plants in the allium family, such as garlic, ramps, and ornamental alliums. Allium plants are especially helpful against peach tree borers, but they can keep deer and rabbits away too.

3. Soil Improvers

Large-scale orchards often rely on synthetic fertilizers to help fruit trees produce better. But you can reduce or even eliminate the need for fertilizers by growing nitrogen-fixing plants around your trees. These plants naturally enrich the soil as they grow and can contribute even more nutrients to fruit trees if you allow their stems and leaves to degrade back into the soil when the plants die away in fall.

Beans and Peas: Edible legumes are often used as companion plants in vegetable gardens to improve soil fertility, But these plants can provide many of the same benefits to fruit trees. Keep in mind that bush-type beans and peas generally don’t need support, but pole beans require trellises or cages for their vining stems.

Lupines: Many growers don’t realize that lupines belong to the legume family and can also benefit neighboring plants with their nitrogen fixing roots. Most garden centers sell bigleaf lupines, which are known for their big leaves and bold blooms. But wild lupines can be an even better option for gardeners on the East Coast where these plants are native and support pollinators like the endangered Karner Blue butterfly.

Clover: Nitrogen-fixing Dutch white clover and micro clover are easy to find at most garden centers. More colorful options like crimson clover or red clover can be interesting to grow around fruit trees too.

4. Groundcovers

When grown beneath fruit trees, clover plants don’t just add nitrogen to the soil. They also function as a weed-suppressing groundcover and keep tall weeds from intruding and competing with fruit Other groundcovers that can grow beneath fruit trees include:

Creeping Thyme: This herb is technically an edible, but it’s most often grown as a groundcover for controlling weeds. Creeping thyme forms a dense, low-mat of foliage and produces pinkish-purple flowers that bees can’t resist.

Mint: Most plants can’t keep up with mint’s aggressive growth, but this fast-growing edible doesn’t pose the same challenges for taller fruit trees. Left on their own, mint plants form a thick groundcover that other plants have a tough time pushing through. Mints also produce flowers that attract pollinators.

Wild Strawberries: Also known as alpine strawberries, wild strawberries produce smaller berries than cultivated varieties, but they tolerate more shade. They’re a good choice for small spaces.

Rhubarb: Although rhubarb is taller than most groundcover plants, its large leaves and robust nature make it ideal for controlling weeds. For maximum coverage, grow several rhubarb plants in a ring beneath fruit trees and harvest the plants’ edible stems in spring for pies.