Chives grow well with a variety herbs and vegetables. The list of chive companion plants below will help you decide how to design your vegetable garden in the most efficient way.
Growing chives can help protect your crops. Their strong aroma acts as a natural pest control, deterring predatory insects.
The flowers of chives will attract pollinators to your garden, which will help increase crop yield.
There are also vegetables you can plant that will help your chives thrive by improving the soil health and providing shade. This teamwork makes companion planting a smart choice for any gardener.
Keep reading for a complete guide to chives companion planting.
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Good companion plants for chives
This lists below highlight the best (and worst) plants to grow with chives. They explain how the pairings work to control common garden problems.
You can also download two free chives companion planting charts from the project card at the bottom of this post.
Fruit and vegetable companion plants for chives
- Tomatoes – The strong onion-like scent of chives is a natural deterrent for tomato hornworms and aphids, which are common tomato pests.
- Lettuce – Planting chives near lettuce plants helps to repel flea beetles and aphids, which are attracted to lettuce.
- Strawberries – The scent of chives repels aphids. It also masks the scent of strawberries, helping to keep them hidden from slugs and spider mites.
- Cucumbers – The aroma of chives repels cucumber beetles. They also attract bees, which benefit cucumber pollination.
- Cabbage – The herb repels cabbage loopers and attracts beneficial insects that prey on other cabbage pests.
- Broccoli – Chives help to repel pests which like to feast on broccoli and other Brassicas like cabbage worms and aphids. Their scent also attracts pollinators.
- Kale – Since kale is also a member of the Brassica family, chives give it similar insect repelling benefits to broccoli and cabbage.
- Beets – The aroma of chives deters insects like Japanese beetles, which are known to bother beets.
- Spinach – Chives repel aphids and leaf miners, which feed on spinach. Both chives and spinach are cool weather crops, so they do well planted side by side.
- Celery – The strong scent of celery attracts aphids, which love celery plants. Chives keep those aphids away
- Carrots – Chives balance the sweetness of carrots. They also deter carrot rust flies which feast on the roots of carrots.
Herb companion plants for chives
- Mint – Chives keep aphids, spider mites and Japanese beetles away from mint. However, mint can be very invasive so it’s best to grow it in a separate pot beside chives.
- Thyme – These two herbs make companions because they enjoy similar growing conditions.
- Basil – Both herbs repel insects and attract pollinators. This makes basil and chives a beneficial pair.
- Parsley – Chives and parsley have similar sunlight, watering and soil needs, making them a good combination to grow together.
Flower companion plants for chives
- Roses – Once established, chives can keep black spot away from roses by repelling aphids. Aphids spread black spot, a common fungal disease for roses.
- Marigolds – Like chives, marigolds are a known pest deterrent. They each repel different insects, making them a great team.
- Nasturtiums – Chives and nasturtiums both repel insects and attract pollinators. This works to benefit both plants.
Bad companion plants for chives
Not every plant pairs well with chives. Knowing which ones to avoid is just as useful as knowing the best matches.
If you are wondering what not to plant near chives, this list will help.
- Dill – Chives likes to be consistently moist, while dill prefers a drier soil. For this reason, they are not good companion plants.
- Other Alliums – Onions, garlic, leeks, and chives are all members of the same family. Although Alliums share similar growing conditions, planting them together can deplete the nutrients in the soil and attract the same pests.
- Beans – Chives, along with other members of the Allium family, release a substance that is harmful to the roots of bean plants.
- Fennel – This plant is a bad companion for most plants, and chives are no exception. Fennel releases chemicals that inhibit the growth of nearby plants.
- Peas – Chives and peas are both heavy feeders. When planted too closely together, they compete with each other for nutrients, affecting the growth of both plants.
- Asparagus – In confined spaces, chives can compete with asparagus for nutrients in the soil. This can stunt the growth of asparagus plants.
Chives companion planting chart
If you’d like a reminder of good companion plants for chives, you can print out this chives companion planting chart as a high definition image. You can also get this chart (and second printable) from the project card at the bottom of the post in a slightly smaller size.
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Chives make a great companion plant for many fruits, veggies, herbs, and flowers! Discover the best plants to grow with chives on The Gardening Cook. 🌱🍅🌹🥕🍓 #CompanionPlanting #ChiveCompanions #GardenTips #HomeGarden Share on XPin this post about chive planting companions
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You can also watch this YouTube slideshow video about chive companion plants!
Chives Companion Planting Chart Printable
There are several vegetables and herbs that make good companion plants for chives.
Chives repel many insects and also attract pollinators. The companion plants improve the soil and grow in similar conditions to chives.
This teamwork makes companion planting a smart choice for any gardener.
Print out the two lists of chives companion plants below and take them with you when you go plant shopping.
Materials
- Printer paper
Tools
- Computer
- Printer
Instructions
- Load your computer paper into your printer.
- Using the print function on this card will give you two lists of chive companion plants that fill about 3/4 of an 8.5 x 11-inch sheet of paper.
- Choose portrait layout and, if possible, "fit to page" in your settings. Doing this will fill the entire page.
- Alternatively, you can use this link and this link to print the chive companions charts as high-resolution images, using the print feature in your browser window.
- After you get these lists of chive companion plants, you use them to plan your garden layout.
- Please note: Free gardening printables take a long time to make. These lists of chive companions are for personal use only. If you are sharing these lists (and thank you for that!), please link directly to this post and not to the actual images. We appreciate your help in supporting the site. These gardening printables may not be used for any retail purpose or mass distribution.
Notes
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