Fruit trees might be the stars of your garden, but they can’t do it all alone. The right companion plants can boost pollination, deter pests, and enrich the soil.
These 16 powerhouse partners work behind the scenes to support healthier, more productive trees. Plant them nearby and watch your harvest grow sweeter, bigger, and better than ever.
1. Aromatic Lavender
Lavender’s lovely purple blooms aren’t just pretty – they’re powerful pest fighters for your fruit trees! The strong scent confuses and repels many harmful insects that would otherwise damage your precious fruits.
Plant lavender around apple, peach, and plum trees to attract pollinators while deterring pests. As a bonus, the shallow root system won’t compete with your tree’s roots for nutrients.
Lavender thrives in sunny, well-drained soil and requires minimal water once established, making it a low-maintenance companion that looks and smells amazing.
2. Nitrogen-Fixing Clover
Clover works like a tiny fertilizer factory beneath your fruit trees! This humble ground cover pulls nitrogen from the air and converts it to a form trees can use, essentially feeding your fruit trees naturally.
White clover forms a living mulch that suppresses weeds, retains moisture, and prevents soil erosion. The flowers attract beneficial insects like bees and predatory wasps that help with pollination and pest control.
Simply scatter clover seeds under your tree’s drip line in spring or fall for a companion that improves your soil while looking lush and green.
3. Pest-Fighting Marigolds
Marigolds are like nature’s pest control squad for your fruit trees! Their roots release chemicals that repel nematodes, microscopic worms that can damage tree roots and reduce fruit production.
The bright orange and yellow blooms attract beneficial insects like ladybugs and hoverflies that feast on aphids and other pests. For maximum effect, plant marigolds in a ring around your fruit trees, about 2-3 feet from the trunk.
Choose French or Mexican varieties for the strongest pest-repelling properties, and enjoy their cheerful flowers all season long.
4. Comfrey’s Deep Benefits
Comfrey is like a mining operation for your fruit trees, sending roots up to 10 feet deep to bring up nutrients that would otherwise remain out of reach. Those large, fuzzy leaves accumulate calcium, potassium, and phosphorus – essential minerals for healthy fruit production.
When you cut comfrey leaves and lay them around your trees as mulch, they break down quickly, releasing these gathered nutrients right where needed. The purple bell-shaped flowers also attract pollinators.
Plant comfrey patches near (but not too close to) fruit trees, as it can spread enthusiastically if not contained.
5. Pollinator-Magnet Borage
Borage brings the buzz to your orchard with stunning star-shaped blue flowers that bees absolutely can’t resist! This annual herb attracts so many pollinators that nearby fruit trees often produce significantly more fruit.
Beyond pollination power, borage adds trace minerals to your soil as its leaves decompose. The cucumber-flavored leaves and flowers are even edible for humans – try them in salads or as a pretty garnish!
Borage self-seeds readily, so plant it once and enjoy years of this beneficial companion with minimal effort.
6. Yarrow’s Beneficial Network
Yarrow acts like a welcome mat for the good bugs your fruit trees need! Its flat-topped flower clusters provide the perfect landing pad for tiny beneficial wasps and predatory insects that hunt down fruit tree pests.
This hardy perennial improves soil health by accumulating phosphorus, potassium, and copper. When planted near fruit trees, yarrow creates a microclimate that can help protect delicate blossoms from late spring frosts.
With feathery foliage and long-lasting blooms, yarrow adds beauty while working hard to support your orchard’s ecosystem.
7. Garlic’s Fungal Protection
Garlic stands guard against fungal diseases that threaten fruit trees! When planted in a ring around tree trunks, garlic releases sulfur compounds that naturally suppress common orchard problems like powdery mildew and apple scab.
The strong aroma confuses and repels borers, aphids, and fruit tree moths that would otherwise damage your harvest. Fall-planted garlic bulbs develop alongside your dormant trees and provide protection right when spring pests emerge.
As a bonus, you’ll harvest garlic bulbs in early summer, making excellent use of the growing space under your trees!
8. Nasturtium’s Pest Distraction
Nasturtiums serve as decoy plants, sacrificing themselves to save your fruit trees! These colorful flowers act as trap crops by attracting aphids and other pests that would otherwise attack your fruit trees.
The bright orange, yellow, and red blooms create a protective barrier when planted around tree drip lines. Both the round leaves and edible flowers have a peppery taste that humans enjoy, but many pests find irresistible.
Nasturtiums thrive in poor soil with minimal care, making them easy additions that provide multiple benefits to your orchard.
9. Dill’s Predator Attraction
Dill serves as a boarding house for helpful predators that protect your fruit trees! The delicate yellow flower umbels attract lacewings, ladybugs, and parasitic wasps – nature’s own pest control squad.
These beneficial insects lay eggs near colonies of aphids and other pests, ensuring their young have plenty to eat. A single lacewing larva can devour up to 600 aphids during its development, keeping your fruit trees clean naturally.
Allow some dill to flower and set seed near apple and pear trees for continuous protection throughout the growing season.
10. Chives’ Subtle Defense
Chives provide invisible protection for your fruit trees through their mild onion scent that confuses pests looking for a meal! These easy-growing perennials deter apple scab and discourage Japanese beetles while taking up minimal space.
The pretty purple pom-pom flowers attract pollinators in spring when fruit trees need them most. Chives form neat clumps that can be divided every few years, allowing you to spread protection throughout your orchard.
Plant them especially near apple and pear trees, where their natural fungicidal properties help prevent common fruit diseases.
11. Chamomile’s Healing Presence
Chamomile works like a natural nurse for ailing fruit trees! This sweet-scented herb contains compounds that strengthen neighboring plants’ resistance to disease while improving their flavor development.
The daisy-like flowers attract hoverflies whose larvae devour aphids by the hundreds. When chamomile leaves decompose, they release calcium, potassium, and sulfur that nourish your fruit trees through the soil food web.
Scatter seeds under apple trees in particular – folklore claims that an “apple tree planted with chamomile never gets sick,” and modern science suggests there’s truth to this old wisdom!
12. Tansy’s Insect Management
Tansy creates a fortress of protection around fruit trees with its powerful scent that repels ants, flies, Japanese beetles, and borers! The bright yellow button flowers stand tall on sturdy stems, creating a barrier that many pests won’t cross.
This old-fashioned herb contains natural compounds that specifically deter fruit tree pests. Plant tansy near peach and plum trees to discourage borers that can devastate these stone fruits.
Keep tansy contained as it spreads readily, and never plant it where livestock might graze, as it’s toxic to many animals.
13. Fennel’s Beneficial Brigade
Fennel transforms your orchard into a five-star hotel for beneficial insects! The lacy yellow flower heads attract parasitic wasps, syrphid flies, and tachinid flies – all voracious hunters of caterpillars and other fruit tree pests.
The tall, feathery plants provide habitat diversity in your orchard, creating microclimates that benefit nearby trees. Position fennel at the edges of your orchard rather than directly beneath trees, as it can inhibit growth in some plants.
Bronze fennel varieties offer the same benefits with distinctive purple-tinged foliage that adds visual interest to your growing space.
14. Thyme’s Ground Protection
Thyme creates a living carpet that protects fruit tree roots while filling the air with pest-confusing fragrance! This low-growing herb forms dense mats that suppress weeds and retain soil moisture, reducing competition and water stress for your trees.
The tiny flowers attract an abundance of pollinators during fruit tree blooming seasons. Different varieties offer unique benefits – lemon thyme deters fruit flies, while creeping thyme withstands light foot traffic for walkable orchard paths.
Plant thyme around the drip line of trees where it won’t compete with trunk growth but can still provide its protective benefits.
15. Mint’s Strategic Support
Mint delivers powerful pest protection when used strategically near fruit trees! The strong scent masks the smell of your fruit trees, confusing many pests that find their targets through scent.
Ants – which farm and protect aphids – avoid crossing mint barriers, breaking the partnership that often leads to aphid infestations. Keep mint contained in buried pots or designated areas, as its aggressive spreading habit can overwhelm trees if left unchecked.
Different mint varieties repel specific pests – peppermint deters ants and aphids, while spearmint confuses squash bugs and spider mites.
16. Allium’s Protective Circle
Alliums form a protective shield around fruit trees that many pests refuse to cross! This family, which includes ornamental onions with stunning purple globes, releases sulfur compounds that deter pests both above and below ground.
Plant alliums in a circle around trees to create a defense perimeter against borers, aphids, and fruit tree maggots. The dramatic flowers attract beneficial insects while adding architectural interest to your orchard.
Unlike garlic or onions, ornamental alliums won’t be harvested, providing continuous protection throughout their life cycle.