The best companion plants for strawberries are borage, sweet alyssum, chives, thyme, oregano, lettuce, spinach, radishes, bush beans, peas, onions, and garlic. These plants can help by attracting pollinators, supporting beneficial insects, filling space, reducing bare soil, or adding useful diversity around the strawberry bed.
Companion planting is useful, but it is not magic. Strawberries still need full sun, good spacing, well-drained soil, regular water, weed control, and disease prevention. A good companion plant should support the strawberry bed without shading the plants, crowding the crowns, trapping too much moisture, or increasing disease pressure.
This guide focuses on practical companion plants for strawberries and plants to avoid. For strawberry variety choices, see HerbVity’s types of strawberries. For broader pairing help, use the companion plant finder.
Quick Answer: Best Companion Plants for Strawberries
Use these pairings as a starting point:
- Borage: one of the best pollinator-support plants for strawberries.
- Sweet alyssum: low, nectar-rich flowers that support hoverflies and other beneficial insects.
- Chives: compact allium with flowers that can attract pollinators when allowed to bloom.
- Thyme and oregano: low herbs for bed edges, especially when allowed to flower.
- Lettuce and spinach: temporary cool-season fillers between young strawberry plants.
- Radishes: fast-growing fillers for early-season gaps.
- Bush beans and peas: useful in nearby rotations or bed edges, but do not let them shade strawberries.
- Onions and garlic: edge companions that add aromatic diversity without taking much room.
Keep tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, eggplant, brambles, mint, and aggressive or shading plants away from strawberry beds when disease pressure, competition, or crowding is a concern.
Companion Plants for Strawberries at a Glance
| Companion plant | Main benefit | Best placement | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Borage | Attracts pollinators; strongest strawberry-specific evidence among common companions | At bed ends or nearby, not directly over crowns | Can self-seed and grow large. |
| Sweet alyssum | Supports small beneficial insects and pollinators | Bed edges, path edges, containers | Keep low flowers from covering strawberry crowns. |
| Chives | Compact allium; flowers attract pollinators | Edges, corners, container pockets | Divide clumps if they become crowded. |
| Thyme | Low-growing herb; flowers can support pollinators | Outer edge of bed or container rim | Needs good drainage and sun. |
| Oregano | Flowering herb for beneficial insects | Separate edge, nearby pot, or border | Can spread aggressively in rich soil. |
| Lettuce | Fast cool-season filler crop | Between young plants before runners fill in | Remove before it crowds strawberries. |
| Spinach | Cool-season edible filler | Early spring or fall gaps | Needs moisture but should not trap humidity over crowns. |
| Radishes | Quick harvest from open spaces | Short-term gaps between new plants | Harvest early so roots and leaves do not compete. |
| Bush beans | Legume rotation or edge crop | Nearby row or separate section | Do not shade strawberries or create dense humidity. |
| Peas | Cool-season legume for nearby trellis or edge | North side or separate nearby trellis | Keep trellis placement from shading strawberries. |
| Onions | Aromatic diversity; narrow upright growth | Bed edge or alternating gaps | Do not crowd strawberry roots or make harvesting awkward. |
| Garlic | Edge allium for aromatic diversity and fall planting | Along bed edges or nearby rows | Needs its own harvest timing and spacing. |
How Companion Planting Helps Strawberry Beds
Good companion planting for strawberries should solve a real garden problem. The most useful benefits are pollinator support, beneficial insect habitat, space efficiency, weed suppression, and disease-aware planting.
Strawberries are self-fertile, but they still benefit from bees and other pollinators for fuller, better-shaped fruit. Flowers near the strawberry bed can help draw pollinators into the area during bloom. Flowers and herbs can also support beneficial insects such as hoverflies, lacewings, lady beetles, and parasitoids.
The tradeoff is competition. Companion plants can reduce yield if they compete for light, water, nutrients, and space. Use companions as helpers, not as a dense jungle around the strawberry crowns.
Best Flowers to Plant With Strawberries
Flowers are usually the most useful strawberry companions because strawberry fruit quality is tied to good pollination. Choose compact, long-blooming flowers that do not shade the strawberry leaves or cover the crown.
Borage
Borage is one of the best companion plants for strawberries because it attracts pollinators and has strawberry-specific research behind it. Plant borage near the strawberry bed, not directly over small strawberry plants, because borage can become large and self-seed.
Use borage at the ends of rows, near raised bed corners, or in a nearby pollinator strip. This gives bees and other insects a reason to visit the area without letting the borage shade the strawberries.
- Best for: pollinator support and strawberry bed diversity.
- Placement: bed ends, nearby herb strip, pollinator border.
- Spacing tip: keep it far enough away that mature borage leaves do not cover strawberry crowns.
- Maintenance tip: deadhead or thin volunteers if it self-seeds too freely.
Sweet alyssum
Sweet alyssum is a low-growing flower that can support pollinators and beneficial insects. It works well along bed edges, path edges, or container rims because it stays low and flowers generously.
Use sweet alyssum as a border, not as a dense mat covering the strawberry crowns. Strawberries need airflow around the crown and fruit, especially in humid weather.
- Best for: bed edges, beneficial insects, and container companions.
- Placement: along paths or raised bed corners.
- Watch out for: overgrowth around strawberry crowns in small containers.
Marigolds and calendula
Marigolds and calendula can add flower diversity near strawberries. They are most useful as part of a broader insectary planting rather than as a guaranteed pest shield.
Plant them near the bed edge or in nearby containers. Avoid crowding the strawberry bed with large-flowered annuals that block sunlight or airflow.
- Best for: flower diversity and beneficial insect habitat.
- Placement: corners, path edges, nearby containers.
- Watch out for: treating them as a cure-all for pests.
Yarrow and other small-flowered insectary plants
Yarrow, dill flowers, cilantro flowers, and other small-flowered plants can support beneficial insects. They work best near the strawberry bed instead of directly in the middle of a dense strawberry planting.
If you use taller insectary plants, put them where they will not shade the strawberries. A nearby pollinator strip can be better than planting everything inside the strawberry bed.
Best Herbs to Plant With Strawberries
Herbs can be useful companions when they flower, attract pollinators, support beneficial insects, or add aromatic diversity. Keep perennial herbs near the edge of the strawberry bed so they do not interfere with runners, renovation, or harvest.
Chives
Chives are one of the easiest herbs to pair with strawberries. They stay fairly compact, have upright leaves, and produce purple flowers that pollinators visit when allowed to bloom.
Plant chives at the bed edge or in corner pockets. Divide clumps every few years so they do not crowd the strawberry crowns.
For more on chive pairings, see HerbVity’s companion plants for chives.
Thyme and oregano
Thyme and oregano are useful near strawberries because they can flower, support pollinators, and stay productive in sunny bed edges. Thyme is especially useful in well-drained bed edges or containers.
Oregano can spread, so it is often better in a nearby pot or at the end of a raised bed. Do not let it creep through the strawberry row and crowd the crowns.
For related herb companion guides, see companion plants for thyme and companion plants for oregano.
Basil and cilantro
Basil and cilantro can be grown near strawberries when you want edible herbs and pollinator flowers. The key is timing. If you harvest herbs constantly before flowering, they will not provide much pollinator value. If you let them flower, they become more useful to beneficial insects.
Use these herbs near the strawberry bed rather than directly among dense runners. Cilantro is especially useful as a cool-season or shoulder-season herb before it bolts.
See also companion plants for basil and companion plants for cilantro.
Best Vegetables to Plant With Strawberries
Vegetable companions are most useful in young strawberry beds, container plantings, or early-season gaps before strawberry runners fill the space. Choose quick or shallow crops that will not shade strawberries or make picking difficult.
Lettuce
Lettuce is a practical short-term companion for new strawberry beds. It grows quickly in cool weather and can use open space before strawberries spread.
Harvest lettuce before it bolts or shades young strawberry plants. For related pairing guidance, see companion plants for lettuce.
Spinach
Spinach works similarly to lettuce as a cool-season filler. It can occupy gaps in early spring or fall while strawberry plants are small.
Keep spinach from forming a dense, damp canopy over strawberries. Good airflow matters around strawberry flowers and fruit. See companion plants for spinach for broader pairings.
Radishes
Radishes are short-term companions because they mature quickly. They can be used in open spaces around new strawberry plants and harvested before they become competitive.
Do not leave radishes too long. Harvest promptly so they do not compete for moisture or make strawberry harvest more awkward.
Bush beans and peas
Bush beans and peas are best used near strawberries rather than tangled through strawberry runners. They can be useful in crop rotations or along bed edges, but tall or trellised legumes should not shade the strawberry bed.
Use bush beans in a nearby section and peas on the north side of the bed if you are in the Northern Hemisphere. For more pairing detail, see companion plants for bush beans, companion plants for green beans, and companion plants for peas.
Onions and garlic
Onions and garlic can fit around strawberries because they are upright and narrow. They are best used along edges, in separate rows, or near the bed rather than packed tightly between mature strawberry crowns.
Garlic is often planted in fall, while strawberries may be renovated or mulched at different times, so plan the bed layout before mixing them. See companion plants for onions and companion plants for garlic.
What Not to Plant With Strawberries
The worst strawberry companions are plants that increase disease risk, crowd the bed, shade the plants, spread aggressively, or make harvest harder.
| Plant or group to avoid | Why to avoid it near strawberries | Better approach |
|---|---|---|
| Tomatoes | Can be linked to soilborne disease rotation concerns, especially Verticillium and other shared soil problems. | Rotate away from old nightshade beds before planting strawberries. |
| Potatoes | Soilborne disease risk and heavy competition. | Keep potatoes in a separate rotation. |
| Peppers and eggplant | Nightshade crops can share disease concerns with strawberries. | Use a different bed for strawberries. |
| Mint | Spreads aggressively and is listed in some Verticillium-risk guidance. | Grow mint in a separate container. |
| Brambles such as raspberries and blackberries | Can share disease concerns and become difficult to manage near low strawberry plants. | Keep cane fruit in a separate bed or row. |
| Large brassicas | Can shade and crowd strawberries; some companion charts list cabbage-family crops as poor neighbors. | Grow cabbage, broccoli, kale, and cauliflower in separate beds. |
| Fennel | Can be a poor neighbor for many garden crops and becomes tall and competitive. | Grow fennel in its own space. |
| Tall corn or sunflowers | Can shade strawberries and compete for water. | Keep tall crops north of strawberries or in separate beds. |
| Aggressive groundcovers | Can smother strawberry crowns and make runner management difficult. | Use straw mulch or carefully managed low annuals instead. |
Also avoid planting strawberries where old strawberry, raspberry, tomato, potato, pepper, or eggplant plantings have had disease problems. Companion planting cannot fix a disease-heavy site.
Companion Planting Layout Ideas for Strawberry Beds
A good layout protects the strawberry crowns first. Do not fill every gap with companions if the result is a damp, shaded, crowded bed.
| Strawberry bed style | Best companion layout | Good companions | What to avoid |
|---|---|---|---|
| New raised bed | Plant strawberries with temporary greens between young plants. | Lettuce, spinach, radishes, sweet alyssum at edges | Perennial herbs in the center of the bed. |
| Matted row system | Keep companions mostly at row ends or outer edges. | Borage nearby, chives at ends, alyssum along paths | Companions that interfere with runners. |
| Hill system | Use compact companions around edges while removing runners. | Chives, thyme, sweet alyssum, lettuce | Aggressive spreaders like mint or oregano in the center. |
| Container strawberries | Use only compact companions in large containers. | Chives, thyme, alyssum, small lettuce | Borage or large marigolds in small pots. |
| Pollinator strip beside strawberries | Plant flowers near the bed rather than inside it. | Borage, alyssum, calendula, yarrow, flowering herbs | Flowers that shade the strawberry row. |
For most home gardens, the easiest layout is strawberries in the main bed, compact alliums and herbs at the edges, and flowering annuals or borage nearby.
Companion Plants for Strawberries in Containers
Container strawberries need more restraint than in-ground strawberries. A container has limited soil, water, nutrients, and root space. Choose compact companions only.
- Best container companions: chives, thyme, sweet alyssum, small lettuce, small spinach, and compact calendula.
- Use caution with: oregano, borage, large marigolds, bush beans, and peas because they can outgrow small pots.
- Avoid: mint, large nightshades, brambles, and anything that shades the strawberry crowns.
Use a wide container with drainage holes, leave air around each strawberry crown, and water consistently. Companions should not make the pot so crowded that leaves stay wet after rain or irrigation.
Companion Planting Tips by Strawberry Type
Different strawberry types need different companion planting strategies. Match the companion plan to the way the strawberry plant grows.
| Strawberry type | Growth habit | Best companion strategy | Companions to use carefully |
|---|---|---|---|
| June-bearing strawberries | Produce runners heavily and often use matted rows | Keep companions mostly at row edges, bed ends, or nearby pollinator strips. | Perennial herbs, borage, large flowers |
| Day-neutral strawberries | Often grown with runners removed and closer spacing | Use compact edge companions and nearby flowers. | Lettuce or spinach in tight plantings |
| Everbearing strawberries | Produce more than one crop window | Use long-blooming flowers nearby for steady pollinator support. | Plants that block airflow during fruiting |
| Alpine strawberries | Small, often clumping, less runner-heavy | Pair with low herbs and pollinator flowers in edges or containers. | Aggressive groundcovers |
| Container strawberries | Limited root and water space | Use only compact companions and maintain drainage. | Borage, mint, large vegetables |
If you are still choosing varieties, read types of strawberries before finalizing your companion planting layout.
Common Companion Planting Mistakes
- Planting too densely. Strawberries need airflow and sunlight around the crown.
- Letting companions shade strawberry flowers. Shaded strawberries produce fewer and weaker fruits.
- Ignoring disease rotation. Avoid planting strawberries after disease-prone crops such as tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, and eggplant.
- Using mint in the strawberry bed. Mint spreads aggressively and is difficult to remove.
- Letting borage take over. Borage is useful, but mature plants need space.
- Forgetting runner management. June-bearing strawberries can fill space quickly.
- Expecting companions to replace pest scouting. You still need to check for slugs, tarnished plant bugs, birds, sap beetles, and fruit rot.
- Using flowers while spraying carelessly. Avoid pesticide choices or timing that harms pollinators and beneficial insects.
The best companion planting plan is simple: full sun, good spacing, clean mulch, a few compact companions, and flowers nearby for pollinators and beneficial insects.
Related HerbVity Guides
- Types of Strawberries
- Companion Plant Finder
- Companion Planting Guide
- Companion Plants for Chives
- Companion Plants for Thyme
- Companion Plants for Oregano
- Companion Plants for Basil
- Companion Plants for Cilantro
- Companion Plants for Lettuce
- Companion Plants for Spinach
- Companion Plants for Onions
- Companion Plants for Garlic
- Companion Plants for Bush Beans
- Companion Plants for Peas
Sources and Further Reading
- University of Minnesota Extension: Growing Strawberries in the Home Garden
- University of Minnesota Extension: Small or Misshapen Strawberries
- University of Maryland Extension: Growing Strawberries in a Home Garden
- University of Delaware Cooperative Extension: The New Companion Planting
- West Virginia University Extension: Companion Planting
- Griffiths-Lee, Nicholls, and Goulson: Companion Planting With Borage and Strawberries
- University of New Hampshire Extension: Pollinator Plants for Northern New England Gardens
- Ohio State University Extension Ohioline: Verticillium Wilt of Strawberry
- Oklahoma State University Extension: Growing Strawberries in the Home Garden
- UC IPM: Verticillium Wilt on Strawberries
FAQs About Companion Plants for Strawberries
What are the best companion plants for strawberries?
The best companion plants for strawberries include borage, sweet alyssum, chives, thyme, oregano, lettuce, spinach, radishes, onions, garlic, bush beans, and peas. Use flowers and herbs near the bed for pollinators and beneficial insects, and use greens only where they will not crowd strawberry crowns.
Is borage a good companion plant for strawberries?
Yes. Borage is one of the best-supported strawberry companion plants because it attracts pollinators. Plant it near strawberry beds or at row ends so it supports bee activity without shading or crowding the strawberry crowns.
What herbs grow well with strawberries?
Good herbs to grow with strawberries include chives, thyme, oregano, basil, and cilantro. Keep perennial herbs near the bed edge or in nearby containers so they do not interfere with strawberry runners, renovation, or harvest.
What vegetables can I plant with strawberries?
Lettuce, spinach, radishes, onions, garlic, bush beans, and peas can work near strawberries when spacing is managed. Use lettuce, spinach, and radishes as short-term fillers in young beds, and keep beans or peas from shading strawberries.
What should you not plant with strawberries?
Avoid planting strawberries near or after tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, eggplant, brambles, mint, and large shading crops when disease, competition, or crowding is a concern. Also avoid aggressive spreaders that can smother strawberry crowns.
Can you plant tomatoes near strawberries?
It is better to keep tomatoes and strawberries in separate crop rotations because tomatoes and other nightshades can be linked to soilborne disease concerns for strawberries. Do not plant strawberries in beds with recent tomato, potato, pepper, or eggplant disease problems.
Can mint grow with strawberries?
Mint is not a good in-bed companion for strawberries because it spreads aggressively and is difficult to remove. If you want mint nearby for flowers or scent, grow it in a separate container away from the strawberry crowns and runners.
What companion plants work with strawberries in containers?
Compact companions such as chives, thyme, sweet alyssum, small lettuce, and small spinach can work in large strawberry containers. Avoid large companions such as borage or beans in small pots because they compete for root space, water, and light.