10 Best Plants to Grow with Sunflowers for a More Colorful and Productive Garden

These veggies , herbs , and yearly prosper as helianthus companion plant .

Kindra Clineff

magniloquent sunflowers make ready to hand natural livelihood for climbing vegetables and flowers , and their pollen - copious blooms entice insects to pollinate crop . However , sunflowersdon’t play nicely with all edible and ornamental plants , and they can stamp down the growth of some harvest by releasing allelopathic compound into the ground . Choosing the correct sunflower companion plant is critical to avoid common planting mistakes and get the most out of homegrown sunflowers .

Sunflowers and other colorful flowers in a garden

Credit:Kindra Clineff

Squash and Pumpkins

Laurie Black

Summer squash , winter squash , zucchini , andpumpkinsgrow well with sunflowers as long as you fertilise regularly and give these big works mass of way to spread out . When found together , sprawl squash plant can dish as life mulches to block out weeds and conserve soil moisture . In return , helianthus advance pollinators to visit and assure your pumpkin vine and squash blossoms are pollenate .

Cucumbers

As with squash and pumpkin , Dubya - eccentric cucumberscan be grow beneath grandiloquent helianthus to insulate the soil and suppress weeds . you could also plant vining cucumbers near sunflowers and allow the cucumber vines to use helianthus stalks as innate trellis . If you do n’t have enough elbow room for full - sized sunflower , plant dwarf sunflowers near cucumbers to increase pollenation rates .

Tomatoes

Although mosttomatoesare self - pollenate plants , they typically produce a bigger harvest of fruit when dirt ball pollinators visit their flowers . familiar planting helianthus with tomato is a good room to increase pollinator activeness and raise your tomato harvest home at the same sentence . Just keep in mind that tomatoes and helianthus are both heavy feeders , so you may require to implant sunflowers around the circumference of your tomatoes to keep these hungry plants from contend for soil nutrients .

Corn

Bob Stefko

discover plants that produce well with corn whiskey can be tricky since marvellous cornstalks can block light from achieve lower - arise veg and flower . However , with their long stems and rapid growth rate , sunflowers well keep up withfast - acquire cornas long as you give these plants enough space and fertilizer to meet their want . For even more perquisite , try growing several row of branch sunflowers as a natural windbreak to keep corn stalk from toppling over in impractical atmospheric condition .

Peppers

Jay Wilde

Peppersand sunflowers bothcrave rich soilandfull sun , but that ’s not the only reason these plants are good comrade . Tall helianthus put up promiscuous ghost to lower - grow crops , which can keep unseasoned peppers from developing sunscald in utmost heat . Plus , sunflowers are magnets for pollinators , and produce them near pepper plants can help you grow a larger harvesting of bell peppers and impassioned raging chilis .

Marigolds

If you ’ve ever turn a loss sunflower seedings tocutworm damage , you have it away how frustrating these pests can be in the garden . However , when sunflowers are plant near marigold , the scent of marigold naturally deter cutworms , as well as slugs , escargot , and leafhoppers that sometimes feast on sunflower blooms . Best of all , sunflowers and marigolds make fantastic cut bloom , and their gay colors meld beautifully infall - themed arrangementsand bouquets .

Carrots

Mike Dieter

Some eatable crops such as rod bean plant are sensitive to sunflower allelopathy . Butcarrots , along with most other theme crops , are not bothered by these allelopathic compound . As long as the carrots receive enough light , you should be able to get in a harvest or two of carrot before your sunflowers set off blooming .

Alliums

Alliums , such asonions , garlic , chive , leeks , andscallions , are primarily get for their vivid smack , but these mordacious plant also emit a sulfur - like perfume , which is famously good at deterring an compartmentalization of common garden pestilence . Some nurseryman imbed a ringing of alliums around their vegetable beds to repel pest dirt ball likeaphids , but you could also raise Allium near helianthus to keep deer from browsing on them .

Zinnias

Misha Gillingham

Growing your own swing flower garden is the best room to keep your place brim with refreshed efflorescence without break the money box . While home base gardener can find many plants togrow in a cutting garden , zinniasand helianthus are always at the top of the tilt since these two flowering plants have low maintenance needs and are heavy for beginner . Remember to select improbable old maid cultivar or arise zinnias with dwarf sunflowers like ‘ Teddy Bear ’ so your plants do n’t contend for light .

Basil

Peter Krumhardt

gardener often growbasilbeneath tomato plant plants to protect the herb ’s stamp leaves from sun damage . you’re able to also plant basil beneath sunflower to reduce sunscald in hot weather . This plant partnership also help repel pest such as fly that may bother you while you ’re harvesting sunflower .

pumpkin growing on a vine