Steve Yoder
I'm Steve, a 30-something urban gardener fascinated by companion planting research. Growing up surrounded by greenery sparked my passion for gardening early on. I enjoy transforming my small backyard, experimenting with companion planting techniques and eco-friendly practices. Sustainability matters—I advocate for native plants and composting.
Table of Contents
Close plant interaction is unavoidable in the garden. However, raspberries are finicky and do not get along with every plant. However, some neighbors prove to be genuine helpers. Raspberry plants grow upright, which leaves plenty of room in the lower bed area. This can be filled with a variety of veggies or ground coverings. These plants make excellent raspberry companion plants.
Benefits of Raspberry Companion Planting
Different plants grow together on one bed in a mixed culture. In an ideal world, excellent neighbors help one other grow. It makes no difference which plant species are engaged. Fruits, vegetables, flowers, and herbs, for example, can all be planted together as long as they get along.
Raspberry plants spend their entire lives in one location. They leak the soil on one side, making it easier for diseases and pests to spread. Practical experience with these berry plants has shown that they can produce a beneficial mixed culture with other plants, thereby mitigating or preventing the aforementioned problems from occurring in the first place.
What to Look for when Choosing Raspberry Companion Plants?
Raspberries should be neighbors with distinct nutritional requirements, otherwise they will become rivals. They are also shallow-rooted plants with roots that stretch up to 1 m around their base, close to the soil surface. Neighboring roots should be avoided if feasible. Raspberry, as a woodland plant, gets along with other woodland plants, as well as some vegetables and blooming plants.
Good neighbors must have almost the same site requirements as the raspberries for successful mixed growing. The berries need sunny and warm locations. A wide range of soil types from sandy loam to clay loam is satishave factory for growing raspberries The character of the subsoil is more important than the type of surface soil. Therefore, you should prefer you subsoil deep and well drained.1
Furthermore, raspberries are shallow growers that are frequently planted on trellises. This means that other plants should not compete with the fruit in the root zone and should ideally remain as low as possible to allow for uninterrupted berry harvesting. The trellis system is very important for increasing raspberry yield in your garden.2
Now, it’s time to find out about the best raspberry companion plants!
The Best Raspberry Companion Plants
If you are growing raspberries in your garden, choose the listed plants below as your raspberry companion plants:
- Bush beans
- Peas
- Ferns
- Garlic
- Lily of the valley
- Marigold
- Yarrow
- Violets
- Forget-me-not
- Onions
Bush Beans
Bush beans grow low so that the long raspberry canes can develop unhindered. From May they can be sown in vacant places in the raspberry bed. They not only provide us with edible pods soon, they also promote the health of raspberries. When their life is over in the fall, leave the roots in the ground. They are enriched with nitrogen, which, when you decompose, replenishes the soil store.
More about Beans companion plants:
Peas
What was said about bush beans earlier also applies to peas. However, consider low-growing pea varieties so that they do not compete for light with the berry bushes.
Ferns
Ferns are perennial and hardy, making them ideal as long-term raspberry companions. Ferns make excellent growing companions for raspberries if allowed to stand in partial shade. As shallow-rooted and medium-growing plants, they thrive in highly raw-humus-rich soil while keeping a planting distance of at least 50 centimeters from the raspberry.These forest dwellers are also very ornamental in the garden, thanks to their lovely fronds. But their true advantage to raspberries occurs inadvertently and unnoticedly: they chase away the terrible raspberry bug.
Garlic
Garlic is a shallow rooter like the raspberry, but its roots reach a maximum depth of ten centimeters, while that of the raspberry draws nutrients and minerals from a depth of about 30 to 40 centimeters. Thus, they do not get in each other’s way. This raspberry companion has the ideal properties to improve the fruit aroma and keep pests out of the bed. Garlic with its essential oils fear flies, aphids, beetles and mites. Although it is a shallow rooter, it stays so close to the soil surface that it barely touches raspberry roots. It is also said to improve the flavor of berries.
Lily of the valley
Lily of the valley is good for underplanting raspberries because it is a low-growing plant. The long canes give the needed shade while keeping the raspberry beetle and its destructive worms at bay. When summer raspberries grow in the spring, they pair well with lily of the valley. The smell repels raspberry beetles and protects against aphid infestation. They also keep the terrible Monilia blight at bay, which can be a problem for raspberries that are prone to fungus. Because lily of the valley requires few nutrients and minerals, it is an excellent companion plant for raspberries.
Marigold
Those who have marigolds in their yard need not be concerned about mites, aphids, or other pests. Although marigolds bloom abundantly and brilliantly, they are low nutrient users. Marigolds, with a maximum growth height of 50, rarely 70 centimeters, create an excellent color accent at the bottom of raspberry perennials with growth heights of more than 130 centimeters. They don’t mind the high nutrient and mineral content of raspberries because they are low growers. Mites, aphids, and a variety of other parasites have no chance with marigolds as neighbors.
Have a look at some more plants you can combine with marigold:
Yarrow Herb
Yarrow promotes raspberry fertility, flowers beautifully, and is tasty. This wild herb is indestructible and has the potential to spread rapidly without our involvement. As a result, it may be required to thin out from time to time.
Violets
Violets, which are very aromatic, can accompany raspberries throughout their life cycle. Initially planted irregularly here and there, they gradually weave a dense carpet. This keeps the soil from drying out completely. This is favorable to the growth and fruiting of raspberries. In the spring, plant weak violets interspersed with raspberry bushes to create a vibrant sea of flowers. They keep the soil moist longer as good plant neighbors and ground covers, which benefits raspberry growth and fruiting.
Forget-me-not (Myosotis)
The little blue blossoms are loved by romantics, but not by pests like the deadly raspberry bug. This slow-growing plant makes an excellent companion plant. If you leave the faded blossoms, they will self-seed and quickly cover the ground around the berry plants. Color is provided by forget-me-nots in the vicinity of raspberry plants in raspberry companion planting. They are weak-harvesters, tolerate poor soil conditions, and their aroma repels raspberry beetles, worms, and other pests.
Onions
Onions successfully repel aphids, which can damage berry plant fruiting. They are similarly heavy eaters, although they seek nutrients closer to the soil’s surface. However, as neighbors, they are only available for one year and must shift to other beds for the next four years.
Onions are strong growers and shallow rooters, making them in the list of the best raspberry companion plants. This is because the rooting depth of onions is significantly greater than that of raspberries, and onions are excellent insect repellents. Aphids, in particular, are kept at bay since they can spread fast on fruiting shrubs and completely eliminate fruiting.
You can combine onions with plenty other plants too!
What not to Plant with Raspberries
Unfortunately, several of the most common plants grown in home gardens have shown to be lousy neighbors for raspberries, promoting the spread of the dreadful Verticillium wilt. These are, in particular:
These plants are not good neighbors for raspberries. In our linked guides below, you can find better options for them!
- 9 Eggplant Companion Plants for Better Growth
- Top 10 Greatest Strawberry Companion Plants (+5 to Avoid)
- 8 Best Potato Companion Plants Helping your Crop Growing
- Best Pepper Companion Plants – Top 10 & Flop 2
References
- Lawrence, F. J. (1979). Growing raspberries(No. 2165). Department of Agriculture, Science and Education Administration.
- Heuvel, J. E. V., Proctor, J. T., & Sullivan, J. A. (2000). Trellising system and cane density affect yield and fruit quality of red raspberry. HortScience, 35(7), 1215-1219.
