4 Best & 4 Bad Chives Companion Plants

Steve_Yoder
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.

Chives may be multiplied most easily and effectively via division of the perennial plant. This can be accomplished by gently pulling apart the root ball of an older plant in the fall or spring to separate the closely spaced bulbils. 

Chives can help protect your plants from root diseases and insects. They also have a good list of chives companion plants that are prone to fungal diseases, like powdery mildew.

Chives have been used as companion plants since ancient times because they repel many pests and improve the flavor of many other plants like tomatoes and carrots.

Best Chives Companion Plants

Best Chives Companion Plants

Cabbage with Chives

You may grow chives and cabbage together, but you must be careful to avoid having the leaves overlap. If chives are already present in your garden, relocate them to a different spot so they won’t compete with your cabbage for moisture and nutrients. Additionally, you may grow chives right next to your cabbage to ward against vermin-like slugs and flea beetles.

As you see, it is not easy to plant them together in the right way. If you manage to do that cabbage will be an amazing member of the best chives companion plants!

When cabbage gets excessively dry, chives help it retain moisture and give it a taste. Furthermore, they help in preventing the spread of fungal infections throughout the entire plant, which is crucial if you’re growing cabbage indoors with lights.

For more information about cabbage and its companion plants: 7 Best & 3 Worst Cabbage Companion Plants

Carrots as Chives Companion Plants

Carrots as Oregano Companion Plants

The second member of the best chives companion plants is carrots. Since both chives and carrots belong to the onion family, they have a lot in common. In addition to being used as vegetables and herbs in cooking, chives and carrots also make wonderful companion plants since they encourage each other’s growth.

By warding against illnesses that may obliterate the plant’s root system, chives aid in the better growth of carrots. On the other side, carrots will provide your chive plant nitrogen, which will promote overall development and increase its resistance to pests like aphids or whiteflies.

Carrot has many other companions too! Check out the list: 5 Carrot Companion Plants for More Nutrients (+ 5 Bad Companions)

Chives and Roses Plant Together

Two of the most common plants that grow together are chives and roses. This is due to the fact that they both require little maintenance and look fantastic when grown in the same garden.

Chives can also help protect your roses from the blackspot disease, which is another benefit that makes them a great plant to grow alongside rose bushes. A fungus called blackspot causes plants to have their leaves turn entirely black and die off. It’s crucial to prevent this from happening since it will render your garden worthless until you have to dig out and discard all of the infected branches.

The more aphids surrounding your chive plants the less likely it is that any new ones will appear. They are climbing up through weeds into lawns or gardens where no one wants them anyhow. Chives are notorious for keeping aphids away from their roots. 

Tomatoes and Chives as Companions

Tomatoes as Dill Companion Plants

To continue our list of the best chives companion plants we may not forget tomatoes1! Tomatoes and chives make a fantastic companionship together. The tomato reaps the rewards of chive pest management while being protected from aphids, whiteflies, and spider mites. The addition of chives gives tomatoes an herbal taste that enhances their flavor. This was the last member of the best chives companion plants on our list, but we have one more piece of special information for you! Just have a look at the next section.

Chives and Bees

The special member of our list is bees2! Since chives are related to onions, bees are drawn to them. The chive plant may utilize the nectar and pollen that bees create in the spring as a food source. This aids in pollinating your plants, which will eventually produce more seeds. Therefore, if you grow chives in your yard, bees will benefit from them by being healthier and tastier. By pollinating a variety of plants, bees help maintain the health of our planet’s ecosystems by causing them to produce fruit or blooms that may be consumed or sold.

What Not to Grow With Chives

Bad Chives Companion Plants

For chives, there are terrible neighbors in addition to our list of excellent chives companion plants. The leek plant’s development and health may be adversely affected by these. Let’s have a look at the plants you must avoid when planting chives in your garden.

Besides this negative aspect, we have some great news for you. If you were thinking about planting one of these plants in your garden listen carefully! You can plant all these plants in your garden with lots of different neighbors! We have companion plant lists for all of them! Check them out!

Beans: Beans Companion Plants – Which Ones Should be Chosen?

Broccoli: 11 Good and Bad Broccoli Companion Plants

Cilantro: 17 Stunning Cilantro Companion Plants Boosting Growth 

References
  1. Kijima, T. (2020). Japanese Style Companion Planting: Organic Gardening Techniques for Optimal Growth and Flavor. Tuttle Publishing.
  2. Foppiani, G. (2020). There is no plan bee. AND Rivista di architetture, città e architetti, (37).