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Sunflowers ( Helianthus ) are easily discover by their large flower head and vivid icteric colors . The large flowers of these marvellous plant life have the rarefied power to follow the sun and will keep rotating throughout the twenty-four hours .
Some of the best companion plant life for sunflowers are marigolds , daisies and crimson trefoil .
Basil plant photo by fokkebok/depositphotos
Sunflowers are attractive plants that are often found in veggie garden but many also prefer to let in them in ornamental garden because they can have a spectacular force , especially if you pair them with industrial plant that will complement their born beauty .
There are many companion plant that originate very well alongside sunflowers . Choosing the right companions can aid you optimise the growth , development , and look of your garden .
In this guide , we are move to take a look at some of the good sunflower companion plant to summate to your garden while you are produce sunflowers .
What to Plant With Sunflowers
There are 70 dissimilar species of sunflower plants including annual and repeated variety . Some of these varieties are perfectly huge and grown for helianthus seminal fluid , while others are much minor and preferred for ornamental intent .
When you are choose a comrade plant for sunflower , you should first view the change you have . Not all varieties of sunflower will be compatible with all flora mintage . All helianthus species do however have very alike growing conditions .
When it come tosunflower guardianship , these quickly grow plants require muckle of direct sunlight ( 6 – 8 time of day of verbatim sunshine ) , have a rich ascendant system , and need lots of loose well - drained grime . helianthus fly high in alkaline - rich soil types with a pH of 6.0 – 7.5 .
rent ’s take a looking at some other works that have a standardized growing need as sunflowers that are suitable for companion planting .
Beneficial Plants That Grows Well with Sunflowers
Gardeners often refer to the “ Three Sisters ” when they are discussing associate planting . These “ three Sister ” include dome , corn plants , and squash plant life and are renowned for their harmonious allelopathic kinship when grown together in the same garden seam .
Gardeners also often add an additional phallus , sunflower , to the terzetto to forge “ The Four Sisters ” . The four sister are the overall good companion to include in garden bottom because they each contribute a pregnant amount of benefit .
sunflower , for object lesson , will attract pollinator , are great refinement supplier and can act as a hedge for vine plant to grow on .
rent ’s take a closer look at the other three sisters and the benefits they will make for to the garden .
Sunflowers can be used to supercede Corn ( Zea mays ) in the “ Three Sister ” compounding or can be grow alongside corn for optimal effect .
When corn and sunflowers grow together , the shield they form behind or in front of other vegetables is apply . The bright prime of the helianthus plant will attract pollinators that can increase your corn output . These bright flowers are also a great food for thought source for bird species and can distract hiss so they will leave behind your maize heads alone .
When you are pairing sunflower and corn in the same garden bottom , you should take tending to turn them alongside one another and not in front of one another . Both of these marvellous plants necessitate set of direct sun and will deprive the other of light . It is best to draw them or to keep your helianthus and corn rows disjoined .
Both of these plants are drought - tolerant and can do by most grime type except waterlogged soil . If you offer water slenderly , your corn and helianthus crop should form a hefty hedge .
Beans ( Phaseolus vulgaris ) , or any type of legume industrial plant ( Fabaceae ) including peas , bush beans , and vine beans , are first-class sunflower fellow plants because they can aliment your sunflowers .
helianthus are nutrient - hungry flora that describe a set of nitrogen from the soil . Beans , on the other deal , are roll in the hay for their power to restore the nitrogen degree of soil . Pairing these flora can bring great balance to your garden especially since the sunflowers lure beneficial insect that can cross-pollinate the bean .
A lot of gardeners prefer to grow vine bean varieties because the helianthus stalks will act as a natural trellis for your perch bean . This can keep your beans off the land and pest or disease complimentary . you may also grow bush noodle next to sunflower because the shaggy plants will act as a living mulch and can keep the soil moist and cool for long .
edible bean might need a footling bit more watering than sunflowers . They can farm well alongside one another as long as you found them in well - drain soil and see that your bean plants will still get sufficient sunlight .
crush flora ( Cucurbita ) are also one of the three or four sister flora . Most squash varieties including zucchini , butternut , acorn squash , blue Hubbard crush , and many others can be successfully grown alongside sunflowers .
The helianthus will offer some needed blending to help these plants wave . Sunflowers pull pollinators that will pollinate your pumpkin flower , and the bright sunflowers can act as ambush crops to keep pests like white flies , mash vine borers , and caterpillars out from your veg .
Varieties of squash vines can also habituate the helianthus stalks as trellis so ants and other pests wo n’t make a repast out of your vegetables .
The squash , in return , will play as a ground cover to keep the soil coolheaded and moist so sunflowers can grow levelheaded . Squash will also keep widow’s weeds from sprouting and is helpful for warding off pests like rodent because they have flock of abrupt spikes on their foliage and stems .
If you are pairing sunflowers and squash in your vegetable garden then you should be careful to give hatful of way between the squash and other plant .
Squash can produce smartly and can easy smother some other plants . It is also best to grow sunflower and corn before you grow squash so these plants will have a head kickoff .
Most gardeners urge you grow pole beans between helianthus and squash because fleeceable beans help restitute nutrient in the dirt so your sunflowers wo n’t starve .
Best Flowering Companion Plants for Sunflowers
Sunflowers are exceedingly beautiful and some varieties like Autumn Beauty , Holiday , Ikarus , Moulin Rouge , and Valentine are specifically grown for cosmetic purposes . These varieties are not as tall as commercial-grade sunflowers but offer similar benefits and are also very attractive . rent ’s take a quick expression at the best floral familiar industrial plant to arise with sunflower .
The deep red clover ( genus Trifolium incarnatum ) is an excellent fellow works if you are looking for a skillful solid ground cover charge that can deter weeds and attract pollinators to your garden .
violent clover plant life are also helpful for repair your grunge ’s nitrogen storey which can help sunflowers thrive . These industrial plant will even act as mulch and will increase organic issue in the soil while maintain the ground cool .
When these annuals blossom , they will bring on lots of spiky red flowers that can produce a prominent contrast underneath the vivid scandalmongering flowers of sunflowers . These modest - profile plants require to be planted at the ripe time if you require them to bloom along with your sunflower blooms .
These florescence plants grow well in zone 6 stain types and they love plenty of sun so you could easily ground them in that sunny spot where you keep sunflowers . The flowers grow well in sandy grunge case but can break out in waterlogged land or clay soil type .
The brilliant lily-livered and orangish blossom of marigolds ( Tagetes ) can complement the vivid colors of sunflowers and will help attract lots of pollinating insects to your garden .
These colorful flowers also act as a ambuscade crop to protect your sunflower because they will attract aphids away from your veggie garden .
The inviolable fragrance of marigold flowers can also discourage pests like mosquito , cabbage worms , cucumber beetle , and nematodes that can touch on your sunflower or other plants in the veg garden .
Marigolds are very easy to growbecause they are drouth - tolerant and very audacious . They have a much down in the mouth stature liken to sunflower and as such wo n’t deprive sunflowers of sunlight .
The line of marigold will do a great job concealing the slow base of the sunflower so your ornamental garden will wait much better .
Most gardeners recommend you get marigold on the east side of sunflowers because these efflorescence plants postulate plenty of lineal sunlight to bloom . A row of marigolds behind helianthus is n’t going to flower as well as it should .
See more : What efflorescence go with marigold
Daisies ( Bellis perennis ) are ideal fellow traveller plant if you ask something to insure the ground underneath your sunflowers . This is because daisies need a bit more shade and tall sunflowers provide shade that these flowers might take to live on and thrive .
English daisy also offer up additional benefit since they can keep the soil skillful and cool and will keep some of the wet pin down in the grease . These works will also pull in ladybugs which will fight off aphid infestation and they are gravid for skunk ascendence .
You will also benefit from growing helianthus with daisy . This pair will attend charming when they are in full bloom and daisies have medicinal prop .
Daisies can develop in full sun but will develop well in the tad of your sunflower . They are relatively drouth - tolerant and have the same growing season and condition as sunflowers .
Other Great Sunflower Companions
Sunflowers can be successfully grown with a variety of plant specie and they can benefit veg gardens a corking deal . Here is a quick look at some other good veg varieties to pair with these lovely bloom .
Basil(Ocimum Basilicum ) is a terrific associate plant to consider when you plant sunflower . Sweet basil love to spring up next to sunflowers because the sunflowers offer up just the right amount of blending to protect the herbaceous plant from scorching sunshine rays . Basil will also push back pestilence like roach that might feed on some of the plant life in your garden .
The buddy-buddy foliation is terrific for hold in marvellous sess underneath your sunflowers and it will also protect your household from harmful gadfly like mosquito . you could also use sweet sweet basil to gear up all sort of delicious salads or revel it as a seasoner for pasta or pizza .
This eatable plant life is very gentle to produce since it takes well to most type of well - draining territory . For optimum results , you should arise this edible herb properly next to your helianthus crops .
Planting sunflowers near Vine Tomato varieties ( Solanum Lycopersicum ) can also be a good idea . These are good companion plants because they can use sunflowers as a trellis so those vines and tomato fruit wo n’t hang on the ground . The helianthus will also draw in pest - eat good insects that can defend your tomato growths while the tomato will attract pollinator that can boost your helianthus .
When you are growing these two plants together , you should keep in thinker that tomatoes take slew of sunshine . It is best to constitute your love apple on the side of sunflowers that encounter the most unmediated sun .
You should also allow the helianthus seedlings to originate strong before adding some tomato to the garden bed . This will give the helianthus a headstart and will keep the tomato vines from smothering your sunflowers .
Worst Sunflower Companions
helianthus can form insalubrious allelopathic characteristic when grown alongside sure plant type . However , if you geminate these bad companion plants with sunflowers , you wo n’t see much growth in your garden at all .
Here is a quick tone at what not to plant with sunflowers :
Potatoes
Potatoes(Solanum tuberosum ) and sunflowers do n’t get along at all . Sunflowers are toxic to potatoes and they can crave your sunflowers because potatoes take so many nutrients . There is also a greater danger of getting potato blight and verticillium wilt if you grow these two plants in the same garden .
Hyssop
The hyssop plant ( Hyssopus officinalis ) is a herbaceous plant that you do n’t want to tot up near a sunflower orchard . This herbaceous plant is nutrient - thirsty and can cause your helianthus to starve .
FAQs
What do sunflowers interact with ?
Sunflowers interact positively with a kind of works and crops . They are known for companion planting benefits , attracting pollinator , repelling certain pests , and enhance the overall biodiversity of the garden .
What can sunflowers bear ?
sunflower are generally intrepid and can tolerate a range of stain eccentric , but they fly high in well - enfeeble soil with good natality . They are also quite resilient to heat and can support juiceless conditions once show , making them adaptable to various climates .
What are the instinctive enemies of sunflowers ?
Sunflowers may face up challenges from pest like aphid , Caterpillar , and birds , which can eat the seeds . However , these challenge can be mitigate through proper pest direction and protective measures .
net Thoughts
There are many fellow traveler plants for sunflowers that can supercharge your sunflowers or optimize your garden . We hope that our guide help oneself you find oneself some great neighboring plants so your garden can bet wonderful and flourish .
And if you want any more advice on comrade planting for other plant mintage then we welcome you to have a looking at some of our other guide .
See more : What do helianthus comprise ?
