What Grows Well With Raspberries

Always expensive in the shops,raspberries make a great fruit for desserts and just to eat fresh. Raspberries are not that difficult to grow and are fairly undemanding to maintain. As with all plants they will do better with certain companions so what grows well with raspberries?

What Grows Well With Raspberries

The principles of companion planting are well known, some plants repel pests, some attract beneficial insects either to pollinate or as predators on the bad bugs. Some are sacrificial, taking the bad bugs away from your crop plant. Others share beneficial compounds through the soil whilst others do the opposite.

Good companion plants for raspberries and plants that grow well with raspberries include:-

Rue and Raspberries

Rue is a herb grown in many gardens for its attractive blue/green leaves and yellow flowers. It is also a beneficial plant for keeping aphids, flea beetles, slugs, snails, flies and beetles away from your plants. This makes rue a great plant to grow in companion with raspberries.

Garlic and Raspberries

There is a high sulphur content in garlic which keeps fungal infections away, infections like Verticillium wilt which raspberries are susceptible to. Once infected with this disease plants will die, there is no cure and so prevention is the key here. Surround your raspberries with garlic to prevent this fungal infection from attacking your raspberries.

For more information on Verticillium wilt here’s a link to the Royal Horticultural Society’s website.

Garlic also repels many pests including weevils, fruit tree borers and certain types of beetle. It is also used to keep aphids away and you get to eat the garlic as well. So what else grows well with raspberries?

Chives and Raspberries

The pretty purple flower attracts pollinators to the raspberry patch and the distinctive aroma repels many pests.

Onions and Raspberries

Substituting garlic for onions will achieve the same results, protection from fungal infection and flying pests.

Tansy and Raspberries

A great plant to repel many pests and attract good pollinating insects. Tansy repels mosquitoes, moths, flies and many more pests.

Marigolds and Raspberries

To keep the soil clear of eel worms and other nematodes, under plant raspberries with marigolds. They are also very attractive to pollinators like bees and butterflies. For more on marigold companion plants click this link.

What Not To Grow With Raspberries

As with people so with plants not everyone gets on, and raspberries are no different. Don’t grow raspberries with :-

Potatoes and Raspberries

The same fungal infections that cause potato blight can easily be spread onto raspberries. In fact raspberries should not be planted in the soil that has grown potatoes for the past 5 years. For information on what can you plant with potatoes click here.

Tomatoes and Raspberries

Potato blight is the same as tomato blight which will affect the raspberries so tomatoes should be kept far away from raspberries. To learn all about companion planting tomatoes click here.

Aubergines (egg plants) and Raspberries

Members of the same family as potatoes and tomatoes, aubergines should never be grown near raspberries.

Peppers and Raspberries

As peppers are susceptible to fungal infections that cause disease and death of the plants separate them from raspberries. To find out more about companion planting peppers click here.

Chillies and Raspberries

The viral and fungal infections that chillies are prone to can and will infect raspberries.

Strawberries and Raspberries

These 2 go nicely in the dessert bowl, however they should never be grown together. Strawberries are susceptible to Verticillium wilt and if contracted it will spread to the raspberries. For what to grows well with strawberries click here.

Weeds and Raspberries

It is best practise to keep weeds down around your raspberries because they will take nutrients and water from the plants. They can also harbour pests and diseases. Raspberries do better mulched with well rotted manure This provides extra nutrients,retains moisture, and keeps weeds down.

So for healthier, heavier yielding raspberries follow this advice and let me know how you get on. What grows well with raspberries is one of many companion planting posts I have written. I am a great believer in emulating nature for better growth and plants grow better in companionship with others.