Rosemary is a popular herb grown in many gardens or even indoors in pots. Yes, it is an herb, not a spice. It has two scientific names, Salvia Rosmarinus and Rosmarinus Officinalis, and is native to the Mediterranean and Asia.
Rosemary is used in food flavoring, especially meats and potatoes. You can find dried rosemary for sale in basically any grocery store, but fresh rosemary tastes a lot better. Rosemary is also used to make herbal tea. Fresh rosemary is commonly added to gin and tonic cocktails.
There are many cultivars that you can grow in your garden or indoors:
- Haifa – small with white flowers
- Irene – low plant with intense blue flowers
- Golden rain – green leaves with yellow streaks
- Blue Rain – pink flowers
- Blue Boy – small variation with small leaves
And many more, a few rosemary cultivars have even gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit, such as Severn Sea or Sissinghurst Blue.
It is good to know which plants are the best rosemary companion plants and what plants to keep away from rosemary.
Best Rosemary Companion Plants
#1 Strawberries
Strawberries are often susceptible to slugs and other pests, which is why you probably want to plant them with rosemary since the strong scent of rosemary repels them. Both plants also give each other the necessary nutrients for growth. A perfect symbiosis.
Best Companion Vegetables
#2 Cabbage
Cabbages are often eaten by moths; that’s where rosemary can help. Rosemary scent repels moths. Rosemary is also excellent with other plants belonging to the Brassica family, such as broccoli.
#3 & #4 Carrots and Parsnips
An annoying pest of carrots (and parsnips!) is the carrot fly, which lays eggs in the carrot (or parsnip), destroying the plant. The scent of rosemary scares them off as well.
#5 Onion
Onions are known bug-repellants. Together with rosemary, they are perfect partners in preventing pests. An excellent trio would be rosemary-onion-cabbage growing together.
#6 Peppers
Rosemary is known to improve the taste of peppers! Rosemary also prevents moisture evaporation from the soil, which is beneficial for pepper plants.
Best Companion Flowers
#7 Alyssum
Alyssum flowers invite beneficial insects, which help rosemary and other plants grow. At the same time, rosemary, with its strong scent, keeps plant-eating bugs away.
#8 Marigolds
Marigolds also repel insects, which makes them a great plant to grow with Rosemary to keep insects far away from your garden.
Best Companion Herbs
#9 Lavender
Lavender and Rosemary are both native to the Mediterranean and thrive under similar conditions. Sometimes it can be difficult to remember when to water certain types of plants. Growing lavender and rosemary together is easy because you can water them at the same time, about once a week. Common lavender is more cold-hardy than rosemary. If you live in a Mediterranean-type climate, you can consider growing Spanish lavender with rosemary.
#10 Sage
Like lavender, sage and rosemary thrive in a similar climate. Rosemary improves the growth of sage and makes its’ flavor more intense.
#11 Thyme
Rosemary and thyme are great to grow together; they both have great pest-repelling properties. Thyme is a cabbageworm deterrent. So, here’s a great trio to have in your garden – cabbage with rosemary and thyme.
#12 Oregano
Oregano spreads on the ground, making a soil blanket with organic live material. Kind of like living mulch! It helps to keep the temperature of the soil lower during hot periods. Rosemary and oregano thrive together excellently, and both are delicious herbs.
#13 Majoram
Majoram increases the growth and taste in plants when grown as a companion plant, the same with rosemary. Plant it with rosemary to ensure great growth with a more intense flavor. Usually, planting rosemary benefits the other plants, but Majoram benefits rosemary in a major way.
#14 Chives
Chives are terrific companion plants themselves, like rosemary, which prevents aphids and other pests. Chives also improve the growth and taste of other plants it’s paired with. I enjoy fresh chives with scrambled eggs and summer salads.
What Not to Plant With Rosemary (Bad Companion Plants)
#1 Tomatoes
Rosemary tends to steal necessary nutrients from the tomato plant, slowing its growth. Tomato plants also require a lot more water than rosemary; these two plants really don’t mix well together.
#2 Pumpkins
Pumpkins are prone to get mildew, which is one of the weak points of rosemary. Rosemary gets root rot and powdery mildew quite easily, so it’s not a good idea to have these plants next to each other.
#3 Cucumbers
Cucumbers thrive in soil that has a lot of nitrogen in it, which rosemary does not. Same as with tomatoes, cucumbers need a lot more water than rosemary, making these two plants impossible to grow together.
#4 Basil
Basil also is incompatible with rosemary since it needs a lot of moisture in the soil to grow. As we know, rosemary is the opposite.
#5 Mint
Mint and rosemary compete for space; they are also incompatible when it comes to watering. Mint thrives in damp soil, but rosemary needs dry, well-drained soil. It’s best not to grow them together and keep them in separate parts of the garden.
