The Best Companion Plants for Zinnias – 12 Easy Options

I love growing zinnias for so many reasons! They’re easy to care for, surprisingly hardy, and they provide a sea of bright colors throughout your garden beds from late spring to early fall. Companion planting allows you to pair zinnias with other plants that have similar growing requirements and provide additional benefits to your garden. The right companion plants can help deter pests, increase pollination, and so much more, making gardening easier and more fun! Check out these 12 best companion plants for zinnias – and happy planting! 

What is Companion Planting?

Companion planting is the helpful practice of growing garden plants together which have similar growing requirements and give mutual benefit to one another. Good companion plants can attract beneficial insects, create a more fertile soil, provide natural pest control, and even provide more visual interest, all contributing to a thriving garden!

If you’ve been around long, you know that zinnias are one of my absolute favorite flowers to grow. Choosing the right companion plants for your zinnias allows you to create an even more beautiful garden, with vertical interest, more helpful insects, better soil quality, and decreased pest populations. Plus, it provides the added benefit of enjoying more vibrant flowers, fresh vegetable crops, and fragrant herbs – easier!

Choosing the Best Companion Plants for Your Garden

There are plenty of companion plants to choose from when planning your zinnia garden. How do you choose? Here are a few categories to think through.

• Your crop preferences. Do you love to make cut flower arrangements? Enjoy fresh vegetables from your backyard? Cook with fresh herbs every chance you get? Although visual appeal certainly counts for something, think through what specific plants you’ll really use the most and enjoy caring for and harvesting months into the gardening season. 
• Your landscape. Is your garden full of trellises and fences? Then consider planting some vining cucumbers! Need ground cover? Sweet alyssum is perfect for suppressing weed growth. Want to add visual interest with big, beautiful blooms? Try sunflowers!
• Ease of care. Zinnias are super easy to grow – which is why I love them so much! When choosing the best zinnia companion plants for your garden, consider the growing requirements and how much time you’ll have to put into maintenance. (I love simple, so this list is made up of easy plants to grow!)

Types of Companion Plants for Zinnias

When you think of companion plants for zinnias, you might think only of flowers. But zinnias pair beautifully with all sorts of other plants – not just flowers! Here are the three most common types of plants you’ll find that make excellent zinnia companions. 

1. Flowers. The bright colors of many different species of flowers not only add more variety to your plot, but also attract helpful pollinators. Choosing helpful companions for your zinnias will not only provide you with a more lively garden, but can also improve the overall health of your flower beds.
2. Herbs. Herbs such as parsley, dill, and basil not only give you mouth watering flavors in the kitchen, but can also be excellent companion plants for your zinnias. With similar growing requirements, these herbs tend to deter pests with their strong smells and also provide different green textures that add to the visual appeal of your garden.
3. Vegetables. There’s no rule that vegetables have to stay in their own special vegetable garden! Integrating veggies with your zinnia plants is a great way to increase pollination, which in turn provides you with more prolific vegetable plants – and healthier, larger produce!

The Best Companion Plants for Zinnias

What are the best companion plants for zinnias? Here are 12 of my favorite easy options!

1. Nasturtium
2. Marigolds
3. Parsley
4. Melons
5. Cosmos
6. Tomatoes
7. Sweet Alyssum
8. Dill 
9. Sunflowers
10. Cucumbers
11. Calendula 
12. Basil

1. Nasturtium

These bright flowers provide edible blooms that create a lovely garnish for salads and other dishes. Their rounder, fuller leaves give lovely contrast when planted next to zinnias.

Nasturtiums repel pests like aphids, while also attracting pollinators. They can be planted in full sun or partial shade in well-drained soil. 

2. Marigolds

Marigolds are easy, low-maintenance plants that protect your zinnias by warding off unhelpful insects such as aphids, whiteflies, and nematodes. Marigold flowers provide cheerful shades of yellows and oranges to your garden and thrive in full sun.

3. Parsley

Parsley is a delicious herb that you can use in all sorts of culinary dishes. With similar growing requirements to zinnias, it’s an excellent companion plant for your garden. Parsley will also help your zinnias by attracting hoverflies and parasitic wasps, which are excellent pest control for keeping your zinnias safe. 

4. Melons

For fruit and vegetable gardeners, melons are a perfect pair for your zinnia patch! Zinnias are excellent at attracting pollinators, and melons thrive on this increased pollination from bees and butterflies. Planting these two crops together is a great way to combine bright flowers with edible greens and mutually benefit both plants. 

5. Cosmos

Cosmos and zinnias both love full sun and well-drained soil, so they’re a common match when expanding your flower garden and incorporating different blooms! These flowers are excellent at attracting pollinators, such as bees and butterflies. Plus, they make excellent cut flowers!

6. Tomatoes

Tomato plants are another edible delight that pairs wonderfully with zinnias. With similar soil and sun requirements, tomatoes and zinnias grow harmoniously and also create visual beauty with their contrasting shapes and shades.

Tomatoes love the pollinators that zinnias attract! The increased pollination that comes with having your zinnias and tomatoes close together leads to better overall health for your tomato plants, giving you increased yield and better fruits.

7. Sweet Alyssum

Planting sweet alyssum means you get to enjoy colorful flowers around the base of your zinnia garden. These fragrant little blooms are an excellent ground cover for zinnia gardens, helping to maintain soil moisture and suppress weed growth. They also add visual interest by providing height variation, and they attract helpful insects, too.

Like zinnias, sweet alyssum loves full sun and well-draining soil.

8. Dill

Dill is another herb that thrives in well-drained soil with full sun. It’s bright green texture combined with its yellow flowers creates lovely contrast when paired next to your zinnias. Plus, it attracts helpful, pest-controlling insects like parasitic wasps, ladybugs, and hoverflies. These are excellent creatures to have around for keeping aphids away from your garden plants! Dill’s bright flowers also attract helpful pollinators. 

9. Sunflowers

The cheerful blooms of sunflowers add brightness and vertical interest, and their tall, strong stems can even provide support for your zinnia plants. Just make sure that the flowers aren’t casting shadows on your zinnias as they stretch toward the sun. 

Sunflowers are excellent for attracting pollinators, such as bees and butterflies. Despite their impressively vibrant blooms, sunflowers are easy to grow and are perfect for cut flower arrangements.

10. Cucumbers

Expand your veggie garden by pairing cucumbers with your zinnia flowers! Cucumbers are fairly low maintenance plants that can grow on trellises or on the ground. Zinnias make great companions for cucumbers, since they help attract pollinators for these well-loved vegetables. Better pollination means healthier, heartier cucumbers – and more of them! 

11. Calendula

Calendula not only produces beautiful flowers, but these plants also have a number of health benefits, including anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties. Many people use calendula for wound healing and promoting healthy skin.

Calendula is an easy companion for zinnias that has similar growing requirements. Calendula blooms into the fall months, so you can enjoy beautiful flowers for as much of the season as possible! It also attracts beneficial insects such as ladybugs and hoverflies, which help keep pests away.

12. Basil 

The strong scent of basil plants is somewhat of a natural pest control, driving away annoying insects like mosquitoes and aphids. At the same time, it attracts helpful pollinators. Like zinnias, basil loves sunny conditions and well-drained soil. 

WANT MORE ZINNIA HELP?

I’d love to have you hang out with me some more! Feel free to follow along with me on any of the platforms linked below.

LTK | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Amazon

xoxo,

Kelly