Rosemary Companion Plants
Herb90 days to maturity
Rosemary is a woody, drought-tolerant Mediterranean herb grown for its fragrant needle-like evergreen leaves. It thrives on lean, sharply drained soil and full sun, and its biggest weakness is root rot from overwatering or heavy, wet ground. Its strong scent makes it a useful pest-repelling companion throughout the vegetable garden.
Companion Checker: what grows well with Rosemary?
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Companion Planting Strategy for Rosemary
Rosemary's aromatic oils mask the scent of nearby crops and confuse pests like the cabbage moth, carrot fly, and bean beetle, so it protects vegetables that those insects target. Because it needs dry, well-drained conditions, it should be kept away from thirsty crops that demand constant moisture.
Best Companion Plants for Rosemary
These plants grow well alongside Rosemary — providing pest control, attracting pollinators, or making better use of your garden space.
Rosemary's strong scent repels the cabbage moth, cabbage looper, and other brassica pests, helping protect cabbage from caterpillar damage.
Rosemary is reported to deter the Mexican bean beetle, shielding bean plants from one of their most damaging pests.
Rosemary's powerful aroma helps mask the smell of carrots and confuse the carrot rust fly that homes in on them.
What Not to Plant With Rosemary
Keep these away from Rosemary. They compete for resources, attract shared pests, or inhibit each other's growth.
Cucumbers need rich soil and frequent, heavy watering, which conflicts directly with rosemary's preference for lean, dry, sharply drained conditions, so the two grow poorly together.
How to Grow Rosemary
- Botanical name
- Salvia rosmarinus
- Family
- Mint (Lamiaceae)
- Sun
- Full sun, 6-8 hours daily
- Water
- Low; water deeply but infrequently and let soil dry between waterings
- Soil
- Lean, sandy, sharply draining soil, pH 6.0-7.0
- Spacing
- 24-36 inches apart for shrubby growth
- Planting depth
- Set transplants at the same depth as the root ball; surface-sow seed lightly
- Germination
- 14-28 days at 65-70F; often propagated from cuttings for reliability
- Days to maturity
- About 1 year from seed to a usable shrub; cuttings root in 2-8 weeks
- When to plant
- Transplant after the last spring frost; in cold zones grow in pots and overwinter indoors
- Harvest
- Snip sprigs as needed year-round, taking no more than a third of the plant at once
Common Rosemary Problems
Root rot (yellowing, browning, and collapse from soggy soil)
Plant in fast-draining or sandy soil, water only when the top inch is dry, and grow in raised beds or pots where drainage is poor.
Powdery mildew (white coating on leaves, especially indoors)
Improve airflow, avoid crowding and overhead watering, and run a fan on overwintering indoor plants to keep foliage dry.
Spider mites (fine webbing and stippled, dusty leaves on indoor plants)
Rinse foliage periodically, raise humidity around indoor plants, and treat with insecticidal soap or neem oil if mites appear.
Winterkill in cold climates (plants killed by hard freezes)
Grow tender rosemary in pots to bring indoors, choose hardy cultivars like Arp or Hill Hardy, and mulch and shelter in-ground plants in marginal zones.
Rosemary Companion Planting FAQ
What are the best companion plants for rosemary?
Rosemary pairs well with cabbage and other brassicas by repelling cabbage moths, with beans by deterring the Mexican bean beetle, and with carrots by masking their scent from carrot fly. It also grows happily beside other drought-tolerant herbs like sage, thyme, and lavender that share its dry conditions.
What should you not plant with rosemary?
Avoid planting rosemary with cucumbers and other thirsty, heavy-feeding crops that need rich soil and constant moisture, since rosemary prefers lean, dry, sharply drained ground. Mismatched watering will rot rosemary's roots or starve the cucumbers.
Why does my rosemary keep dying?
The most common cause is overwatering or heavy soil that leads to root rot, since rosemary is a Mediterranean plant adapted to dry, gritty ground. Plant it in fast-draining soil, water only when the top inch is dry, and in cold zones protect it from hard freezes.
Can you grow rosemary in a pot?
Yes, rosemary grows well in containers with a gritty, free-draining potting mix and a pot with drainage holes, which also makes it easy to overwinter indoors in cold climates. Give it the sunniest spot you have and avoid letting it sit in saucers of water.
More herb companions
Plan Your Rosemary Garden
Use our interactive tools to design the perfect garden with Rosemary and its companions.