Companion planting
In honour of Valentine's Day, we pay attention to plant love. You read that right, plants can fall in love. Plants not only need love from humans but also from other plants. This is what they call companion planting. As a true plant lover, you have to give your plants a chance to fall in love. But beware, not every kind of plant is a suitable match!
Why is companion planting a good idea?
First of all, it gives your home or garden a fresh look and it is also good for the plants themselves. And how great is it that you can make your own combination with plants that no one else has?
Second of all, the plants offer each other nutrients, shade or physical support. You can choose to combine vegetable garden plants with each other or to combine indoor plants. When plants are combined, they strengthen each other and keep diseases and vermin at a distance. Pay attention to which plants should and shouldn’t be combined. Unfortunately, some species can also adversely affect each other.
How does it work?
The plants you combine must have the same growing conditions. Find information about the amount of sunlight, humidity and water they need. Compare the living conditions and see how you can repot them together. Find a nice place and enjoy the new couple!
Vegetable garden
Companion planting is also called combination cultivation. Sounds cosy, but why would you choose to do this? The next three reasons explain why this is definitely worth a try:
- It confuses insects, it makes them doubt. Many insects rely on the shape of the plants. The plants look different to insects, so they’ll stay away.
- When you combine some plant types they also influence the plants in the neighbourhood.
- Because your combined vegetable garden attracts less types of insects/bugs than a regular field, there is less chance of a plague. This means less chance of being overwhelmed by a plague on a massive scale.
Indoor plants
Combine your indoor plants to create even more ambiance in your room. But be careful which plants you match because a cactus with a fern will never work. Also make sure the couple has enough space, there are now two of them!
Plants that require little maintenance, such as cacti, velvet plants, maidenhair, succulents or carnivorous plants can be combined. In addition, the Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum) may be placed in a pot with the Philondendron and the Schefflera. The Sanseveria can grow together with a cactus or succulence plant. Or you can match the Yucca 'Elephantipes' with the Sanseveria 'Kirkii'. Great combinations anyway!
