The Sun-Loving Flower You Should Avoid Planting Next To Your Fruit Trees

Take a walk around any avid gardener's yard and you will see a variety of plants and flowers ranging from delicious fruit trees and striking ornamental grasses to bushes and colorful flowers of all kinds. Whether you are an experienced gardener or a beginner, you might be aware of the concept of companion planting and how certain plants should never be placed together. A good example of a companion planting pair you want to avoid is placing bright, cheerful poppies next to any fruit trees which require different soil and water conditions. 

Poppies are beautiful, brightly colored perennial flowers that crave full sunshine and although they can handle drought conditions, they do best with a thorough watering of the soil about every 8-10 days. This is very different from the watering needs of most fruit trees which include slow, careful watering with multiple gallons at least twice per week so the water is absorbed into the soil and doesn't just flood and flow away from the trees' roots. This amount of water can be detrimental to your poppies and cause yellowing leaves, soft stems, and potentially root rot.  Don't despair: You don't have to eliminate poppies or fruit trees from your yard — they just need to be planted in different areas where they can thrive around other plants and trees with similar soil and watering needs. Below we will suggest great companion plants for your beautiful poppies along with some great flowers that will enhance the growth of your fruit trees.

When looking for a spot to plant poppies, focus on areas that get full sunshine because these flowers do best when they can soak up the rays most of the day. There are many varieties and colors of poppies, including several that work well in yards such as the oriental, California, Flanders, Iceland, and  alpine. Soil type doesn't matter too much to poppies but they will do best in well-draining soil with plenty of organic matter.

Several companion plants work with poppies and encourage growth results such as nasturtium, cosmos, and phlox all of which have similar care needs and sun-loving habits. Avoid planting poppies with mint, sunflowers, or fennel, an herb that doesn't mesh well with many plants in the garden. These three plants can hinder the growth of your poppies in various ways including releasing chemicals that stunt growth, throwing too much shade on the flowers, or competing for soil resources. Fruit trees have their own companion plants. When arranging your garden, consider planting onions, chives, and nasturtiums, three plants that do very well with fruit trees.

Whatever variety and color of poppy you choose to plant, you can count on easy, pretty-to-look-at flowers that really don't involve a lot of upkeep as long as you remember not to plant them near your fruit trees. They have very little problems with insects and diseases except (occasionally) for aphids, which can be banished from the garden using these two ingredients.