The Tasty Fruit You Should Reconsider Planting Near Your Zinnias

Zinnias are colorful flowers that not only are reasonably easy to grow and look gorgeous in most home gardens, but are also one of those plants that attract beautiful pollinators like hummingbirds. Zinnias also have many companion plants (which are plants that grow well together in the garden) and do well when grown near marigolds, cosmos, and even fruits and veggies like tomatoes, jalapeños, and squash. However, there is one tasty fruit that you should reconsider planting near your zinnias — blueberries.

There are a few reasons why blueberries and zinnias don't make good companion plants, but the main one is that they simply have different soil requirements. In fact, zinnias prefer a mildly acidic soil with a pH of anywhere between 5.5 and 7.5. This also happens to be the pH level that most garden vegetables prefer, which is why zinnias can grow well together with so many different plants. Blueberries, on the other hand, require a more acidic soil with a pH between 4 and 5.5. This means that if you try to grow blueberry bushes and zinnias together in the same soil, one of the plants will struggle to grow because the soil pH will not be in the ideal range. This is also one of the reasons why you should never plant blueberries and raspberries together.

On top of the pH problem, another problem with growing zinnias and blueberries together is that both plants like a lot of sun. Initially this would seem like a positive because it means you can put them in the same part of your yard (maybe with your zinnias planted in the ground and blueberry bushes in raised beds or pots filled with acidic soil). However, the problem comes when the two plants are placed close to each other because many varieties of zinnias grow tall and can easily overshadow low-growing blueberry bushes — unless you decide to grow highbush blueberries, in which case they will definitely outgrow and overshadow the zinnias.

That's not to say that growing both blueberries and zinnias in your yard is impossible. In fact, having both plants in your yard can be beneficial because the zinnias can help draw more pollinators which can increase the yield of your blueberry bushes. However, in order to help both plants thrive, you will likely need to grow at least one in raised beds or pots where you can better control the soil pH. It is also important to refrain from growing these two plants right next to each other so that both are able to get adequate sunlight.