PlantAlong

What to plant with lettuce

Sources list Cilantro, Dill, Fennel, Carrots, Cucumbers, Onions and Garlic as good companions for lettuce. None of these pairings has been tested in a study we found.

Pairings
7
Last reviewed
Photo: Zoran Milosavljevic / Pexels
Good neighbors first, then plants to keep apart. Each one says how strong the evidence is.

Helps

  • Cilantro Extension guidance

    Cilantro flowers attract aphid-eating beneficial insects (lacewings, lady beetles, parasitic wasps, spiders, syrphid flies) that reduce aphids on lettuce.1

    Penn State Master Gardener article. It calls its pairings research-based but cites a book (Walliser 2020) rather than a study.

  • Dill Extension guidance

    Dill flowers attract aphid-eating beneficial insects (lacewings, lady beetles, parasitic wasps, spiders, syrphid flies) that reduce aphids on lettuce.1

    Penn State Master Gardener article. It calls its pairings research-based but cites a book (Walliser 2020) rather than a study.

  • Fennel Extension guidance

    Fennel flowers attract aphid-eating beneficial insects (lacewings, lady beetles, parasitic wasps, spiders, syrphid flies) that reduce aphids on lettuce.1

    Penn State Master Gardener article. It calls its pairings research-based but cites a book (Walliser 2020) rather than a study.

  • Carrots Extension guidance

    Deep-taprooted carrots paired with shallow, wide-rooted lettuce use different soil layers, so their roots compete less.23

    WSU EM128E recommends this root-depth pairing as practical guidance; no study of this pair is cited. The UC tradition chart lists each as the other's companion.

  • Cucumbers Traditional pairing3

  • Onions Traditional pairing3

  • Garlic Traditional pairing3

    The chart says "onion family"; garlic is an onion-family (Allium) crop.

Traditional pairings come from a UC Master Gardener chart that traces to the UC Davis Edible Landscaping Handbook and ATTRA. The chart gives no reasons, and we found no trial of these pairs; treat them as garden lore.

Sources

  1. Penn State Extension, Herbs Make Good Plant Partners and Companions, Updated April 22, 2026. Retrieved 2026-11-02.
  2. Washington State University Extension, Gardening with Companion Plants (Home Garden Series), EM128E, December 2023. Retrieved 2026-11-02.
  3. University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UCCE Master Gardener Program), Companion Planting Chart: Companion planting in the vegetable garden, File dated 2023-09 in URL path; no date printed. Retrieved 2026-11-02.