Companion Planting Matrix
Companion Planting Matrix
The Companion Planting Matrix is an interactive guide to which plants grow well together — and which to keep apart — when building guilds, food forests, and kitchen gardens in Aotearoa New Zealand. Explore 162 plants across 17 guild templates, including Three Sisters combinations and rongōā Māori plant relationships. Use it to reduce pests, improve pollination, fix nitrogen, and design polycultures that mimic natural forest edges.
What it does
- 162-plant database — vegetables, fruit, herbs, flowers, and perennial support species
- 17 guild templates — starting points for classic and NZ-adapted polycultures
- Allies & antagonists — quickly see beneficial neighbours vs. plants that compete or inhibit
- Three Sisters & Māori guilds — culturally grounded combinations for kai and rongoā contexts
- Food-forest & bed scale — plan under fruit trees or in raised beds with the same tool
- Cross-link your design — use alongside the Orchard Planner and Continuous Harvests calendar
Who it is for
Beginners learning guild basics, experienced growers refining polycultures, teachers running garden modules, and Troppo customers choosing understory plants for subtropical orchards in Te Puke and nationwide.
How to use it
Open the matrix, search or browse a plant you plan to grow, and read its companion and avoid lists. Build a guild by adding allies layer by layer — shade-tolerant greens under fruit trees, nitrogen fixers between rows, insectary flowers at edges. Re-check before planting purchases from troppo.nz/shop.
Frequently asked questions
- What is companion planting?
- Companion planting places mutually beneficial plants together — for pollination, pest confusion, nutrient sharing, or shade — and separates plants that compete or attract the same problems.
- Does it cover Māori planting traditions?
- The matrix includes rongōā Māori and culturally significant combinations alongside widely used permaculture guilds, framed for respectful learning in Aotearoa.
- Is it only for food forests?
- No. Use it for kitchen gardens, orchard understories, containers, and community beds — any scale where plants share space.
Troppo is a tropical urban food forest and exotic plant nursery in Te Puke, Bay of Plenty — an initiative of Vector Group Charitable Trust (CC45966). These tools were built here and shared across the Kai Resilience network. Browse all Troppo tools · About Troppo · Shop plants