Record — updated 2026-07

Okra Companion Plants

Entry No. 020

Abelmoschus esculentus · mallow family family · rotation group: other

The best companion plants for okra are Marigold (Tagetes), Sunflower, Tomato, Lettuce, and Bush Bean. Avoid planting okra near Cucumber, Sweet Potato, Corn. Of the 10 pairings recorded here, 1 is supported by published research and 9 are traditional practice with no controlled evidence behind them.

Research-backed tested in controlled research Traditional long practice, untested Not supported tested and not supported

What to plant with okra

Companion plants for okra — 1 research-backed, 6 traditional
Plant	Claimed benefit	Evidence	What the evidence actually shows
Marigold (Tagetes)	Marigold suppresses root-knot nematodes, the most serious pest of okra.	Research-backed	The evidence supports marigold only as a dense, weed-free, full-season COVER/ROTATION crop grown on the same ground for at least two months BEFORE the okra, at roughly 7-inch spacing (~131,000 plants/acre); UF/IFAS states plainly that 'intercropping marigold with other crops to reduce plant-parasitic nematodes does not appear to be effective,' so a few marigolds tucked among okra plants is not the tested practice. French marigold (T. patula) cultivars such as 'Single Gold' and 'Tangerine' are effective; signet marigolds are not, and marigold cannot eradicate a severe infestation. Source: UF/IFAS EDIS ENY-056, Marigolds (Tagetes spp.) for Nematode Management
Basil	Aromatic basil masks okra from aphids and other pests.	Traditional	Repeated everywhere online with no supporting trial. Aromatic-masking effects have been demonstrated for some crop-pest systems, but nothing has been published for basil with okra; the honest reason to grow them together is that both want the same heat. Source: Clemson HGIC 1313, Okra
Bush Bean	Beans fix nitrogen that feeds the heavy-feeding okra alongside them.	Traditional	Legumes do fix nitrogen, but very little of it moves to a neighboring non-legume during the same season - most is released only after the bean residue decomposes. No trial of okra-bean intercropping was found; treat this as ground cover and rotation value, not in-season fertility. Source: Clemson HGIC 1313, Okra
Lettuce	Tall okra shades lettuce and extends the greens harvest into hot weather.	Traditional	Mechanically plausible - okra reaches 3-5 feet and casts real afternoon shade - but this is gardener practice, not a tested pairing; no controlled trial of okra-shaded lettuce was found. Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, Abelmoschus esculentus
Sunflower	A block or border of sunflower pulls stink bugs and leaf-footed bugs off the okra pods.	Traditional	UGA Extension states that 'research has shown' sorghum and sunflower are extremely attractive to stink bugs and leaf-footed bugs, so the attraction step is documented; what has not been quantified in a replicated trial is how much a sunflower border actually reduces damage on an adjacent okra planting. Extension also warns an unmanaged trap crop becomes a pest nursery unless the bugs in it are killed or removed. Source: UGA Extension Circular 1118, Trap Cropping for Small-Market Vegetable Growers
Sweet Alyssum	Alyssum flowers feed hoverflies and parasitic wasps that attack okra aphids.	Traditional	Insectary flowers generally do increase natural-enemy numbers in vegetable systems, but the effect is not automatic and does not always translate into less pest damage - a replicated study of flowering buckwheat borders around squash found no increase in parasitism of the target pest at all. No okra-specific test of alyssum was found. Source: Cornelius, Vinyard & Gates 2019, Use of Flowering Plants to Enhance Parasitism and Predation Rates on Two Squash Bug Species, Insects 10(10):318
Tomato	Okra planted as a separate sacrificial block draws stink bugs and leaf-footed bugs away from tomatoes.	Traditional	This one runs in the opposite direction from most companion claims - okra is the trap, not the beneficiary. UGA Extension confirms 'okra is also highly attractive to leaf-footed bugs and stink bugs,' and eOrganic lists okra among trap crops for stink bugs, but eOrganic presents okra as a secondary option with no efficacy data attached, and no replicated trial has measured protection of a neighboring tomato crop. Note both crops host root-knot nematode, so do not rotate them onto each other's ground. Source: eOrganic, Stink Bug Management Using Trap Crops in Organic Farming

What not to plant with okra

Plants to keep away from okra
Plant	Claimed problem	Evidence	What the evidence actually shows
Corn	Corn nearby increases corn earworm damage to okra pods.	Traditional	Corn earworm is listed by UGA as one of the most common okra pests and corn is its primary host, so the shared-host logic is sound, but no study has measured whether adjacent corn actually raises earworm damage in okra. Corn will also shade okra if planted on the sun side. Source: UGA Extension Circular 941, Home Garden Okra
Cucumber	Cucumbers and other cucurbits keep root-knot nematode populations high around okra.	Traditional	Root-knot nematode is okra's most serious pest (Clemson) and nematodes are also listed among melon/cucumber problems, so keeping susceptible crops out of sequence is standard nematode advice. The specific adjacency claim has not been tested; what IS tested is the rotation principle behind it. Source: Clemson HGIC 1313, Okra
Sweet Potato	Sweet potato builds up root-knot nematode populations that then damage okra.	Traditional	Grouping okra with other nematode-susceptible crops is conventional extension rotation advice rather than a tested pairing - no trial of okra grown beside sweet potato was found. If root-knot nematode is already present, a full-season French marigold cover crop is the option with real data behind it. Source: UF/IFAS EDIS ENY-056, Marigolds (Tagetes spp.) for Nematode Management

The honest verdict

Of everything gardeners recommend planting alongside okra, 1 pairing has been tested properly: Marigold (Tagetes). Those are the ones worth planning your bed around.

The remaining 6 pairings on this page are traditional practice. They circulate on every companion planting chart online, but we could not find controlled evidence testing them. They are not wrong so much as unverified — most cost nothing to try, and interplanting flowers and herbs has its own well-documented benefit of pulling pollinators and predatory insects into the garden.

Every row above links to the publication it came from. See how we grade evidence.

Growing okra: the numbers

Field data — Okra
Sun	Full sun (6+ hours)
Water	Moderate
Spacing	12 in apart · 36 in between rows · 1 per square foot
Mature size	about 60 in tall
Soil pH	5.8–6.8
Days to maturity	60–70 days
Frost tolerance	Tender — killed by frost
Containers	Yes — 5 gallon minimum
Typical yield	Clemson HGIC: 25 to 50 row-feet supplies a family for a few months; pick pods at 2-3 inches every 1-2 days at peak
Common pests	root-knot nematode, stink bugs, leaf-footed bugs, aphids, corn earworm, flea beetles, Japanese beetles, whiteflies, spider mites
Common diseases	southern stem blight, Fusarium wilt, root rot, powdery mildew, blossom and pod blight

When to plant okra

Zone 6b shown

Start indoors Sow / transplant outdoors Harvest

Transplant outdoors: Apr 24 – May 7 — 2 weeks after last frost

Direct sow outdoors: Apr 24 – May 7 — 2 weeks after last frost

Expected harvest: Jun 23 – Jul 3 — 60–70 days from planting

Those dates are for zone 6b. Get your own dates by ZIP code →

Varieties worth knowing

seeds

Clemson Spineless 80 — Open-pollinated standard, 4-5 ft, spineless pods; the benchmark variety recommended by both UGA and Clemson.
Annie Oakley II — Hybrid, about 4.5 ft, early and productive; good where the season is shorter.
Cajun Delight — Hybrid, about 4 ft, early maturing; an All-America Selections winner recommended by UGA and Clemson.
Baby Bubba — Dwarf bush type listed by LSU AgCenter for containers of 5 gallons or more.

Variety names link to seeds on Amazon. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. These are the varieties named in the extension sources for this crop, not a paid placement — where a source recommended a variety for a specific reason, that reason is the note beside it.

Put it in a bed

The garden planner checks every square against this ledger as you place crops — if you drop okra next to something recorded as a bad neighbour, the square turns red and tells you why.

Records for the plants named above:

Marigold (Tagetes)Sunflower Tomato Lettuce Bush Bean Sweet Alyssum Basil

Same rotation group (other) — don't follow one with another:

Asparagus Celery Rhubarb Sweet corn Sweet Potato Strawberry

Okra companion planting questions

What should not be planted next to okra?

Cucumber, Sweet Potato, Corn. Cucumbers and other cucurbits keep root-knot nematode populations high around okra. Root-knot nematode is okra's most serious pest (Clemson) and nematodes are also listed among melon/cucumber problems, so keeping susceptible crops out of sequence is standard nematode advice. The specific adjacency claim has not been tested; what IS tested is the rotation principle behind it.

How far apart should okra be planted?

Space okra about 12 inches apart in the row, with 36 inches between rows. In a square-foot bed that works out to 1 plant per square foot.

Does companion planting with okra actually work?

Partly. 1 of the pairings on this page are backed by published research — Marigold (Tagetes). The rest are traditional practice: plausible, harmless to try, but untested. Treat the folklore as a starting point rather than a rule, and read what the evidence says about companion planting.

When should I plant okra?

Transplant outdoors 2 weeks after last frost. In zone 6b that means roughly Apr 24 – May 7. Get exact dates for your ZIP code →

Sources for this record

Record compiled 2026-07. Spot an error or a study we missed? Tell us and we'll correct the entry.