How Planter's Companion Planting Feature Works

Planter's companion planting feature flags which plants grow well next to each other and which don't, then applies that information directly to your garden layout as you drag plants into place. It's built into the drag-and-drop planner rather than being a separate reference chart, so compatibility shows up while you're arranging beds instead of after the fact. It's most useful when you're planning mixed beds of vegetables, herbs, and flowers and don't want to cross-check a companion planting table by hand.

What the feature actually does

According to the site, Planter offers "intuitive companion planting" that tells you "what plants complement each other and which ones don't." That's the core function: a compatibility layer on top of the plant database.

The plant database covers 80+ plants and over 1,000 varieties, and you can add your own custom plants and varieties if you're growing something not in the list. Companion relationships are tied to those plant entries, which is why the feature works as you place things rather than as a standalone lookup.

How it fits into the drag-and-drop layout

The site describes the planner as a "drag and drop interface" that replaces pen-and-paper bed sketches — "Put down the pen and paper. Plan your garden in minutes."

The practical sequence looks like this:

1. Set up your garden space — lay out beds or containers in the planner.
2. Drag a plant into position — the plant comes from the built-in library or your own custom additions.
3. Read the compatibility signal — because companion planting is integrated into placement, the app surfaces whether that plant complements or conflicts with what's already nearby.
4. Adjust placement — move the plant, or swap it for a better neighbor, before you commit the layout.

The expected result is a bed plan where spacing and arrangement already reflect compatibility, so you're not drawing a layout first and checking a companion chart second.

Why this matters more for mixed beds

Companion planting gets complicated fastest when you're combining categories — a tomato bed with basil and marigolds, or a raised bed mixing herbs, greens, and flowers. Cross-referencing a static table for every pairing in a mixed bed is where most of the guesswork happens.

Planter's approach targets exactly that: the compatibility check happens at the moment of placement, in the same view where you're deciding what goes where. For beginners, that removes a step that's easy to skip. For experienced gardeners, it's a faster way to sanity-check a layout you already have in mind.

What the feature doesn't replace

Companion planting guidance is a planning aid, not a guarantee. It won't account for your specific soil, sunlight hours, local climate, or pest pressure — those still come from your own observation and regional growing advice. The growing calendar (seed starting, transplant, harvest timing) is a separate feature that handles the when; companion planting handles the what goes next to what.

Where to use it

Planter is available on iOS, Android, Amazon Fire, and web. The web app is listed as a Premium feature. Pricing as shown on the site:

Prices are in US dollars, purchased within the app, and the site notes you should check the app for your currency. If you only want to test whether the companion planting feature fits how you plan, the free tier's single garden is enough to try it on one bed before deciding on Premium.