Roses seek companionship
For centuries, the rose has touched the hearts and senses of people with its beauty and fragrance. Lovingly combined, it turns any garden into a magnificent blooming oasis from early summer to late fall. In early spring, bulbous flowers decorate the rose beds, followed by early flowering perennials, and in summer framed by annual summer flowers and perennials. In romantic gardens, conifers are used as background planting and bed edging to accentuate and, together with climbing plants, to frame a facade and passageway in a picture perfect way.
For roses and companions to thrive properly, their requirements for location and care should be similar. The plants each need a certain distance from their neighbors so that air can circulate between roses and their companions. This will allow the leaves to dry more quickly and be more likely to remain free of powdery mildew and downy mildew.
Combine your favorite roses with companions based on their height, growth habit, color and blooming time. Tie in and support tall-growing perennials early. If companions become too intrusive, only a shovel and clippers will help. The soil under the rose remains open so that it can be loosened and used for piling in the fall.
Among the perennials, shrubs and summer flowers are many varieties that get along in harmony with the roses.
Perennials
-
Alchemilla mollis (lady's mantle, soft yellow)
- Achillea filipendulina (Yarrow, yellow)
- Achillea millefolium 'James Kelway '(Yarrow, pink)
- Campanula persicifolia (bellflower, blue)
- Campanula latifolia (bellflower, white)
- Coreopsis lanceolata (tickseed, yellow)
- Delphinium x belladonna (Delphinium, blue)
- Gentia noides (speedwell, blue)
- Geranium sanguineum (cranesbill, purple)
- Geranium cantabrigiense (cranesbill, purple)
- Hemerocallis - hybrids (daylilies, yellow-brown)
- Hosta clausa var. normalis (hosta, purple with green leaf)
- Hosta crispula (hosta, purple with white leaf edges)
- Lupinus polyphyllus (lupine, red)
- Nepeta faassenii (catmint, blue)
- Silene schafta 'Splendens'(campion, purple)
- Stachys byzantina (woolly hedgenettle, evergreen)
Summer annuals
-
Anthirrinum majus (snapdragon, variegated)
- Calendula officinalis (marigold,yellow)
- Cosmea bipinnatus (Jewel basket, red/pink/white)
- Delphinium ajacis (annual delphinium, blue)
- Gypsophila elegans (annual baby's breath, white)
- Nigella damascena (maidenhair, blue)
Herbs
-
Artriplex hort. va. Rubra (garden orache, red-leaved)
- Borago officinalis (Borage, blue)
- Foeniculum vulgare (Fennel, white/greenish)
- Salvia officianlis (Sage, blue)
- Oreganum vulgare (oregano, bluish)
- Borago officinalis (Borage, blue)
- Origanum majorana (marjoram, white)
Grasses
-
Pennisetum alopecuroides (Lampbristle grass)
- Pennisetum alopecuroides (Feather Bristle Grass)
- Stipa barbata (heron feather grass)
Woods / Shrubs
-
Buxus sempervirens (boxwood)
- Caryopteris x clandonensis (beard flower, blue)
- Lavendula angustifolia (Lavender, blue)
- Thymus vulgaris (Thyme, blue)
Climbing plants
-
Aristolochia macrophylla (Pipevine)
- Clematis hybrids (woodland vine) as companion planting from the 2nd year of the rose's growth
- Hydrangea petiolaris (climbing hydrangea)