Six Suitable Companions for Rose Gardens
Spice up your rose garden with these fantastic plant pairings! Not only will they boost your garden's visual appeal, but they'll also offer practical benefits like pest control and disease prevention. To create a striking, lush landscape, consider the following companion plants for roses, handpicked by gardening experts.
Ward Dilmore, founder and head landscape designer at Petrus, a luxury estate landscaping company, shares his insights:
Lavender (Lavendula spp.)
With blue-purple hues that complement rose colors, lavender is an easy-to-grow herbaceous perennial. Not only does it help deter pests such as aphids and whiteflies, but it also attracts pollinators, making it a great border choice for your rose garden. It thrives in sun-soaked areas with well-draining soil.
- Hardiness Zones: 5 to 9
- Sunlight: Full sun
- Soil: Well-draining, dry soil
Marigolds (Tagetes spp.)
Marigolds are colorful annuals that offer pest-deterring properties that can benefit roses. By planting these annuals, you'll potentially reduce pests like aphids and Japanese beetles that may attack your roses. Marigolds flourish in sunny conditions with well-draining soil.
- Hardiness Zones: 2 to 11
- Sunlight: Full sun
- Soil: Well-draining, moist soil
Tom Soulsby, senior horticulturist at Chicago Botanic Garden, offers his favorite recommendations:
Clematis (Clematis spp.)
Clematis, also known as leather flowers, are low-maintenance climbing plants with blooms that come in numerous colors. There are many varieties and colors of this vine, perfect for climbing and mingling with roses on pillars, arbors, and walls or creating a unique ground cover. These hardy, disease-resistant perennials offer pops of color to complement roses. Like roses, clematis grow well in sunny conditions with well-draining soil.
- Hardiness Zones: 4 to 9
- Sunlight: Full sun
- Soil: Well-draining, loamy soil
Catmint (Nepeta spp.)
Catmint is a perennial ornamental herb that can protect your roses by attracting beneficial predators. These plants come in various varieties, all of which will contrast well with rose blooms. This easy-to-grow plant thrives in well-draining soil and can grow in full to partial sun, offering small flowers in shades of lavender, white, or pink, providing long-blooming bursts of color to complement roses.
- Hardiness Zones: 4 to 8
- Sunlight: Full to partial sun
- Soil: Well-draining soil
Boxwood (Buxus spp.)
Boxwoods are versatile green shrubs that create a perfect backdrop for roses, offering structure and texture for your landscape. Boxwoods can either be used in a parterre application or as a beautiful backdrop to the garden and roses within it. Their texture creates a wonderful, dramatic effect, allowing the rose's color to shine. These evergreens can grow in full or partial sun and prefer well-draining soil.
- Hardiness Zones: 5 to 9
- Sunlight: Full to partial sun
- Soil: Well-draining, loamy neutral or alkaline soil
Spice up your rose garden with the addition of lavender (Lavendula spp.), a perennial that complements rose colors, deters pests, attracts pollinators, and thrives in sun-soaked areas with well-draining soil.
Marigolds (Tagetes spp.), colorful annuals with pest-deterring properties, can flourish in sunny conditions, making them a great choice for reducing pests that may affect roses, and they thrive in well-draining soil.
Clematis (Clematis spp.), also known as leather flowers, are low-maintenance climbing plants that offer pops of color and grow well in sunny conditions with well-draining soil, making them a perfect addition to rose gardens.
Catmint (Nepeta spp.), an ornamental herb that attracts beneficial predators, can contrast well with rose blooms, thrive in well-draining soil, and provide long-blooming bursts of color in full to partial sun.
Boxwoods (Buxus spp.), versatile green shrubs, create a perfect backdrop for roses, offering structure and texture, and they prefer well-draining soil and can grow in full or partial sun.
