What companion plants are suitable for roses in the garden?

Roses live for many years, and bloom from late spring to autumn. These beautiful flowering shrubs are easy to grow and it’s no wonder they are one of the most common flowering plants in gardens.

Roses and their cultivation in the garden

Where to plant roses? Roses require a sunny, warm location and soil with a good supply of nutrients.

Additional Information! Roses growing in the sun form quickly, produce more flowers. In the shade they grow slowly, forming long thin shoots, bloom weakly, are affected by diseases and pests.

You should not plant the plant directly next to larger shrubs, because they compete for nutrients and water. When planting roses, leave a distance of at least one and a half meters from these plants.

Roses put out long strong roots, which often penetrate to a depth of 1-1.5 meters. Therefore, before planting, it is worth checking the deep layer of the soil, it should be rich in nutrients.

The roots of the plant cannot penetrate into too compacted soil, so do not plant roses in such soil, and avoid stagnant water. Soil that is too loose can be improved by adding compost, and nutrient-deficient soil can be improved with manure.

Soil pH is also important. The ideal value is 6.5-7.5. If the soil is too acidic, lime powder is added, and if it is too alkaline, peat is mixed in.

Nutrient supply is important for continuous flowering, so it is worth adding special rose food during the development period.

 Top Dressing for roses

In hot summers, water the plant regularly in the morning. If you follow these basic rules when planting a rose bush, you can expect abundant and continuous flowering throughout the summer.

Background plants in a flower bed with roses

It is believed that roses are planted alone. A rose garden is usually a flower bed with a group of roses that grow separately from other plants and do well in such conditions.

Today, mixed plantings are gaining more and more popularity, where roses are in perfect harmony with other spectacular plants. There are many types of roses with showy flowers, glossy green foliage and sharp thorns on the stems.

There are many combinations of roses with other types of plants in the design of the garden, and they can be used in different ways with a wide variety of plants. The colorful and varied plants make roses stand out when they are in bloom, and draw attention away from them after they have faded.

[ The combination of roses with other plants

Well-chosen companion plants will enhance the aesthetic effect of simple forms of roses. Background plants, if chosen correctly, are often invisible, but their absence is noticed immediately. The task of the neighbors placed here is to cover the free space of the flower garden.

Note! Neighboring plants form a kind of background against which the rose looks very impressive. The rose in the composition is the main plant, and should not be limited in growth or relegated to the background by other plants.

What flowers are planted next to roses?

When choosing other plants for roses, it is very important to take into account the color of their petals, leaves, the shape of the flowers and the height of the bush, as well as the timing and duration of flowering. Mixed plantings are a good opportunity to expand the decorativeness of the flower garden, for example, pink or bright red create a wonderful harmony with blue. White-flowering perennials can complement roses of all colors except white.

Important! You should not plant bright flowers with large buds next to roses (for example, dahlias, peonies), it is better to choose perennials with delicate and unusual foliage.

Creeping perennials are good to plant next to roses. They are not demanding on growing conditions, they are not afraid of shade. As ground cover plants that form the background of flower beds, phloxes, thyme, saplings, etc. are chosen.

 Creeping perennials

Against the background of roses, perennials and annuals with larger branches fit well. Perennials with silvery gray leaves can make a beautiful harmony with roses. Ashy ragwort with feathery silver-gray leaves, grown for decorative foliage.

  • Lavender is considered one of the traditional companion plants of the rose garden, and when combined with the right variety of rose, produces very interesting results. Light shades of lavender look great with pastel and dark red rose flowers. The aroma of lavender repels aphids, the worst enemies of roses, thereby eliminating a lot of problems.
  • Decorative sage , with shades of red, white, blue flowers, forms a spectacular picture in combination with roses. It can be planted at a distance of at least 10 cm from roses.
  • Among the many plants suitable for placement at the foot of a rose, geranium is distinguished. Having a small height, it protects the roots of rose bushes from overheating, complementing the color palette with shades of white, pink.
  • Creeping thyme can cover large areas of the rose garden, grows well even in the shade, shining with its golden yellow foliage.
  • Lavender , its lighter varieties, such as spotted lamb with silvery foliage and light pink flowers, are suitable for roses in warm colors: red, orange and pink.
  • oreopsis has yellow flowers, and their bright color sets off red or orange roses well. This is a hardy plant that blooms profusely all summer. Seeds propagate among rose bushes.
  • Anisemint is a perennial plant with tall, spiky flowers that contrast beautifully with the cupped roses.
  • The phlox flower is very beautiful, spectacular, forms dense bushes and surrounds the roses with lush vegetation. Inflorescences in shades of pink, purple and purplish red, white stand out next to the roses. Bloom profusely until late autumn.
  • Campanula is a good family with roses. Its delicate appearance – bell-shaped flowers about 1 cm, with shades from white to blue, needs moisture and indirect sunlight, so it does very well in the shade of a rose bush.
  • Canterbury bluebells are tall biennials with showy, interestingly shaped flowers ranging from white and blue to pink, purple and lavender. These delicate flowers go well with roses.

You can plant bulbous irises next to roses. These delicate spring flowers look great in borders, along the perimeter of rose beds.

Other plants to plant with roses

Many coniferous trees are great for creating a backdrop next to roses. You can use their low species, especially dwarf junipers, cypresses, yews, and pines. Dwarf conifers have their own special characteristics. The foliage of these evergreens adds richness to flower beds.

 Flower bed with roses and conifers

Perennial herbs are valued for their unpretentiousness, and decorate the garden almost all year round. The use of ornamental grasses (Pennisetum, Muhlenbergia and Festuca) combined with roses can create very interesting combinations.

Herbaceous plants have a range of shades of green, grey-blue and yellow and change to more colorful colors in autumn. Fescue species with blue-green leaves contrast sharply with red, pink and orange rose flowers.

 Gray fescue

There is a large selection of flowering shrubs suitable for framing rose plantings or creating a backdrop. These are stonecrop, forsythia, spirea.

How to care for a combined flower bed with roses?

Caring for such a flower garden, which is decorated with perennial and annual plants, is difficult. For the maintenance of different types of plants, suitable care and systematic supervision is necessary. It is important to immediately remove faded buds and diseased plants, cut off the shoots.