Companion Plants For Roses

Companion plants for roses is a foray into why mixing plants is a good idea aesthetically and for controlling pests and diseases. And, of course, there are suggestions for some of the plants you might like to include around your roses. Not just a list, but which might suit the type or style of garden you have.

For the roses themselves, there are links at the end to Plews rose blogs. And for some of the other plants and ideas mentioned too.

Firstly, though, what are companion plants? A broad definition is that they are plants which benefit the plant or plants near them. It’s usually taken to mean a health benefit, ie prevention or reduction of pest and diseases, and most often refers to edible crops as being the beneficiaries.

However, here we are looking at plants that complement roses, so the visual effect is important too. And, talking about style, the type of garden you have – formal or informal needs to be considered.

Garden Styles

Traditional Rose Garden

Whilst traditional rose gardens varied in their details, the focus was always on the roses. This made it a predominantly summer garden as there was little of interest when the roses were not flowering.

Where there was room, the rose garden might have been enclosed with a yew hedge, as the dark green foliage made a perfect backdrop to the colourful blooms. And hid the rose bushes when they were ‘boring’.

On a smaller scale, you may remember or have seen pictures of, front gardens planted quite formally with standard roses and an evergreen hedge.

Whether large or small, these were formal gardens. There is still a place for this style, even in our smaller modern gardens, it just needs a tweak or two.

Cottage Gardens

This style of gardening tends towards the informal, with climbing roses over the front doorway, and rambling roses romping round the garden with enthusiasm. Shrub roses in the borders can be found surrounded by hollyhocks and lavender and some topiary.

Okay, perhaps I exaggerate, but it fits our idealised version of a cottage garden, or one that we consider a cottage garden style today.

In reality, many of these cottage gardeners would have been employed at ‘the big house’, working in the formal and kitchen gardens. As such they were often knowledgeable horticulturists, and many a rose found in the cottage garden would have been propagated from the formal rose garden plants.

Container Gardens

Growing your garden in pots, troughs and containers does not prevent you from cultivating both roses and companion plants for roses. If I’ve helped create a mini orchard in a roof garden, there’s no reason why you can’t have rose garden on your roof garden.
Whether you’re gardening on a balcony or courtyard, or indeed would just like a selection of roses on your patio, it is possible to do so. Remember to have as large a pot as possible for your rose as they dislike drying out.

Modernist Style Garden

Do plants as lush as a floribunda rose fit into the ethos of a pared down modern garden? Why not? Half standards, ie those with a clear stem and a sphere of blooms at the top, would fit in. A pairing of half standard roses and lollipop bay trees edged with one of the herbs I mention below could look rather chic.

Companion Planting for Roses

Whichever of the following plants suits your gardening style and growing conditions, remember that your roses won’t thank you for too much competition. Good companions, be they purely ornamental or also pest repellents, should complement rather than dominate.

The usual advice is to allow about a foot between the rose and the other plants. However, this is presumes that:

the rose is already in place and therefore the advice is largely to prevent disturbing the rose’s roots
you have space in the border
the companion plants also have a reasonable root system

However, smaller plants and annuals are unlikely to compete for nutrients and water if you have a good soil to begin with and add organic matter annually. And if you’re growing in containers the spacing is not important as long as there is enough light and air flow.
When adding plants for the visual, and possibly fragrant, pleasure of the combination, texture, colour and form are as important as size.

Companion Plants for Roses – Herbaceous Perennials

Low growing herbaceous perennials in front of the roses look attractive, try –

Stachys byzantina for silver evergreen foliage with a soft texture
Hardy Geraniums with a selection of foliage forms including rounded, feathery and variegated. They also come under our pest control plants as they are good aphid and rose beetle repellents
Nepeta, ornamental catmints. Another silvery foliage plant but not evergreen. Also pest repellent

Around and behind the roses you could have taller herbaceous perennials such as –

Agastache, anise hyssop, with tall flower spikes is an excellent foil to rounded rose blooms
Gypsophilla, baby’s breath a wonderful froth of white flowers to set off deeper tones or to create a romantic look
Or be outrageous and have yellow and orange roses backed in late summer and autumn with yellow Helianthemum and bronze Rudbeckia

Small Perennial Companion Plants for Roses

There are others which work, but these are among my top ‘go to’ small perennials to complement roses in the border. They’re also very happy growing in pots.

Dianthus, cottage garden pinks, could make a low edge to the border or surround the roses individually in a circle. Scent heaven.
Saxifraga urbium, London Pride, will tolerate the sunny spot that roses love and makes a weed suppressing carpet without competing with the roses’ roots. There is a variegated leaf form available too.

Companion Shrubs for Roses

This is a category of planting schemes that I will return to, as a mixed shrub border with interest throughout the year is a popular and easily maintained option for many clients. Once you get the correct combination of flowering and foliage shrubs for your soil and personal likes that is!

Erysimum linifolium, perennial wallflower, a range of flower colours on offer, all scented. It should flower from April to November
Artemesia are mainly grown for their soft, filigree, silvery, aromatic foliage. Choose one which grows to a height to suit the roses you’re growing, and importantly, not one which is too rampant.

Hedges and Edging

All these are evergreen plants of varying heights. When they’re formally clipped, you’ll lose the flowers but their lightly aromatic foliage still brings an extra sensory element to your planting scheme.
As formal hedges they look well matched with roses in formal gardens and simply planted modernist garden schemes.

Hyssop, Hyssopus officinalis, a n excellent companion herb and low hedge (see blog link below for more)
Winter Savory, Satureja montana, good for attracting pollinating insects and low growing at 12” / 30cm
Buxus sempervirens is the most usual Box plant sold, but consider the variegated form, or one of the smaller cultivars. Also if your roses are in full sun Buxus will need an extra mulch to retain moisture.
Santolina chamaecyparissus, cotton lavender, has grey-white, slightly fluffy foliage, making it a good contrast to the green leaves of the roses.

Companion Plants for Roses – Annual and Biennials, Bedding Plants

There are so many to choose from I shall have to write another log for you! these three have the advantage of self-seeding, so once you have them, they’re easy maintenance.

Forget-me-nots, myosotis scorpioides, for a froth of blue around the base of the roses during April and May.
Marigolds, both Calendula and Tagetes types act as pest repellents and are pollinator friendly.
Phacelia tanacetifolia is a superb pollinator flower and blooms for along period. Personally, I think the blue flowered form best complements the roses.

Companion Herbs for Roses

These could surround your roses in a circle or be planted as an edging. It depends on how many roses and where they’re planted within the garden. That is, as part of a mixed border or in a more formal setting. The herbs will all encourage pollinating insects and some act as pest and disease deterrents.

Lavender angustifolia, English lavender is a favourite. Using one of the smaller varieties such as ‘Hidcote’ will allow your rose to froth over the top. With roses grown as standards, taller varieties also work well.
Thyme, any and all of the Thymes will lap up the sun at the feet of your roses. They will encourage pollinators and other beneficial insects such as ladybirds. And they seem to help reduce blackspot (from empirical evidence).
Chives, Allium schoenoprasum, are useful herbs in the kitchen, but grow them as a low edging to your roses and benefit from their ability to repel aphids, weevils and reduce blackspot. You can let them flower too, delicate little globes of nectar that beneficial insects adore.
Yarrow, Achillea millefolium, has flat white flowerheads and is a native wildflower of the UK. Flowering May – November, it attracts ladybirds who will eat the aphids off your roses.

And finally

If you fancy a rose garden of your own, do contact us for planting design help. Distance from our ‘base’ and a smaller budget needn’t be a problem as we can generally create a design for you with a mix of real life and zoom.

For further gardening advice and inspiration, check out Plews Potting Shed blogs, including the selection below and our monthly Tipsheet – You could come and find us on Instagram Pinterest and Facebook too.

And on that note, you can have a peek at my new garden in the (new) Instagram account @spitfiresandslowworms (and on Facebook )

But if you’d like some personal help, we offer a mix of practical sessions and theory in our bespoke Gardening Lessons and Courses. There’s a blog link below plus a pdf download with more info