What to grow with roses
- BBC Gardeners' World Magazine
Published: Monday, 24 February 2020 at 8:12 am
We list our pick of the best plants that complement roses, helping to prolong your border displays.
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The shapes, colours and scents of roses are undeniably beautiful, but their season can be short. If you combine roses with other plants, you'll not only highlight the beauty of their flowers but you’ll give your borders a much longer season of interest, too.
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Growing other plants with roses also attracts beneficial insects and those that will prey on pests – some plants are also said to help prevent diseases such as rose black spot and rose powdery mildew.
Nowadays, many rose gardens that were traditionally home to roses in dedicated beds combine them with spring bulbs, biennials, perennials and even grasses for added interest.
A combination of these plants provides colour before the roses bloom, accentuates their beauty when they’re in flower in midsummer, and provides further colour and structure once the roses have faded.
More on growing roses
- How to look after roses in autumn
- How to deadhead roses
- How to take rose cuttings
- How to grow climbing roses
- Best rambling roses to grow
- Top roses for scent
Browse our pick of the best plants for growing with roses below.
Spring bulbs
Purple-pink tulips
Many roses are pruned in winter and aren't very attractive at this time. Under-plant them with a succession of spring bulbs such as snowdrops, crocus, grape hyacinths, narcissi, early-flowering tulips and late-flowering tulips, before the roses start to bloom.
Alliums
Purple allium flowers
Alliums come up year after year and their violet, globe-like flowers look great with early roses. Alliums and other members of the onion family are said to ward off aphids, prevent rose black spot and even make the scent of roses stronger.
Erysimum 'Bowles's Mauve'
Mauve perennial wallflower
The perennial wallflower, Erysimum 'Bowles's Mauve', starts flowering in spring and continues through summer – a great foil for white, pink, crimson or red roses. It then continues to flower for the rest of the year, providing interest after the roses have faded. Keep deadheading it for the best results.
Lilies
Pink-flushed, trumpet-shaped white lilies
Most lilies come into flower just as the first flush of roses is beginning to go over. Tall, blowsy Lilium regale bears beautiful, white, pink-flushed flowers with a delicious fragrance. It also makes a good cut flower.
Foxgloves
Spires of foxglove flowers
White, pink and purple foxgloves are at their peak in midsummer, coinciding with the flowering time of many roses, and their spire shapes contrast beautifully with them. The peachy foxglove ‘Sutton’s Apricot’ looks particularly lovely with creamy, pink or crimson roses.
Hardy geraniums
Hardy geranium flowers
Roses look great under-planted with hardy geraniums. Purple-blue geraniums like 'Rozanne' look good with many colours of rose, while pale-pink Geranium x oxonianum 'Wargrave Pink' looks especially pretty with crimson roses such as 'Darcey Bussell'.
Salvias
Purple salvias
Salvias come in a range of colours and make great partners for roses – they're long-flowering and their spire shapes give contrasting structure and interest. They also attract a huge number of beneficial insects, and it's said that they help to keep mildew and blackspot at bay.
Verbascums
Peachy-orange verbascums
Verbascums begin flowering in May and are still going when roses begin to bloom. They come in a wide range of colours, including yellow, white and peachy orange (such as 'Clementine', shown here). Their tall spires contrast beautifully with roses.
Nepeta
Nepeta
Nepetas form a carpet of blue and look especially good with pink, crimson, red and even yellow roses. Nepeta ‘Six Hills Giant’ can be quite vigorous, so if you're short on space, go for Nepeta racemosa 'Walker's Low'. They attract many pollinators, especially bees and hoverflies.
Penstemons
Pink-fringed, white penstemons
Penstemons not only look great with roses – they also keep the show going once they've finished blooming, often well into autumn. In shades of purple, pink, crimson or white, they look lovely with apricot, cream and pink roses.
Lavender
Lavender blooms
English lavender, Lavandula angustifolia, especially the dark purple-blue ‘Hidcote’, looks wonderful with apricot, pink, crimson or red roses. When not in flower, it offers neat mounds of evergreen, aromatic foliage.
Clematis
Type 3, late-flowering clematis
Late-flowering clematis make the perfect planting partners for climbing roses, especially rambling roses, which flower only once in summer. Depending on the varieties you grow, you could have your rose and clematis flowering together or the clematis flowering after the rose has finished, extending the season of colour to your pergola or arch.
Other plants to grow with roses
Lime-green Alchemilla mollis
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- Alchemilla mollis
- Campanulas
- Grasses such as Stipa tenuissima
- Gaura lindheimerei
- Asters
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