Which plants to mix with rose bushes?
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Gardeners often feel they need to grow roses in beds by themselves, but they combine beautifully with many garden plants. Shrub roses in particular perform well when incorporated into perennial beds. The legginess of hybrid roses is camouflaged when under-planted with low-growing plants.
Successfully combining roses with other plants depends on choosing companions that thrive under the same growing conditions as roses, namely sun and well-drained soil. Companion plants should be kept at least 1 foot away from the rose, both to avoid root disturbance and to prevent diseases caused by poor air circulation.
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Clematis
Clematis combines beautifully with roses.
Clematis is a lovely flowering vine that will scramble up into bushes and trellises, making it an excellent companion for shrub or climbing roses. Available in a wide range of flower forms and colors, clematis is usually found in garden centers in the spring. The seed heads look like swirling mop-heads and add interest to the winter garden, especially when grown with rose varieties that produce ornamental rose hips (seed pods).
Lavender
Lavender and roses are a traditional combination.
Lavender is the traditional edging plant of English rose gardens. Lavender's scent combines perfectly with that of roses. Lavender sends up spikes of blue, purple or white flowers all summer long. The plants need little attention and are pest-free.
Nepeta or catmint
Catmint is a common edging plant for perennial gardens that also works well under rose bushes. The small gray-green leaves blend well with any color rose. In spring, the plants are covered with spikes of blue or white flowers- some varieties will re-bloom if cut back after the first flush of flowers. Like most mints, Nepeta will spread rapidly, so use it in a bed where it has room to fill out.
Alchemilla mollis or Lady's mantle
Lady's mantle is an excellent choice for planting at the base of hybrid tea roses. The 6- to 12-inch mounds of scalloped leaves are topped in early spring by sprays of lime-green flowers. The leaves stay fresh-looking all season. The plants should be planted 2 feet apart- they will fill in rapidly.
Stachys or Lamb's Ears
Lamb's ears are a soft grey-green.
Lamb's ears (Stachys byzantina) is a low-growing ground-cover. Some varieties send up spikes of purple flowers in mid-summer. The soft gray of lamb's ears is particularly beautiful with dark red roses. Stachys spreads rapidly and acts like an organic mulch around rose roots, keeping them cool. The famous Descanso Rose Garden near Los Angeles uses lamb's ears extensively as a companion plant.
Chives and other herbs
Chives can help repel aphids.
Herbs and roses might seem like strange bedfellows, but planting herbs near roses is an organic method of pest control. The Alabama Cooperative Extension service suggests using chives to keep away aphids, mites and nematodes, feverfew to keep aphids away, and tansy to help keep Japanese beetles and other flying insects off your roses.
Zinnias
Zinnias attract good bugs.
The University of California Master Gardener program suggests planting Profusion zinnias to attract good bugs to your rose garden. Unlike most zinnias, this variety is not bothered by mildew. At 12 to 18 inches, the billowing plants are a good height for camouflaging the legginess of hybrid tea roses. The Profusion variety comes in pink, orange and white.
Tags: hybrid roses, rose bushes, with rose, attract good, attract good bugs, beautifully with, edging plantSource: www.ehow.com
