Cactus-don't ask

PETE, gotta ask, have you had a bad experience with cactus(lol)?
I wouldn't put cactus next to roses either, myself.

My wife did.nuff said-lol

Besides the obvious trees, grass and vines? Any plant that isn't a rosebush, IMO. Bulbs don't have the same food requirements and the amount of water a rose needs will rot the dormant bulb. Lavender and hollyhocks became invasive as did buddleia and any number of bedding plants that go hogwild in good soil with ample fertilizer and water. The only plants I still use in the rosebeds is sweet white allysium, which repels rabbits when it's mature, and society garlic which repels aphids and thrips. Water is precious down here and roses are my hobby. Anything sucking up water and nutrients from the roses is a weed and treated as such. The clematis better be on it's best behavior, lol.

OTOH, I grow a lot of plants in containers and place them amongst the roses. The nutrient-rich water drains right into the soil; sort of a two-fer. I've had great luck with chili peppers and several herbs, some of which attract beneficials and/or repel aphids. Lavender is a great plant for attracting bees. The container restricts the root growth. The containers have to be moved once in awhile, though, or the plant will root right into the existing soil.

Some idiot who lived here before me must have planted some morning glory. I wish I could get my hands around that person. Eight years later, still trying to destroy that horrible plant.

Carla

I like grasses very much with roses. It's good that we have different tastes.
Morning glories are so bad but so beautiful. I've planted several invasive plants that I like but that are problem plants:

hardy ageratum
a pink invasive chrysanthemum
obedient plant
black eyed Susan
Mexican Petunia...spreads too much but I like it alot
salvia guarnitica " "

I like a big variety of leaf shapes like spikey plants and interesting succulents. I think some people say marigolds attract spider mites but I planted some this year and loved the bright color. Didn't notice any spider mites.
I think annuals are great with roses. One plant that I need in my yard for a privacy hedge is Leyland cypress, but it gets so tall and huge that I think it sucks up alot of nonexistant water. Especially in New Orleans and the gulf coast there are lots of tropicals with roses and I like that look as many tropicals look exotic to me.
Linda

I have no problems with bulbs around my roses. Altho the irises (my "other" obsession) I'm finding aren't so great with the roses. Especially as cram-packed as I have them all. The lilies and dahlias don't get too out of hand, but the irises spread like crazy and have to be divided up every three yrs. They're fast becoming a pain in the "you-know-what!"

Another of my favorite perennials that I'm finding can get waaaay out of control are some of the salvias. I must have 20 or 30 different kinds, and some get over 6ft tall and sprawl all over the place, crowding the smaller roses that haven't gotten established enough yet. And there are some varieties of mums that tend to get humongous and also overpower the smaller roses. Ah, but it's fun. I just go out and prune the perennials waaaay back, and then they come back again.

LINDA, I'm sure the way you use ornamental grasses, creates
a pleasing look with your roses. Some of the gardens I've seen
walking around, overuse them. Some dominate the roses, so it
doesn't let the roses shine. I guess there is no right or wrong in
using certain plants with roses, as long as it's done in an artistic
way. You are a very sophisticated gardener and know how to
use plants that many use haphazardly. Good to hear from you,
Linda.

Variegated creeping (demon) vinca. And ditto on morning glory, there are volunteer plants that strangle Cardinal de Richelieu every year, good thing it is in the backyard. Beth, you are right about the iris. I had Blue Flag that came with the house, planted along the porch. I put the roses in that bed, also along the porch, and the iris are all gone now. I'm glad I dug some up and gave them to Mom.

Hosta. The hated hosta. Don't give me "hosta won't survive in full sun". Phffft! And I can't get rid of it now. Sigh.

I do fine with lavender. An odd sage, large leaves, fuzzy, is growing quite large. My now departed purple sage lived happily for years under Lagerfeld. I just cut them back if they get too out of hand. Daffodils do whatever they want.

I also use perennial grasses in my rose beds, but I have 2 acres so it adds a lot of interest to my different beds.
Carla, I'm also battling Morning Glory; it came up a couple of years ago from the wild birdseed and it loves to choke out the Austins. Hard to kill off, too.

Horseradish..the amended soil, in a rose bed, causes it to grow immense!

I'm an idiot who actually planted morning glory and then took the seeds and spread it around my yard. Plus I have some native morning glory.

Some idiot who lived here before me must have planted some morning glory. I wish I could get my hands around that person. Eight years later, still trying to destroy that horrible plant.

LOL, Carla I agree 100%. Now, believe it or not, one of the 'best' nursery owners who gave a talk in our garden club last month suggested morning glory because "it is such an easy no care plant". How would you call that person who runs a nursery and suggest morning glory? OK, he didn't suggest it as companion for roses - he didn't mention roses at all because those are not 'easy' but still....

I dislike all invasive plants with roses no matter they look good or not.

Devon, did you refer to Delphiniums or Larkspur when you referred to "those spiky plants"? LOL, I do love them. Actually I do love 'spiky plants' among roses they give a vertical element, different texture and, in addition, they come in great colors that roses -fortunately, IMO - do not have. Another spiky plant I love is foxglove; alas, here they do not grow so tall than at Mottisfont because our climate is so hot. Again, another spiky plant is desert candle (Eremurus) but they never even came up in my yard. I should have tried them this year since we had definitely desert like weather.

I do not like dwarfs pink pelicans and al 'planted' in rose beds or any other beds.

Weeds.

I have found out that marigolds are a real faux pas next to roses or dahlias. The reason is because marigolds attract and harbor spider mites. I like marigolds, but not in the same part of the yard.

I planted too many canna one year and it just did'nt look right SDLM and Canna was big mistake. Lofve Lies Bleeding (amaranth) seeds itself almost as much as cleomie constantly pulling it out

I can't imagine roses without plant company. The ones I avoid are those I don't care for (grasses, for example), or that have greedy roots. There are elms close to my roses, for example, and they are terrible. Invasives, as others rightly say: I like Jerusalem artichoke, but NOT in the garden; and four o'clocks and Centranthus ruber are not allowed under the feet of the roses, also lemon balm isn't allowed in the beds, except where it has already established and I can't get it out. Otherwise, if I like it, there's probably a good way to combine it with roses, with due allowance for distances.

Melissa

CETERUM, I love Delphiniums, Larkspur and Foxgloves with
roses. They are great together. The spiky plants that I don't like
with roses are New Zealand Flax, because I have seen gardens
where they are not planted harmoniously with roses and it does
not look right. The ornamental grass, that can look bad with the
roses, is Pampas Grass. Some people just don't plant the stuff
with enough space and the rose-bush gets smothered. Pampas
Grass doesn't seem to blend with roses.

New Zealand Flax

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Pampas Grass

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Creeping Charlie. No, I did not plant it, but it magically appeared one spring, and I still cannot get rid of it! Some people here call them wild violets and claim they're good for the rabbits. I wouldn't plant rabbits either.

"spikey plant?" Do you mean the Yucca? I only like the ones with varigated leaves. Looks great when Yucca is grown in pots than in the ground.

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The only ornamental grass I like is pennisectum rubrum because of its purple leaves and plum-like flowers that bow and sway in the breeze.
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Plant that I don't like is this grass tree below - although it makes a good architectural statement, but it's just not my type.
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For me, I prefer to stick to roses with English boxes, and topiary shrubs and adding features like statutes and a fountain.

Beth, I would love to see all of your plants and roses together.
Weeds, I can handle that easily! They seem to do so well with roses.

Carla

The ornamental grass, that can look bad with the
roses, is Pampas Grass.

Agreed, 100%. But it can get worse. In my subdivision you see only pampas grass but no roses. :-(

Can't imagine pampas grass w/ roses! It does get very large, and you are supposed to burn it down or hack it down each yr to keep it under control- wouldn't want to do that near my roses.
My rose bed is new, so I am just considering what I want to plant w/ them (though I do have quite a few clems- thanks to ceterum's enabling!). I have lemon balm in my front bed where Illusion is soon going. I don't care if it spreads- as long as it keeps the grass out! I have mint there too- under the deck where nothing else wants to grow.
I do want to get some society garlic- not sure where to get it from though... anyone know? Thanks, Brandy

Well, Brandy, you better keep that lemon balm in a container(s) sunk into the ground; it is not a very conformable job to try to excavate extra lemon balm from thorny, picky base of rose bushes. Ask, how I know that...

"The ornamental grass, that can look bad with the roses, is Pampas Grass. Some people just don't plant the stuff with enough space and the rose-bush gets smothered."

Yeah, my mistake. I'm now moving the roses. Should be (re-)moving the pampas grass. Miscanthus is so much nicer, but doesn't have those beautiful plumes in the fall.

Nasturtium was a mistake too. It looked nice for a start and then it overgrew the entire bed! Now I have to weed diligently next year, because the seeds are all over the place.

Rob

Devon, I have the Purple Fountain grass like double bookends framing both ends of my large rose garden. You'll be seeing them showing up at more pics as my climbers mature.
Purple Passion with Purple Fountain Grass behind it.
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Iceberg with one off to the side and if you peek behind the Redwood tree you can see the other grass on the fence line. The painted pots are toad houses:) I have 100's in May who eat my pests so I provide housing for them. Same area just letting Iceberg grow wild.
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I removed all the Lantana plants from my garden because it has huge root systems. This pic is just an example of it. The one in my shade garden is 5' tall.
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Les

LESLIE, your Purple Fountain looks like it's spaced properly
from your roses and it doesn't overwhelm the rose that is near
it, so it's all good. I love your painted pots, as homes for the
toads. How fun to have them in your garden. Do they also eat
snails and slugs? 'Cause that would be great!

My own mother had the bone-head idea of planting mint in her rose garden to "fill in the empty ground around the roses". Then my dad died and she left the garden alone for two years. Did nothing, complete neglect. Last year I decided as a gift to rejuvenate the garden by digging up all the Hybrid Teas and replace them with no spray roses (primarily Chinas, Teas and Noisettes; Mom lives in zone 7b). When I dug up all her moderns ... OH-MY-GOD what a mess! I spent an entire summer pulling up mint. I'm still battling it but mulching has helped along with CONSTANT VIGILIGENCE.

I gave them 6 to 10' spacing until I had to move Fragrant Plum to the back fence. Going to be a fight going on there, but the two look good together:) I give the grasses haircuts several times during the summer to keep them in check. They rapidly grow back. I put out the saucers as watering holes for the toads, I have caught them in there too. Yes they like snails and slugs and I open a 'house' and throw in a roseslug for them and they snatch it up like candy. There are only a few left now, they've gone to the ponding basin behind me to winter, I think. They'll be back the first of May if it's like the last two years.
BTW that's one HT that isn't naked to the ground either, Purple Passion. I may not be wild about it, but it makes a fantastic rose to put in the bathroom for fragrance and it is my color, LOL*
Les

'What Plants Do You Consider A Faux Pas Next To Roses?'

Hybrid Teas :)

Best wishes
Jon