Companion shrubs for roses?

6 years ago

Looking for suggestions for companion shrubs, ideally evergreen, for shrub roses. Either as a backdrop or in the foreground, for planting along south facing side of house. I know boxwood is one, but I feel that's a touch too formal for my more "cottage" style home.

Also, options for disease resistent shrub roses, prefer apricot/peach/pink options (other than KO vareities). Zone 7b Georgia. Thank you!

Featured Answer

nippstress - zone 5 Nebraska

6 years ago

Jen, I have yews in the front of our house that were there when we moved in that I use as backdrop for that bed of roses. Mine faces north so these have to be the very cold hardy and shade tolerant roses in my case. I like the look of the trimmed yews contrasting the dark green behind the roses, and during the summer/fall you don't notice the yews much at all. In winter and early spring, the yews make a much-needed green foundation for the picture window and at that point, you don't notice the roses at all. I also have a cottage-style garden, so during rose/perennial season it's the usual color chaos in front of the yews to calm down during the quiet seasons with just the yews.

Here's a huge Jack's Wish rose in front of two of the bushes during prime time:

Here are some more mixed plantings of assorted roses and perennials with the yews peeking out here and there:

You can see the yews starting to need a haircut here behind the various plants - mine usually get trimmed to a flat edge in July and I ignore them the rest of the year.

If you want shrubs to merge as an element of a cottage garden rather than as a contrast and backdrop, I have several at the back of my hot sun area that faces south. Here's an assortment of roses in a particularly good year in front of a purple smoke bush (left) and Black Lace Sambuca or elderberry at right, the latter of which has its nice white blooms:

Calling a smokebush a "bush" is a bit of a misnomer since it wants to grow well over 8' for me and in these parts, that's a tree. I whacked it back to the base one year and keep whacking it back periodically so it'll stay bush height under those conditions. The sambuca died mysteriously to the ground a year or so ago and it needs a lot of support now to stay upright as it regrows its foundation. Neither of these are evergreen, but they make a nice contrast to the roses during summer.

Cynthia

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (18)

guyground
6 years ago
Carefree Beauty
0
guyground
6 years ago
Also is you have a picture of the area you want to plant that would be a big help. Also how much sun does it get ?
0
Related Discussions
Suggestions for Companion to Pink shrub rose
Q
Comments (11)
I live south of you, in zone 9a and I grow a lot of Belinda's Dream roses. One of my favorites! I would recommend daylilies, which come in all colors except blue, (and they are working on that). The daylilies that I like best are evergreen, so I always have some green for cover under the roses. Another favorite is salvia Greggii, in a variety of colors. One of my favorites is 'Raspberry Royale' and is a very compatible pink, on the strong side. This salvia is a perinneal, and makes a low growing little bush that fits nicely under the roses. It can take a lot of sun, and blooms here until frost. This year, I am growing alliums with my roses. You will need to really consult the catalogs as to which alliums we can grow here on the Texas Coast, but I found several varieties that are marvelous. Not the enormous round blooms, but substantial enough to satisfy me. I don't know if they will come back next year or not, but in any case, I will add to them for next year. I really like the effect. My friend has a large rose bed, and all around the edge, she planted miniature roses. They have all fared very well, and it is a unique look. She also used miniature roses as a partere in other beds. If you like 'Belinda's Dream', I would suggest that you consider the 'KnockOut' rose. It comes in red or pink, and now there is a double variety. One of the most spectacular roses I have ever seen. Janie
...See More
companion shrub for a hydrangea
Q
Comments (5)
'Bonanza' camellia stays lower and more spreading. Would be really nice. I also like Abelia 'Twist of Lime' for contrasting variegated foliate planted in a mass. Really seems to hold its variegation well. I have 'Mardi Gras' too, but like Twist of Lime better. Also consider Abelia 'Rose Creak' for its reddish calyces that are held a long time on the plant. Stays more compact than most abelias. Euonymous 'Emerald n Gold', if trimmed regularly, form nice variegated mounds. Azalea 'Chinzan' -- I'm a HUGE fan of these -- forms a nice compact spreading mound (very small leaves) to maybe 18" high x 3 or 4' wide over time. Blooms in June, but stays a nice green all winter. Does better with a bit of shade in late afternoon. If you can find them. It's similar to the Gumpo type azaleas. There are also some nice, more compact Indian Hawthorns that might do OK there. They prefer full sun though. This post was edited by dave_in_nova on Mon, Jul 14, 14 at 8:30
...See More
companion shrubs with roses
Q
Comments (3)
yep, lavender or nepeta. I have lavender with mine, but I have nepeta everywhere to defend my garden from bunnies and deer. Cameron (I have a photo of my roses and lavender on my lavender blog in July --link from My Page).
...See More
Evergreen shrub or perennial companions for Peach Drift roses?
Q
Comments (24)
Gardengal, thank you for those suggestions! I have a mass planting of Abelia in my front yard and thus far it is not evergreen in my zone - this winter was very mild but my plants still lost 50%+ of their leaves. Helianthemum is a great idea though - I didn't realize they were evergreen. Iberis too. As for the groundcover, I bought a few Veronica Georgia Blue at the end of the season last year so I'm waiting to see how they do for me, but I do like them. I was leaning toward the creeping thyme among the roses because it can take some foot traffic and I do need to be able to access the area occasionally to weed, prune, etc. I know vinca has a reputation for loving shade but I had a large section of this hill planted with vinca before the landscaping project, and it did very well in the sun. I agree it may not be just right with the roses, though.
...See More
Mister Moses, Pittsburgh, W. PA., zone 5
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Jen,

Broadleaf evergreens: Mahonia, Nandina, Osmanthus, Abelia. Euonymus, Pieris, Pyracantha, Ilex (Holly), and winter hardy Gardenia blend with roses wonderfully. You have to choose varieties carefully so that mature dimensions do not exceed their alotted space in your beds.

Of course, Azalea, Rhododendron, and Kalmia are possibilities, too.

You have to make sure any evergreen bush you choose has compatible light, water, and soil type needs that are comparable to roses. The shade they cast on adjacent roses must also be taken into consideration, too. Competing for light with an evergreen neighbor....a rose bush will turn out the loser.

Needle evergreens: Taxus (yew), Arbor Vitae, Juniperus are all possibilities. The columnar evergreens like Skyrocket Juniper are great additions. At 18" wide, and up to 12' tall (can be easily kept to 4-6' tall with regular pruning), they are very dramatic and give height to a bed.

Whatever you decide to plant, give everything plenty of space...no crowding. Crowding will result in disappointment. Make sure you plant according to the mature size of the bush, not the nursery stock size when you purchased it.

Moses
Vaporvac Z6-OhioRiverValley
6 years ago
La Marne and many polyanthas make wonderful shrub roses. I like Hydrangeas and Spireas as shrubs, but not evergreen here. I have one vibunum that is and a dwarf Osier Dogwood that , while not evergreen, still has pretty red canes in the winter.
0
Jen Littell-Allen
Original Author
6 years ago
Thank you for all those suggestions, I'll be looking into them. The area is south facing, so it gets a good deal of sun, with some intermittent dappled shade cast by some trees in the area.
0
enchantedrosez5bma
6 years ago
Hydrangea Bobo does well in sun and stays small in my z5b garden. I know they need more shade the further south you go. Hydrangea Vanilla Strawberry is beautiful but gets big so it would be a nice background plant but neither is evergreen. How about small rhododendrons? I know there are some varieties that stay around three to five feet.

Sharon
0
Vaporvac Z6-OhioRiverValley
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
enchanted, I planted a little discounted H. 'Bobo' from Lowe's this Summer. It's only getting half-shade so I hope it does well as it's the perfect size. I also planted a H. 'Rosa" which is also a small macrophylla in the bed where Lavender Lassie is going today. I have a sneaking suspicion though, that she'll be swapped out for a Cl. H. I hope we get more ideas as I think roses look beautiful when punctuated by other shrubs.
enchantedrosez5bma
6 years ago
vaporvac- I agree with shrubs making a nice accent. I tend to put my less fussy shrubs in less sunny areas since I have so little garden space that roses will do decent in. I have a bed leading down to the basement that has 'Bobo' and Pink Knockout roses since the KO's aren't as fussy about shady conditions as some of my other roses.

Sharon
Vaporvac Z6-OhioRiverValley
6 years ago
Very informative, Cynthia. If you ever have a moment I would like to know what roses do well in your NORTH Facing exposure.
enchantedrosez5bma
6 years ago
cynthia- I would love to know which roses do well in your north facing exposure too!

Sharon
0
nippstress - zone 5 Nebraska
6 years ago
Glad you like the pictures, folks! I consider the north and east sides of my house (east side being shaded by us and the neighboring house) to be a virtual zone 4, so I've only been very successful planting roses hardy to those zones in either location. Obviously this involves a lot of Easy Elegance, Kordes, and Explorer roses, at least in my case, and quite a few Austins and Meilland roses are doing fine in those locations too. They're both also part shade locations, particularly the east side, so they might not bloom as much as elsewhere.

So, since I have my location list open here, I'll list what's on the north side of my house, some of which you can see in the yew photos. This also happens to be one of the few beds I try to limit the colors, so there's an emphasis on white, apricot and burgundy (go figure - the latter two colors of course are harder to find in hardy roses):

Easy Elegance (many of these are planted in multiples): All the Rage, Calypso, Coral Cove, Snowdrift, Sweet Fragrance - these are totally reliable bloomers in this spot all summer

Kordes: Coco, Floral Fairy Tale, LavaGlut, Mandarin Ice, Mango Veranda, Queen of Hearts Freelander, Summer Memories,- also all very reliable bloomers except maybe Coco who's only occasional

Austins: Carding Mill, Lady of Shalott, Queen Nefertiti, Susan Williams-Ellis, Tamora

Meilland: Abbaye de Cluny, Alba Meidiland, Bolero, Coral Drift, Coral Meidiland, Passionate Kisses, Peach Drift,

Canadians/Explorers: Campfire, Quadra (a lot more Explorers on the East side) - trouble free and easy bloomers all season both

Other shrubs: Carefree Celebration (Radler), Elizabeth Stuart (Massad), Gentle Persuasion (Buck), Imagine (Clements), Lady Elsie May (Noack), Marylene (Interplant), Milwaukee's Calatrava (Tadler), OSO Easy Mango Salsa (Warner), Paloma Blanca (Buck), Prairie Sunrise (Buck) - except for GP, MC and OSO Easy all of these have been in this spot for 6-8 years and are reliable round the season

Other: Jack's Wish (a Kirkham HT rose that's in my top 10 roses of all time - Long Ago roses is propagating from my cuttings - you NEED this rose), Peach Delight (miniflora, only OK here), Pink Abundance (Harkness - by far the weakest in this location), White Gold (Cocker floribunda that does rather nicely)

Hope that helps.

Cynthia
Vaporvac Z6-OhioRiverValley
6 years ago
You are the best for posting this. Bookmarking it now. I try to plant a One up so I don't have to worry.
0
enchantedrosez5bma
6 years ago
Thanks so much Cynthia for the list. You've given me hope that I can grow more roses than I thought :-) Not good for the wallet but so good for the soul :-)

Sharon
0
littlesmokie
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Hi Jen How about dwarf conifers. Evergreen (and can be quite colorful with yellow/blue/plum tone foliage) all different habits (prostrate/globe/pyramidal etc.) plus slow growth rate so don't take much maintenance or outgrow their space. I've seen dwarf mugo pines used nicely in a mixed rose/perennials border. I grow St Mary's Broom spruce Picea pungens "St Mary's Broom"
0
AquaEyes 7a NJ
6 years ago
'Perle d'Or' will likely be bullet-proof for you. I'm a bit north, but mine is planted on the south side of a house, and it's nearly always blooming. It gets little or no blackspot, keeps blooming without deadheading but would look neater if it was, and has a moderate sweet scent of Tea and Multiflora.

These are some pics from this year. You'll see how the blooms vary with the weather and age of the blooms.

You'll find that there are several Teas (not Hybrid Teas, but the old shrubby Teas) which will do great in the South. If you've never checked them out, look through the Teas at Angel Gardens and Rose Petals Nursery. You'll find quite a few which could work for you. Some do get large if you let them. Their colors are more subtle and fading than modern roses, but most are very healthy in your area.

:-)

~Christopher
enchantedrosez5bma
6 years ago
Cynthia- Jack's Wish is yummy but not listed by Long Ago Roses :-(

Sharon
0
totoro z7b Md
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
How about dwarf hinoki cypress or camellia which are evergreen? I also grow the broad keaf evergreens osmanthus and pieres japonica next to roses. I have read that nandina can be invasive.
0