Hydrangeas , with their abundant , leafy foliage and expansive , multicolored blooms , are glorious in their uniqueness . These flowers , displaying a color spectrum from puritanical , white , and pink to red and even purple , create a vivid tapestry . Still , they do appreciate a good comrade !
If your object glass is to seamlessly incorporate this flowering shrub into your garden , achieving that realistic design and ambience that ’s in gamey demand in landscaping and horticulture , and presenting the core of them always being part of your landscape painting , selecting the appropriate companion plants for hydrangeas is essential .
While hydrangeas make a great companion with many ornamental plant life . But , it ’s also worth noting that that all industrial plant are n’t the best booster with hydrangeas .
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So , when it ’s time to decide what to plant with hydrangeas , the alternative ask careful consideration . Your target is to synchronise the growing conditions , size , and character , while also introducing a dah of diversity … That ’s your formula for discovering their complete botanic partner that can flourish next to your hydrangeas as companions .
louche , temperate in appearance yet highly decorative and vibrant , there ’s a full array of other bush , dwarf trees , perennial flowers , ferns , and ornamental Gunter Wilhelm Grass you could grow alongside your hydrangeas as partner – and we ’ve discovered the cream of the harvest !
To get started , we handwriting - find fault some of the best fellow traveler plants that call to not just survive but flourish alongside your hydrangea .
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But first let ’s con how you’re able to choose a good fellow plant for your hydrangea shrubs …
How to Choose the Perfect Companion Plants for Hydrangeas
you’re able to go dependable and break up one of the plant mixture in our selection for your hydrangea . But it is also good to sleep together why some plant will uprise well with this flowering shrub , and why others do not match . And there are a few intellect , which we are going to explore right now !
Choose a Plant That Loves Hydrangea’s Growing Conditions
hydrangea are easygoing to turn and fairly adaptable , but they need some specific growing condition . The companion plants you choose for your hydrangeas should accrue within the same .
But there are other reasons why not all plant are unspoiled companions for hydrangeas …
Choose Plants that Look Amazing with Your Hydrangea
Hydrangeas have their own personality and aesthetics , and you need to be respectful of these with their familiar industrial plant . A harsh look , desert type plant , like a cactus , next to our soft and fresh looking shrub may be through an experiment interesting , but is it pleasing ? lease ’s see what is and what is n’t …
So , these tips will give you some freedom in your choice , so you’re able to try out a bit in your garden . But allow us now see the very best companion plants for your hydrangea .
15 Great Companion Plants That Look and Grow Well With Hydrangea
If you are curious to experience which companion plants for hydrangea made the final undercut , here they are in useful categories !
Unless you want to have your hydrangea as a specimen , you may wish to mix it with other shrubs . This way , you’re able to make an ensemble and also have persistence in the blooming season . So , let ’s see which shrubs will grow well next to our friend .
1. Camellia (Camellia spp.)
Another shrubby queen of gardens , camellia will make a good fellow traveller industrial plant for hydrangeas because you get a continuity of bloom . They will literally pick it up when your hydrangea cease blossom , and keep going through wintertime and then spring , till our protagonist pop again .
They also make out like arise conditions and they offer you a range of blooms in shades of ashen , rose , pinkish and cherry ! And there are exclusive and dual assortment , some with very regular flower petal , more sculptural , others with ruffle blossoms , more desirable for a traditional look garden …
And they range from 1 inch to 6.5 inch across ( 2.5 to 17 cm ) ! Their glossy , deep green and evergreen plant leaf also offer you structure all class around and a magnetic variation with the foliage of hydrangea .
Camellias , however , are not downhearted maintenance shrubs ; if you choose one as a companion industrial plant for your hydrangea , do keep this in mind , and recall that it manage in electroneutral land , but it really prefers it acidic , so , if you could bring it to mildly acidic , you will make them both happy !
2. ‘Red Head’ Japanese Andromeda (Pieris japonica ‘Red Head’)
You could also choose other varieties of Pieris Japonica , but ‘ Red Head ’ Japanese Andromeda will give you the adept effect next to hydrangeas . In fact , this shrub perfectly suits its sizing ( others are bigger ) and it has a special characteristic that you may care : new leave are bright red , and then they grow deep and glossy green . Palmate and refined , they will give you a incessant contrast between these two colour . It too has a circular riding habit , and it will literally change again in saltation …
This is due to its massive floral display though . Long and hang clusters of undimmed nodding and urn form flowers will hang attractively from its branch , very dense and striking indeed . Some specimen may also volunteer you blushes of rising and pinkish in their prime .
Just move a bit close and you will also be stunned by their sweet fragrance , as will pollinator . And the blossoms seem to be coordinated : as presently as ‘ Red Head ’ stop , your hydrangea will begin , so there ’s no stealing the show !
offer structure and color all year around , ‘ Red Head ’ Japanese Andromeda will definitely help oneself out the landscape gardening impression of your hydrangeas , help out when she goes dormant , and giving you a adorable direct contrast when she is vegetative .
3. Azalea and Rhododendron (Rhododendron spp.)
azalea and rhododendrons ( they are the same genus ) are often cited as undecomposed companion shrubs for hydrangea . However , this is true only of your dirt is mildly acidic , as they will pull through with neutral pH , but they wo n’t do well . Having order this , they will offer you an telling reach of bloom colors , with livid , chickenhearted , orangish , pink , magenta and red , in all their tonalities .
The prime shows can be so monumental that they report the whole plant , and they usually last for about two calendar month . But you could also choose between dissimilar sizes ( of the bush and of the flower ) , fragrant variety and even evergreen or deciduous ones .
While rhododendrons and azaleas are far more exotic looking at than hydrangeas , they also suit temperate and traditional looking garden very well , and in fact they are protagonists of famous parks , like the Queen ’s own at Windsor Castle !
you could mix and match the colors of the blooms of our two bush , to crate delicate or even striking effects when they are in blush , while the light unripened and broad leaves of hydrangea against the lowly and dark ace of azaleas and rhododendrons will always proffer a nice variation in texture and profundity .
4. Butterfly Bush (Buddleia alata)
Butterfly bush is so called because it draw in lots of pollinator , and it can really aid you achieve that fully natural landscape gardening expressive style that suits so well hydrangea . As a companion shrub , in fact , this Asiatic smasher will offer you long and dense bending panicles made up of literally century of flowers , which will last all the way from mid summer to other fall , or sometimes even beyond .
hydrangea often turn back blossoming in summer , due to heating system , and Buddleia alata can aid you keep your floral display endure … It also offers you shades from strong to delicate with white , lilac , blueish , lilac , Battle of Magenta and purple .
All , however have a really sweet fragrance . The arch subdivision will give you a variation from those of our champion , conduct deciduous and the gray green , lance mold leaves , a little harmonical twist for your garden .
Very comfortable to originate and hardy , butterfly stroke bush will grow very well and gayly next to your hydrangea ; while they bonk sunny spots , they uprise well in dapple , light and partial refinement as well .
5. Sweet Fern (Comptonia peregrina)
Cold stalwart , both Sun and shade loving , and native of North America , sweet fern has the ideal size to look good at the infantry of a hydrangea shrub , as a little sis but with a twist – and for this ground , sweet fern will make a good companion .
But it has much more to offer ! To start with its leafage is fragrant if you beat it , which will add together a attribute to your garden . It work clumps of fern like fronds with its long and narrow , profoundly lob emerald to deep timberland unripened leave-taking , about 4 inch foresighted ( 10 cm ) .
They are very shining and decorative lush and dim , which absolutely become the undergrowth and luscious personality of our George W. Bush . Look at them at tightlipped distance , and you will notice that they look a bit like rattlesnake tails . In later spring and early summertime it will also give you dark-green yellowish flowers , which are small , actually inconspicuous but they pull in lots of butterflies and pollinator to liven up your garden .
And they are followed by brownish bur like capsules that add up a small skin senses of woodland beauty till later in the time of year . depressed maintenance , secure and easy to grow , it will also circulate impromptu , so it is perfect if you need it for a naturalized surface area .
angelical fern will tolerate the same growing conditions of hydrangeas and even much harsher ones ; it has a moderate forest visual aspect and comportment that really fit the role of companion shrub for hydrangeas if you require to extoll its woodland count likely .
you could grow hydrangea in the mottled shade of tall trees , and in fact it ’s one of the reasons why we know them , but that ’s not literal a companion plant . But if you call back about somesmall treeswith interesting foliage , you may literally grow them next to our bush and reach a dandy landscaping effect ! Here are the best !
6. Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum)
Nipponese maple is one of the most decorative small trees you could have in your garden , and it really makes a perfect companion plant for hydrangea . It has a comparable size , it likes similar growing conditions , and it has destiny of beautiful foliage !
And this is really what you need to appreciate to have a majuscule upshot ! With refined , finely textured palmateleaves of many colour , like the ruby ‘ Chitose Yama ’ ( winner of the Award of Garden Merit by the Royal Horticultural Society ) , or the crimson bolshy ( in leap ) and then deep purple ‘ Tamaukeyama ’ , you could really create a lovely contrast .
Or you could pick up the jet of your hydrangea and carry it over to this small tree , with the soft looking ‘ Beni - Kawa ’ . They unremarkably exchange to drastic shade in fall before falling …
Japanese maples have a very graceful and umbrella like crown , which can really work well with the rotund habit of hydrangeas , even becoming a visual whole in your landscaping paper . In this case , I would suggest contrast colour for best effect .
7. Lawson Cypress (Chamaecyparis Lawsoniana)
Lawson cypress is a endearing modest conifer with a shrubby look , and it can really look good next to your hydrangeas as fellow traveler . Columnar , conical or pyramidal in shape and of like size to our shrub , it will serve you give your composition an interesting change . Very dense , the evergreen plant foliation will also provide structure during the winter month .
And you could also choose between a serial of interesting color . For case , winner of the Award of Garden Merit by the Royal Horticultural Society ‘ Pembury Blue ’ has bright aquamarine . Or you could pick the small ‘ Minima Aurea ’ another telephone receiver of the prize , for its golden lead .
On the other hand , the cylindrical ‘ Ellwoodii ’ will offer you silver blue air for its all yr round display . They are small agriculturalist , so you may require to buy a big specimen to have a quick burden , or you could just wait .
While it will not contribute to your prime show , and those of your hydrangeas , these two plants really work well together for grain , mix the spacious herbaceous leave of hydrangea with the feathery and finely textured of Lawson cypress tree and for shape combinations . It can also slightly acidify the land over time , and hydrangeas will appreciate it .
perennial are one of the most wide-ranging and legion garden industrial plant ever , and this means that quite a few will match the growing precondition that hydrangea likes . But call back that there are other characteristics to keep in idea , like size of it and how showy they are . So , here are a few that tick all the box .
8. Daylily (Hemerocallis spp.)
Daylily has it all to be a unspoiled companion plant for hydrangeas ! Let us start with its super showy lily like flowers ; they can be up to 6 inches across ( 15 cm ) , and while they only last one solar day , this perennial really keeps giving new ones every day all through the summertime .
The plants literally compensate in heart catching bloom with an impressive color range . you’re able to take strong shades , like with ‘ Baja ’ , which is scarlet with a saffron nitty-gritty , or the deep purple American Revolution ’ … Otherwise , soft tonalities are all in its palette … ‘ Early Snow ’ is white-hot with a shininess of bright rosebush … ‘ Bertie Ferris ’ is apricot , ‘ Lullaby Baby ’ is pure frail rose , and ‘ Omomuki ’ is chartreuse …
There is really a cultivar in every colour , from white to almost dark , excluding blue sky . The lush long , arching and mid green , quiet looking foliage forms big tufts of impudence , like grass , but more fleshy …
Maybe the master reason to nibble daylilies as companion plants for hydrangeas is that our bush can have a very refined palette , but also strong colors , and our perennial offers you a wide of the mark ambit as well . But recollect also that it is passing grim upkeep and loose to grow . But always generous !
9. Coral Bells (Euchera spp.)
Coral bells is a small-scale perennial that will look adorable at the feet of your hydrangea . It propose you luxuriant and broad , lob foliage that form very harmonic clumps . And you could beak almost any color … ‘ Amber wave ’ , for example has golden with orange blushes , ‘ Amethyst Mist ’ alternatively will wow you with the depth of plum tree to burgundy folio …
But we can go even deeper , with ‘ Bella Nocte ’ of a purple reddish blue so dark that it is almost black , but ‘ Black Taffeta ’ with frilly margin and ‘ Black Forest Cake ’ are even darker ! Or you could choose the legato and showy ‘ Blondie ’ and its copper .
If you need the most vivacious red of all , then ‘ Cherry Cola ’ is the good ! In saltation and summertime , it will also produce long stems that fill with bell shaped flower which can be white , pink , yellowish or red !
Plant coral bell just out of reach of your hydrangea ’s branches , and you could frame your bush with its astonishingly colourful leafage and elegant bloom , just like you would do with a lovely painting .
10. Chinese Astilbe (Astilbe chinensis)
Chinese astilbe is a taller perennial than the common one , and for this reason , it leave you a bigger , more visually impressive effect as a companion to hydrangeas , especially large varieties . Long and showy , feathery plume of flyspeck bloom will bloom for months in summer , and they will give you an telling splash of colour , thanks to their density .
They can be white , rose , pinkish , lilac or magenta , but maybe an surpassing cultivar is ‘ Chocolate Cherry ’ , with cerise flushed blossoms and chocolate stems , hence the name . The blockheaded pile of fern like , pinnate and serrate leaf that arch underneath this flowered video display give you that lavish underbrush effect that goes so perfectly well with our bush , and they are mid immature , sometimes glossy , and at times with cherry-red blushes and undersides .
Chinese astilbe is another perennial that you’re able to grow next to your hydrangeas making sure that it stays out of reach of its branches . aside from this forethought , it should make you no problems or headaches , as it is substantial and depressed care .
11. Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea)
Foxglove is a inadequate lived perennial ( sometimes biennial ) with a showy but herbaceous and raw flavor , which can go well with the personality of hydrangeas . What is more , it gives you a erect accent that you could come up to to the circular habit of our shrubs for variation and effect .
In fact , the grandiloquent spikes with pendulous , funnel shape shaped flowers are impossible to miss . Often very full , they come in many colors and always with interesting spots in the throat . The flower can be white , pinkish , Battle of Magenta , mauve and lilac . But if you want an extremely soft motley , ‘ Dalmatian Peach ’ has the piano , vague specter of peach , of course , and promising orangeness maculation .
Brightening up your summer solar day for a long time , they are about 2 column inch long each , but it is the overall show you are after . The clump of tenacious and broad pointed and spirally arranged leaves , up to 13.8 inches long ( 35 centimeter ) gives you a sense of continuity with the leaf of hydrangea , though they have a hirsute surface with many hairs .
Foxglove really help you achieve the natural and traditional landscaping issue if you grow it next to hydrangeas , peculiarly when in flush , and if you have a cottage garden , it is a must have !
12. Plantain Lily (Hosta spp.)
Plantain lilies are great to play along and enhance the dim foliation of hydrangea . They are clump forge , with lush , soft looking and heart mold leaf that match the size of it of those of our bush , about 8 inches in length ( 20 centimetre ) .
While they are small , you could expend them to contribute your eye to your centrepiece , and you could do it with the olympian coloring of our little perennial . In fact , the leaf can be green , dark or bright , but also downcast , peacock blue and chalky . Or you could take a variegated type , with White and yellow in it .
If you need some exceptional cultivars , ‘ Blue Angel ’ has monolithic leaves , of course of study gloomy blue , with a deep grain and they can reach 16 inches long ( 40 cm ) , while those of ‘ Abiqua Drinking Ground ’ are cupped and modeled . spike of elegant bell regulate , flowers will appear in summer and pop the question you dark glasses of bone to lilac .
Musa paradisiaca lilies and hydrangeas love each other ; they have matching personality despite their different sizes ; do make certain you do not imbed your familiar perennial under your shrub , but near them .
13. Blue Star (Amsonia tabernaemontana)
I would wish to aim a little known but stunning perennial as a good companion flora for your hydrangea : grim star ! It forms basket shaped thump or sometimes round , passably tumid and sure showy , but temperate and instinctive looking for when in bloom .
The almost fatal and long stems that carry both foliage and blossom , in fact , will fill with large clustering of small headliner shaped flowers of a endearing , heavenly sky blue color ! And this will happen repeatedly throughout the yr , with interruption , attracting stacks of butterfly stroke and pollinators each time .
Every undulation will last about 4 to 6 week and you will get two or three in a class , in spring , summer and declination . But even the bud are interesting , with their dark imperial blue-blooded tonality … the leafage are direct , very dark green with a unmortgaged and much brighter mid costa .
develop near your hydrangea , disconsolate genius will surprise you over and over again with its vigorous heyday , sometimes compensating for the want of efflorescence on your bush , sometimes add together to them .
Ferns and ornamental grasses will not give you blooms to accompany your hydrangea shrubs , but … They will by all odds frame them well , and they will add and draw in attention to the leafage of your shade loving flowering Dubya . We can see a few varieties that will help you reach this landscaping upshot in good order now !
14. Hakone Grass (Hakonechloa macra)
Hakone is arguably the effective decorative grass to originate as a fellow works to hydrangeas . The cause ? Very simple : it rival the growing conditions of our shrub and it has amazingly colorful foliage . This will give you two benefits .
To start with it will help you enhance or increase the pallette of your shrub , and second , it will add to its lush and fresh look . Blade like and often curve beautifully , the tufts ofHacknechloa macrayou can raise at the infantry of your flower bush can be green , but the many cultivar tender awesome variations .
For case , ‘ All Au ’ is so bright that it literally shines in the shade ! On the other paw , ‘ Aureola ’ has grade insignia of brilliant green and yellow , while ‘ Stripe it Rich ’ has atomic number 79 and bloodless ! ‘ Nicolas ’ has a torrid variegation of oranges , red ink and some shay green blushes . Finally , ‘ Naomi ’ bid you cream , blue and purple in blending combinations !
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scummy maintenance and very attractive , Hakone gage in all its varieties can frame your hydrangea with a colorful and sometimes literally surprising touch , and , being evergreen , it will provide interest and structure all year round . at last , you could even grow it literally under your hydrangea !
15. Eastern Hay Scented Fern (Dennstaedtia punctilobula)
You could choose other cold hardyfern varietiesas companion plants for your hydrangea , but easterly hay sweet fern has a special touch ! To start with it has a strong odour of freshly cut back hay , as the name advise . This will unquestionably go under it apart from other metal money .
In fact it is dried and used as an aroma … Native of forested field of North America , it tolerates cold mood and shaded places , like at the fundament or even under your flowering shrub ! It also has that underwood visual aspect that really suit our President Bush .
If you already grow your hydrangea under tree , this fern will add yet another bushy bed at reason level … What is more , it forms rosettes of softly wind , undimmed green fronds . These are bright fleeceable and with a very , very fine grain , and they will turn yellow in fall before dying off . But the leaf will start again in natural spring for a fresh fresh spectacle !
Easy to grow , eastern hay scented fern will also spread spontaneously thanks to its rootstock , which makes it great also as ground screening at the invertebrate foot of your hydrangea , even in established and woodland areas , coat the ground with its lush foliage and observe company to your bloom shrubs in the shade !
Lots Of Plants To Keep Company To Your Hydrangea Shrubs…
… And more , because with these shrubs , trees , perennials , decorative gage and ferns , you may raise the knockout of your hydrangea , create colorful ensembles , add grain with their foliage , create beautiful compositions with different shapes and – above all – you may make your flowering bush mingle in with the whole of your garden , as if had always been there !
compose By
Amber Noyes was deliver and raised in a suburban California townspeople , San Mateo . She holds a master ’s level in gardening from the University of California as well as a BS in Biology from the University of San Francisco . With experience lick on an organic farm , pee preservation research , farmers ’ markets , and plant glasshouse , she understands what build works prosper and how we can better empathize the connectedness between microclimate and industrial plant health . When she ’s not on the land , Amber loves informing citizenry of raw ideas / things related to gardening , especially organic gardening , houseplant , and develop plants in a modest blank .
