Roses have always been a fan favorite for anniversaries, birthdays, “Just Because,” “I’m Sorry,” Valentine’s Day, and nearly any other occasion, and it’s easy to see why! They’re everything we could ever ask for in a flower – beautiful, elegant, and oh-so-romantic. Roses offer a pleasing aroma, and they have thousands of varieties and hybrids, with each color having a different meaning.
While roses are definitely showstopping blooms on their own, what if we told you that they pair well with other flowers, too? Whether in a bouquet or in your garden, let’s take a look at some of the best flowers to pair with roses.
Flowers to Pair With Roses for Bouquets
Pincushions
These fluffy blooms may not exactly be what you’d expect to complement a bouquet of lovely roses, but they actually do! The pincushion flower (or scabiosa, if you want to get technical) gets its name from the way its little petals bloom like pincushions.
Paired with roses, these flowers give the bouquet a more balanced look and add an extra pop of color with their various hues of lavender, pink, and white.
Solomio
Solomio flowers may be unfamiliar to a lot of you, but they pair surprisingly well with light-colored roses. Rather than overpowering a batch of pastel roses, solomios help enhance the overall look of the bouquet with an added touch of softness.
Calla Lilies
Callas have always been the elegant favorite, but who knew they would go so well with roses too? They not only have a unique shape that sets them apart from the rest of the lily family, but callas also come in plenty of wonderful colors to accompany any classy arrangement!
A bouquet of mixed blooms including roses and callas is sure to impress anyone with refined taste.
Snapdragons
Feeling like gifting a loved one a rose bouquet but with a little extra dimension for that “wow” factor? Snapdragons give any arrangement a bit of much-needed height and color.
If you know your recipient would absolutely love something that pops, gift them a colorful combination of roses and snapdragons!
Chrysanthemums
Mums are usually everyone’s cup of tea, and you probably have seen these stems in every farmer’s market or in the floral section of your local grocery store. What can we say – chrysanthemums are a popular choice. But these round blooms also pair perfectly with roses, and there’s almost no question why!
Putting some mums into the mix with a batch of roses can really bring the whole arrangement to life with all sorts of colorful combinations.
Companion Plants for Roses for Gardens
When choosing companion plants for roses, remember to choose options that thrive in the same conditions as your rose bushes, are known to grow well in your USDA Hardiness Zone, and aren’t such aggressive growers that they’ll choke out your roses. Also, choose plants that:
- Look good with roses
- Can help your roses thrive
- Won’t compete with your roses
- Fight pests or attract beneficial insects
- With all these things in mind, here are some of our favorite rose companion plants.
Ornamental Onions (Allium)
Garlic, chives, and other ornamental onions (members of the allium family) make excellent rose companion plants. They have a strong scent that helps keep aphids and other pests away from your roses. Some people claim alliums can also help prevent black spots on roses.
Alliums prefer full sun, don’t need frequent watering, and aren’t picky about soil as long as it drains well. Ornamental onions grow well in Zones 4-10, and some varieties bloom in mid-spring, adding color to your garden while your roses are just beginning to send up new growth.
Sage (Salvia)
Whether you choose Russian sage, meadow sage, or another variety of salvia, the spiky purple leaves accentuate the cup-shaped flowers of your growing roses beautifully. Drought-tolerant sage grows well in dry climates and also attracts bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds while repelling aphids, beetles, and other pests.
Requiring direct sunlight and well-drained soil, salvia works well as a border plant, a backdrop for roses, or as a filler between rose plants.
Marigolds (Tagetes)
Marigolds are some of the best rose companions you could ask for. Why?
Not only do they add visual interest to a rose garden and share similar needs as roses, but they also deter hornworms, whiteflies, nematodes, rabbits, and other pests. Additionally, marigolds strengthen the growth of roses by acting like mulch, and they can grow in nearly any climate from USDA Zones 2 through 11.
Lavender (Lavandula)
It’s hard to imagine a sweeter scent combination than lavender and roses, isn’t it? It’s a stunning visual combination, too, with the short purple spires of lavender looking striking against full, round rose blooms. Try to match pale lavender with pastel or deep red roses.
Preferring full sun and the warmer climates of Zones 5-9, lavender also attracts bees while repelling rabbits and deer.
Baby’s Breath (Gypsophila)
Commonly found alongside roses in bouquets, baby’s breath also makes a wonderful companion plant for sumptuous rose blossoms in the garden. Its soft pink and white clouds of flowers look spectacular against dark red or orange roses.
Drought-tolerant, baby’s breath favors dry climates in Zones 3-9 and requires plenty of sun without too much water.
Shasta Daisies (Leucanthemum × superbum)
A garden classic, these white flowers with yellow centers make for a beautiful companion planting with shrub roses of any color.
Shasta daisies prefer consistent temperatures over extreme hot or cold and require full sun and well-draining soil. Given those conditions, they’re fairly drought-tolerant once they’re established.
Foxgloves (Digitalis)
Tall with tubular flowers that blossom in late summer and are available in a variety of colors to complement any rose, foxgloves are some of the best companion plants for roses.
Flourishing in Zones 5-9, foxgloves need some shade in hotter climates but prefer full sun in cooler areas. Foxgloves, with their long stems, create interesting borders and tall backdrops against roses.
Geraniums (Geranium)
With pink, white, or blue flowers, geraniums do double duty when planted close to roses. Not only do they visually complement each other, but geraniums act like living mulch and protect the rose roots.
Japanese beetles and some other pests don’t like geraniums, so these plants can also act like bodyguards to keep bugs away from your roses.
Pansies (Viola)
For flowers that will bloom early in the spring and again in the fall, choose pansies as rose companion plants. Since pansies slow down in the heat of summer, when roses are at their prime, pansies don’t detract from roses in their prime and instead bring color to the garden before and after your roses bloom.
Parsley (Petroselinum crispum)
It may seem surprising to pair an herb with your roses, but hear us out. Parsley may enhance the fragrance of your roses, and it also deters rose beetles, aphids, and other unwanted insects, making this herb the ideal companion plant for a rose bush.
Parsley prefers consistently moist, well-draining soil, but it isn’t picky about humidity and grows in Zones 2-11. As an added bonus, you can always pick some parsley to season your dinner while you’re out enjoying your roses!
Farm Fresh Flowers Bloom Longer
At The Bouqs Co., we’ve cut out middlemen who store flowers in warehouses. Instead, we source our blooms directly from farmers who use eco-friendly farming practices like recycling water and reducing waste. This lets us send you flowers sooner after they were cut, so they arrive fresher and live longer than blooms from other sources.
We know buying roses is a traditional route when it comes to floral gifting, but there are plenty of ways you can jazz up your typical rose bouquet. Next time you want to send roses online, consider flowers that pair well with roses when choosing your bouquet. You should also make sure you know how to store roses before gifting for the longest-lasting bouquets.
Don’t wait to impress – shop our farm-fresh selection of stunning flowers from your favorite online florist!
