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Peony companion plants will help you create harmony and balance in your garden. Since peonies are among the most popular landscape blossoms, you need to complement their beauty with flowers of the same color palette or plants that will help bring out their uniqueness.
This article will suggest unique plants and blossoms that complement the fluffy and bright peonies look, read them here.
“Use of companion planting can result in beneficial interactions.”University of Arizona Cooperative Extension
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List of Peony Companion Plants
There are several rules that you can apply when you’re looking for companion plants that make your peonies look gorgeous.
For example, you can choose a plant of a different height and texture to create contrast or a differently-colored blossom that brings out the color of your peonies. You can also pick a flower that shares the same color palette for more balance.
1. Common Foxglove
Foxgloves are eye-catching flowers that come in shades of purple, pink, red, yellow, and white.
– Companion Advantages
The tall stalks complement the look of the peony foliage, adding vertical beauty to your flowerbeds and containers. In addition, the flowers have a similar color palette, so they represent the perfect companion for the big peony blooms if you don’t want your garden to look too crowded.
– Growing Requirements
The common foxglove thrives in USDA zones 4 to 10 and requires full sun exposure. However, it can be tolerant of some shade of sunlight, especially in a hotter climate.
It prefers to grow in slightly acidic rich soil, but it can’t tolerate poor drainage. Remember that overhead watering isn’t recommended as it can encourage fungal infections. Instead, use a drip hose to keep the soil moist, but make sure it isn’t left soaking.
– Issues
Despite its unique beauty, the common foxglove is highly toxic to pets and humans. This is because all parts of the plant contain chemicals that can affect the heart.
Excessive humidity is an issue that it can face, as this may cause crown rot, so you need to grow this flower in a dry climate. The plant doesn’t tolerate temperatures higher than 90 degrees Fahrenheit and is prone to mealy bug, aphid, and snail infestations. Make sure that the fertilizer won’t touch the foliage because it can burn the leaves.
2. Lupine
The colorful spikes of lupines complement the bigger blooms of peonies and will work for you if you want to know what to plant with peonies for summer color.
– Design Idea
These blossoms come in shades of white, pink, purple, red, blue, yellow, and orange, in addition to several bicolored varieties, so they’ll guarantee that your landscape design will never look dull.
– Blooming Season
This fast-growing flower stays in bloom throughout summer to keep your garden looking its best. Moreover, this plant is a member of the green pea family, so it can fix nitrogen levels in the soil. Staking this plant will prevent the long stalks from flopping over.
– Growing Conditions
Lupines grow in USDA zones 4 to 8 and, ideally, grow in full sun. On the other hand, in a hotter climate, you must provide some afternoon shade and this will be ideal for its growth.
This plant can grow in very acidic soil conditions as long as the soil has sharp drainage. It prefers regular watering, but the soil shouldn’t be soggy.
– Issues
Lupines are prone to numerous pests, especially aphids that start attacking the plant in spring. Powdery mildew and brown spot fungus can also affect this plant. In addition, these gorgeous flowers are toxic to humans and animals.
3. Bleeding Heart
The bleeding heart flower’s color is a combination of white, pink, and red shades.
– Companionship Advantages
This plant makes it an excellent companion for the Reine Hortense peony, to be specific. As the peony shifts color from white to pink, the bright bleeding heart flower will complement your garden’s harmony with similar shades.
This flower is perfect for woodland and cottage landscape designs. It’s the perfect peony companion to grow if you live in a colder climate.
– Growing Conditions
Bleeding hearts love the shade, unlike the sun-loving peonies. This means that if you have a small garden, you can pick a sunny spot for peonies, and the bleeding hearts won’t mind, as thy would tolerate it.
The flowers grow in USDA zones 3 to 9 and require well-draining, slightly acidic soil. In a typical growing season, the bleeding heart will produce about 20 flowers on a single stem. Note that if the soil is very poor, you can add a slow-releasing type of fertilizer at the beginning of the season to encourage blooming.
The bleeding heart flower doesn’t tolerate the heat so much, so it usually goes dormant in the mid-summer. In addition, this plant prefers lightly moist soil and is prone to root rot if you keep the soil soggy. You should also be careful about where to plant bleeding hearts because they’re toxic to pets and people.
4. Sweet Alyssum
Sweet alyssum flowers create a beautiful blanket of colorful tiny flowers in spring, so they will work if you’re looking for the best blooms for underplanting peonies.
– Benefits
They come in shades of pink, white, and purpls. On the other hand, some varieties will return to bloom in the fall, so they will work great for you if you wish to know what to plant after peonies bloom.
Pollinators like songbirds and butterflies are drawn to this flower thanks to its honey-like fragrance, so it will be an excellent addition to your butterfly garden. The sweet alyssum can be planted around your peonies for texture, as the difference in height will improve your landscape design.
– Growing Conditions
Sweet alyssums grow in USDA zones 5 to 9 and love full sun exposure. This plant is tolerant of most soil conditions and would even grow in sandy soil, which other plants won’t tolerate, but this is a resilient one that does. In addition, you may use this plant to fill the cracks or slopes in your garden, but it won’t tolerate soggy soil.
Watering your sweet alyssum once a week is recommended.
However, you can water it more often if the weather is too hot, or it’s growing in a stony landscape. Note that deadheading is needed to encourage the blooms to reappear.
– Issues
You should pay attention to your sweet alyssums because the plant can become invasive in your garden. Overwatering this plant can make it prone to downy mildew.
5. Allium
Alliums are fast growers with flower heads that contain tiny star-shaped blooms. They come in shades of purple, green, white, yellow, and pink, and you can plant allium to accompany the big Miss America peonies.
– Characteristics
Allium flowers bloom in spring, but some varieties will also bloom in fall. Many gardeners choose to leave the dry flower heads because they look lovely.
– Growing Conditions
Allium flowers grow in USDA zones 4 to 10 . They need to grow in well-draining soil and go dormant during summer when the temperature increases.
Adding some organic matter like compost will improve draining and protect the bulbs from root rot. In addition, they don’t require regular watering and can tolerate some drought.
– Issues
Allium’s foliage, however, is pretty sensitive, even before the plant starts blooming. This is why it’s best to keep your alliums behind a denser plant, where they can get some protection, or else it will encounter sunburn.
Since this plant has a short growing season, you need to grow it in an area where it can receive full sunlight to encourage blooming. The allium plant is quite resistant to rodents and pests, but it’s toxic to people and pets.
6. Columbine
The columbine flowers grow on stalks that can be 20 inches tall and come in various shades of blue, pink, purple, orange, red, yellow, and white.
– Color Coordinating Companions
They’re great companions for peony shrubs and will add a pop of color to your woodland or cottage garden. In addition, the airy appearance of columbines creates contrast when compared to the round peonies. They also attract butterflies to your garden.
– Growing Conditions
Although columbines flowers last for only four weeks, they will self-seed and stay in your garden for years. Note that they grow in any well-draining soil, although they choose it to be slightly acidic, but they would tolerate other soils.
Note that this plant thrives in partial shade and cooler weather, as they both promote blooming. However, columbines need to grow in moist soil, and fertilizing the plant once a month is necessary during the growing season.
– Issues
The plant and flower are toxic to humans and pets, which means that you need to pick the right spot to grow it in your garden. Columbines are susceptible to leaf miners and aphids, but the plant is considered to be hardy compared to others.
7. Incrediball Hydrangea
If you’re looking for big blooms that resemble the look of fluffy peonies, this shrub will be an excellent ornamental grass to grow next to your peonies, because they have growth similarities and would look perfect together.
– Design Ideas
You need to check out and start to plant the incrediball hydrangea, because it is a popular cultivar of the smooth hydrangea grows bigger flower heads that create the perfect cottage garden look.
The flowering shrubs reach a maximum height of five feet, with attractive flower balls that stay in bloom from June to August. Even before blooming thanks to the round, sharply toothed, dark green leaves. 
– Growing Conditions
In perfect growing conditions, the incrediball hydrangea shrubs will grow fast. They grow in USDA zones 3 to 8 and are tolerant of partial shade. However, full sun exposure will encourage more and bigger flowers. When the temperature drops, the flowers turn into a jade-like color.
The plant thrives in slightly acidic soil, and the petals don’t change color because of the soil pH, unlike other types of hydrangea. This flower prefers to grow in moist soil, so placing a layer of mulch will help. Yet, once they get established, they can tolerate some drought, due to their resilient nature.
– Common Issues
Incrediball hydrangeas are pretty sensitive to changes in temperature. During the bud-development period, they need to spend at least six weeks at 65 degrees Fahrenheit temperature to persist and thrive.
After that, note that they can survive in temperatures between 60 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. However, you must keep in mind that the plant is toxic to humans and pets, once they ingest it, it can be intoxicating.
8. Sweet Autumn Clematis
If you want to know what to plant with peonies for summer color, you should check out the sweet autumn clematis. This flowering vine grows cream blooms, creating the perfect backdrop for your colorful peonies.
– Features
The sweetly fragrant flowers give the appearance of fleece when they’re in bloom. After the flowers fade, the fuzzy seed head will also look attractive, since this vine is usually grown on a fence.
– Growing Conditions
The sweet autumn clematis plant grows in USDA zones 4 to 9, sometimes reaching a maximum height of 30 feet tall. However, being 15 feet tall is more commonly seen in these plants.
It needs to grow draped over stone walls or fences because the vine can be quite heavy. Since this plant is typically leggy around the base, it is recommended to grow bright peonies like the Big Ben peony at its base. The plant thrives in full sun and needs regular watering and feeding.
– Issues
The sweet autumn clematis is prone to a common fungal disease called clematis wilt, which can be fatal. Leaf spot disease and powdery mildew can also infect the plant, in addition to aphids, spider mites, slugs, and snails.
This plant is toxic to humans and animals and can choke other plants too, and this is because it self-seeds readily. Overall, you need to keep it under proper control, when it comes to children and pets reach.
9. Bearded Iris
The ruffled petals of the bearded iris complement the fluffy look of peonies. These flowers bloom a little earlier than your peonies, guaranteeing that your landscape design will always look colorful and attractive.
– Features
Bearded irises are colorful spring bloomers that come in different shades of pink, white, purple, brown, blue, yellow, orange, and red. Many of these flowers are bicolored, adding to the beauty of your landscape. After the flowers fade, the foliage will be the perfect backdrop for your peonies.
– Growing Conditions
Bearded irises thrive in USDA zones 3 to 9 and require full sun exposure to stay in great shape. They need to grow in well-draining soil, but they don’t like mulch. However, once they are established, they have a good tolerance for drought.
– Issues
The bearded iris flower is quite hardy, but it can’t grow in clay soil. However, if the soil is too heavy in your garden, you can grow it in a raised bed.
Too much moisture can cause the rhizomes to rot, and the plant will die. It’s prone to the infestation of the iris borer, where the caterpillars feed on the leaves and then attack the rhizomes. It can also be infected with bacterial soft rot, fungal leaf spot, and crown rot. This beautiful flower is toxic to pets.
10. Day lily
Most peony companions are toxic, but daylilies will work for you if you want to find edible companion plants for peonies.
– Companion Advantages
These beautiful flowers come in shades of red, purple, orange, yellow, and pink, complementing the look of the Chinese peony or Fairy Princess Peony as they mix well with any palette. Some blooms can have three or even four colors. The daylily is attractive to butterflies, so it will work for your flower garden, and they would even come on your peony too.
– Growing Conditions
Daylilies will thrive when they receive full sun, however, keep in mind that the darker varieties appreciate some afternoon shade to retain their colors.
They are tolerant of all types of soil, but will grow further blooms when the soil is fertile and loamy. In addition, these flowers require regular watering only in their first season but once established, you can water them only when it’s too dry.
– Issues
The attractive day lilies take care of themselves during winter and are generally pest-free. Rabbits and rodents avoid them, but deer find them tasty. In some cases, slugs and snails can attack them in spring, while aphids will attack them in the hot summer months. Nevertheless, these pests are easy to control with some insecticidal soap.
11. Bee Balm
The bee balm is one of the best Coral Charm peony companion plants, keeping your garden lively with bright colors. The vibrant blossoms come in shades of purple, pink, red, white, and lavender, and they have a long blooming season in summer, but they won’t steal the show from your peonies.
– Benefits
When paired with the bright Coral Charm, bee balms will attract butterflies, hummingbirds, and songbirds to your garden and change your landscape into a colorful display of bright colors and textures. They’re the perfect addition to your cottage garden.
– Growing Conditions
Bee balms grow in USDA zones 3 to 9 and thrive in full sun to partial shade. However, too much shade can reduce the number of blooms or make them less vibrant, while too much sun in hotter climates can scorch the leaves.
Adding a layer of mulch will keep the soil moist enough for the bee balm’s shallow roots. You need to water your plant at least once per week and never allow the roots to get too dry. Fertilizing isn’t necessary unless your soil is too poor. Overfertilizing can make the plant leggy and reduce the number of flowers.
– Issues
Although the bee balm plant isn’t invasive, it can spread vigorously in your garden unless you keep it under control. The plant gets affected by some minor pests like powdery mildew, but the infestation is usually not too severe.
Conclusion
Companion planting is all about finding a plant with foliage and blossoms that make your original plant look more vibrant. If you’re looking for a peony companion, you have several options to choose from.
- Long-stalked blooms and flowers that grow on vines will create a colorful curtain that brings your peonies to the foreground.
- Brightly colored blooms add contrast to your garden and make your peonies pop.
- Several flowers share the same palette as peonies, and you can plant these to create more harmony.
So, with all these eye-catching options, which one will you choose to grow next to your peonies?
References
- Jamie McIntosh. (03/04/21). 15 Beautiful Varieties of Peony. The Spruce.
Retrieved from https://www.thespruce.com/beautiful-peony-varieties-4133595 - Clematis wilt. RHS.
Retrieved from https://www.rhs.org.uk/disease/clematis-wilt - (July 2023). Foxglove. Queensland Government.
Retrieved from https://www.childrens.health.qld.gov.au/poisonous-plant-foxglove-digitalis-purpurea/ - Michelle Grabowski. Leaf spot diseases of trees and shrubs. University of Minnesota Extension.
Retrieved from https://extension.umn.edu/plant-diseases/leaf-spot-diseases-trees-and-shrubs - (July 28, 2020). Eating Daylilies: The Dos and Don’ts. Green Bay Botanical Garden.
Retrieved from https://gbbg.org/2020/07/how-to-eat-daylilies/ - David Beaulieu. (06/30/21). Nitrogen-Fixing Plants That Aid in Fertilization. The Spruce.
Retrieved from https://www.thespruce.com/nitrogen-fixing-plants-2131092
