Hydrangeas, with their lush foliage and vibrant blooms, are a favorite among gardeners. However, choosing the right companion plants can elevate a garden's beauty, enhance hydrangeas' growth, and create a more dynamic and visually appealing landscape.
Here are 14 excellent companion plants for hydrangeas:
1. Daylilies
Daylilies (Hemerocallis) are cherished for their vibrant, trumpet-shaped flowers that come in a wide array of colors, adding a splash of brightness to garden beds. These perennials are not only visually appealing but also incredibly hardy, making them a popular choice among gardeners looking to enhance their landscape effortlessly.
Companion Benefits
Daylilies thrive in similar soil and light conditions as hydrangeas, making them excellent companions. Their blooms contrast beautifully against the softer hues of hydrangea flowers, creating a dynamic visual display.
With their low maintenance requirements and extended blooming season, they provide continuous interest throughout the summer, even when hydrangeas are not in full bloom.
Care Tips
Plant daylilies in well-drained soil with sufficient sunlight to encourage robust growth and prolific flowering. Deadhead blooms regularly to promote new flower production and maintain a neat appearance.
Consider mixing different daylily varieties with various hydrangea cultivars to create diverse color combinations and textures in the garden landscape.
2. Hostas
Hostas are renowned for their lush, broad leaves that come in various shades of green, blue, and variegated patterns. These shade-loving perennials are prized for their ability to thrive in environments where hydrangeas flourish, offering a contrasting backdrop that enhances the aesthetic appeal of hydrangea blooms.
Companion Benefits
The dense foliage of hostas serves as an excellent foil to the delicate, intricate flowers of hydrangeas. Their robust growth and leafy expanses provide a verdant carpet beneath hydrangea shrubs, filling out garden spaces and minimizing weed growth.
Hostas' diverse leaf shapes and colors add texture and depth, creating a visually striking composition when paired with the bold blooms of hydrangeas.
Care Tips
Plant hostas in moist, well-drained soil enriched with organic matter to support their vigorous growth. Provide partial shade to protect their leaves from scorching sun, ensuring they remain healthy and vibrant throughout the growing season.
Incorporate different hosta cultivars with varying leaf sizes and colors around hydrangeas to achieve a balanced and harmonious garden design.
3. Begonias
Begonias, particularly tuberous and wax varieties, are celebrated for their showy blooms in vibrant shades of red, pink, orange, and yellow. These versatile plants thrive in both garden beds and containers, adding bursts of color that complement the soft, pastel hues of hydrangea flowers.
Companion Benefits
Begonias' bright flowers provide a striking contrast against the milder tones of hydrangea blooms, infusing the garden with a lively and cheerful atmosphere. Their compact growth habit makes them ideal for planting at the base of hydrangeas or in hanging baskets nearby, enhancing visual interest and maximizing garden space.
Begonias' tolerance for partial shade and moist conditions aligns perfectly with hydrangea care requirements, ensuring mutual thriving in shared garden environments.
Care Tips
Plant begonias in well-drained soil with adequate moisture and partial shade to encourage robust flowering and healthy growth. Deadhead spent blooms regularly to promote continuous flowering and maintain plant vigor throughout the season.
Combine different begonia cultivars with hydrangeas to create vibrant color schemes and dynamic garden displays that captivate and delight.
4. Ferns
Ferns are prized for their delicate, feathery fronds and ability to thrive in shady, moist environments similar to those favored by hydrangeas. These perennial plants contribute a lush green backdrop that complements the bold, showy blooms of hydrangeas, adding a touch of elegance and natural beauty to garden landscapes.
Companion Benefits
Ferns' graceful foliage provides a contrasting texture to the broad leaves and clusters of hydrangea flowers. Planted beneath hydrangea shrubs, ferns create a verdant carpet that softens the garden's overall appearance and adds a woodland-like charm.
Their shade tolerance and low maintenance make them ideal companions, effortlessly enhancing the visual appeal of hydrangeas while requiring minimal care.
Care Tips
Plant ferns in well-drained, humus-rich soil with consistent moisture to support their lush growth and vibrant green foliage. Provide partial to full shade to protect ferns from direct sunlight, ensuring they thrive in their preferred habitat alongside hydrangeas.
Mix different fern varieties with hydrangeas to create a balanced and harmonious garden composition that celebrates both plants' unique textures and natural beauty.
5. Foxgloves
Foxgloves (Digitalis) are distinguished by their tall spikes of bell-shaped flowers in shades of white, pink, purple, and yellow, adding vertical interest and architectural elegance to garden settings. These biennial plants thrive in partial shade and well-drained soil, making them compatible companions for hydrangeas in shaded garden areas.
Companion Benefits
Foxgloves' towering flower spikes create a dramatic contrast with the rounded clusters of hydrangea blooms, adding visual depth and structure to garden beds. Their vibrant flowers attract pollinators like bees and butterflies, enhancing biodiversity and garden vitality.
Foxgloves' biennial nature ensures they bloom profusely in alternate years, providing seasonal interest that complements hydrangeas' extended flowering period.
Care Tips
Plant foxgloves in fertile, well-drained soil enriched with organic matter to promote robust growth and prolific flowering. Provide partial shade and protect plants from strong winds to prevent damage to their tall flower spikes.
Combine different foxglove varieties with hydrangeas to create dynamic color contrasts and vertical accents that elevate garden aesthetics and allure.
6. Blue Fescue
Blue Fescue (Festuca glauca) is an ornamental grass valued for its fine, blue-gray foliage that adds a striking color contrast to garden landscapes. This drought-tolerant grass thrives in well-drained soil and full sun to partial shade, making it an excellent companion for hydrangeas in various garden settings.
Companion Benefits
Blue Fescue's compact, clumping growth habit and distinctive foliage provide a unique textural contrast to the broad leaves and large blooms of hydrangeas. Planted at the edges of garden beds or as a border around hydrangea shrubs, it defines garden spaces and adds structural interest.
Blue Fescue's low maintenance requirements and year-round visual appeal make it a versatile choice for enhancing the garden's overall design and aesthetic appeal.
Care Tips
Plant Blue Fescue in sandy or loamy soil with good drainage to prevent waterlogging and maintain plant health. Provide full sun for optimal foliage coloration, although partial shade is tolerated in hotter climates.
Combine Blue Fescue with hydrangeas to create a cohesive garden layout that balances soft floral displays with bold foliage textures, ensuring a harmonious and visually appealing landscape.
7. Purple Cranesbill
Purple Cranesbill (Geranium x magnificum) is a perennial known for its vibrant purple flowers and attractive, lobed foliage that thrives in partial shade and well-drained soil. This hardy plant blooms profusely from late spring to early summer, making it an excellent companion for hydrangeas in garden borders or mixed planting schemes.
Companion Benefits
Purple Cranesbill's sprawling growth habit and colorful blooms add depth and visual interest beneath hydrangea shrubs, filling in gaps and creating a cohesive garden composition.
Its low maintenance requirements and extended blooming period ensure continuous color and garden vitality, complementing hydrangeas' seasonal flowering cycles. Purple Cranesbill's ability to thrive in similar growing conditions makes it a natural companion, enhancing the overall aesthetic appeal of garden landscapes.
Care Tips
Plant Purple Cranesbill in fertile, well-drained soil amended with compost to promote healthy growth and prolific flowering. Provide partial shade to protect plants from intense sunlight and prolong their blooming period.
Interplant different varieties of Purple Cranesbill with hydrangeas to create captivating color contrasts and harmonious garden displays that celebrate both plants' unique characteristics and seasonal beauty.
8. Coral Bells
Coral Bells (Heuchera) are prized for their stunning foliage, which comes in a variety of colors ranging from deep purple and red to silver and green. These perennial plants thrive in partial shade and well-drained soil, making them ideal companions for hydrangeas in garden borders, containers, or mixed planting arrangements.
Companion Benefits
Coral Bells' colorful foliage provides a striking contrast to the green leaves and vibrant blooms of hydrangeas, adding depth and visual interest to garden landscapes. Planted at the base of hydrangea shrubs or along garden pathways, they create focal points and enhance the overall aesthetic appeal.
Coral Bells' compact growth habit and long-lasting foliage ensure year-round garden beauty, complementing hydrangeas' seasonal blooms with continuous color and texture.
Care Tips
Plant Coral Bells in fertile, well-drained soil enriched with organic matter to support their vigorous growth and vibrant foliage. Provide partial shade to protect plants from direct sunlight and maintain leaf coloration.
Combine different Coral Bells cultivars with hydrangeas to create dynamic color combinations and garden arrangements that captivate and inspire throughout the growing season.
9. Flowering Dogwood
Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida) is a small deciduous tree renowned for its elegant form, spring blossoms, summer foliage, and fall berries. This ornamental tree thrives in partial shade and moist, well-drained soil, making it an ideal companion for hydrangeas in garden landscapes.
Companion Benefits
Flowering Dogwood's seasonal beauty and multi-season interest complement hydrangeas with a backdrop of delicate blossoms, vibrant foliage, and colorful berries. Planted as a specimen tree or along garden borders, it provides structure and visual interest, enhancing the garden's overall aesthetic appeal.
Its graceful branches and seasonal transformations create a picturesque setting that harmonizes with the soft, billowy blooms of hydrangeas.
Care Tips
Plant Flowering Dogwood in well-drained soil with good organic content, ensuring consistent moisture during its establishment period. Provide partial shade to protect young trees from harsh sunlight and maintain their health.
Incorporate Flowering Dogwood strategically in garden designs to complement hydrangeas' flowering cycles and create a dynamic, multi-seasonal display that captivates throughout the year.
10. Double Reeves Spirea
Double Reeves Spirea (Spiraea cantoniensis) is a deciduous shrub valued for its abundant clusters of double white flowers that bloom profusely in spring. This compact shrub thrives in well-drained soil and partial shade to full sun, making it an excellent companion for hydrangeas in garden borders, hedges, or mixed planting arrangements.
Companion Benefits
Double Reeves Spirea's delicate, double flowers create a striking contrast with hydrangeas' bold, rounded blooms, adding elegance and sophistication to garden landscapes. Planted alongside hydrangea shrubs, it provides structural interest and visual depth, enhancing the overall aesthetic appeal.
Double Reeves Spirea's compact size and dense foliage make it ideal for defining garden borders or creating layered planting schemes that complement hydrangeas' natural beauty.
Care Tips
Plant Double Reeves Spirea in fertile, well-drained soil enriched with compost to promote healthy growth and abundant flowering. Provide regular watering during dry periods to maintain soil moisture and support plant establishment.
Prune lightly after flowering to maintain shape and encourage new growth. Combine Double Reeves Spirea with hydrangeas to create a cohesive garden design that balances floral displays with structural elements, ensuring a harmonious and visually appealing landscape.
11. Lamb's Ear
Lamb's Ear (Stachys byzantina) is a perennial valued for its soft, silvery foliage that adds a unique texture and color contrast to garden landscapes. This drought-tolerant plant thrives in well-drained soil and full sun to partial shade, making it an excellent companion for hydrangeas in rock gardens, borders, or mixed planting arrangements.
Companion Benefits
Lamb's Ear's fuzzy, silver-gray leaves provide a soft, velvety backdrop that complements the broad leaves and vibrant blooms of hydrangeas. Planted beneath hydrangea shrubs or along garden pathways, it creates a soothing, sensory experience and enhances the garden's overall aesthetic appeal.
Lamb's Ear's low maintenance requirements and year-round visual interest make it a versatile choice for creating textural contrasts and adding dynamic elements to garden designs.
Care Tips
Plant Lamb's Ear in well-drained, sandy soil with good air circulation to prevent root rot and maintain plant health. Provide full sun for optimal foliage coloration and compact growth habit. Trim spent flower spikes to promote new growth and maintain plant vigor throughout the growing season.
Combine different Lamb's Ear varieties with hydrangeas to create layered textures and harmonious garden compositions that celebrate both plants' unique characteristics.
12. Catmint
Catmint (Nepeta) is a fragrant perennial known for its long blooming period and attractive blue-purple flowers that attract pollinators like bees and butterflies. This hardy plant thrives in well-drained soil and full sun to partial shade, making it an ideal companion for hydrangeas in garden beds, borders, or mixed planting schemes.
Companion Benefits
Catmint's aromatic foliage and colorful blooms create a vibrant contrast with hydrangeas' soft, pastel hues, adding energy and visual interest to garden landscapes. Planted near hydrangea shrubs or along garden pathways, it provides continuous color and fragrance throughout the growing season, enhancing the garden's overall appeal.
Catmint's resilience and low maintenance make it a popular choice for creating lively garden displays and attracting beneficial insects that contribute to garden health.
Care Tips
Plant Catmint in fertile, well-drained soil amended with compost to promote healthy growth and abundant flowering. Provide full sun for optimal blooming and compact growth habit. Deadhead spent blooms regularly to encourage continuous flowering and maintain plant vigor.
Interplant different Catmint varieties with hydrangeas to create cohesive color schemes and dynamic garden compositions that captivate and inspire year-round.
13. Japanese Maple
Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum) is a small deciduous tree prized for its elegant form, delicate foliage, and vibrant fall colors. This ornamental tree thrives in well-drained soil and partial shade, making it an excellent companion for hydrangeas in garden landscapes, where it adds structure and seasonal interest.
Companion Benefits
Japanese Maple's lacy foliage and graceful branches provide a picturesque backdrop for hydrangea blooms, creating a tranquil and harmonious garden setting. Its delicate leaves, which often range in color from red and orange to purple and green, add depth and visual contrast to garden landscapes throughout the year.
Japanese Maple's vibrant fall foliage enhances the garden's autumnal beauty, complementing hydrangeas' seasonal blooms and creating a captivating garden display.
Care Tips
Plant Japanese Maple in fertile, well-drained soil enriched with organic matter to support healthy growth and vibrant foliage coloration. Provide partial shade to protect young trees from intense sunlight and maintain leaf health.
Mulch around the base of the tree to conserve moisture and insulate roots during extreme temperatures. Combine Japanese Maple with hydrangeas to create a balanced and visually appealing garden design that celebrates both plants' unique characteristics and seasonal beauty.
14. Browallia
Browallia (Browallia speciosa) is an annual plant admired for its bright blue, purple, or white flowers that bloom profusely throughout the summer. This shade-loving plant thrives in well-drained soil and partial to full shade, making it an excellent companion for hydrangeas in garden beds, containers, or shaded areas.
Companion Benefits
Browallia's vibrant blooms and low-growing habit provide a colorful contrast with the soft, pastel hues of hydrangea flowers, creating a lively and dynamic garden display. Planted beneath hydrangea shrubs or along garden pathways, it adds seasonal color and visual interest throughout the growing season.
Browallia's continuous blooming and compact growth habit make it a versatile choice for enhancing shaded garden areas and complementing hydrangeas' natural beauty.
Care Tips
Plant Browallia in fertile, well-drained soil with adequate moisture to support healthy growth and abundant flowering. Provide partial to full shade to protect plants from direct sunlight and maintain bloom quality.
Deadhead blooms regularly to promote new flower production and prolong the blooming period. Interplant different Browallia varieties with hydrangeas to create cohesive color schemes and garden compositions that captivate and inspire year-round.
