Peony Companion Plants

Do you have a garden? If so, you’re likely familiar with the popular peony. This beautiful and highly-prized flower is famous for its many attributes – from its stunning blooms to its long lifespan. But what about the companion plants that are best suited for this flower? In this article, we’ll introduce you to some of the best companion plants for peonies and discuss why they’re a good choice for this particular flower.

Grow Under Peonies

Clear the area surrounding your peony, and check that they can still grow through your ground cover.

Creeping Jenny

Lysimachia, or Creeping Jenny, is a robust ground cover that functions as a natural mulch for gardens, retaining moisture and suppressing weeds. It adds a coating of green to the peony plant’s base.

Succulent

Plant peonies in a succulent-rich soil mixture rather than garden soil. As the peony grows taller, you can remove some succulent plants to encourage ground-level blooms.

Sage

Plant peonies near a shrub of sage, which will help to suppress weed growth. Sage also has numerous culinary uses, including flavoring lamb and beef dishes.

Thyme

Plant peonies with thyme, adding a beautiful fragrance to the flowers. Thyme also has antimicrobial and antimicrobial properties that help keep your garden healthy.

Hosta

Hostas are typically regarded as shade-loving plants, while peony reigns as the queen of the sun. This pairing may be somewhat unexpected. However, they can truly meet in the middle.

Hostas, particularly those with lighter green foliage, can tolerate a significant amount of sun. ‘Sum and Substance’ and ‘Dancing Queen’ are sun-tolerant hostas with lighter leaves.

Pachysandra

It’s a low-maintenance plant that thrives in full sun or partial shade. They can be placed next to peonies for added protection from harsh elements and provide added blooms during the summer months.

Ivy

Groundcover peonies are an excellent option for areas that receive partial shade. Their foliage can provide shade on warm days, making them perfect companion plants for hostas or ivy.

Bloom Before Peonies

Crocus

Crocus flowers are the first spring flowers to blossom, followed by others. After a long winter, their vivid and early blooming provides the much-needed color. These small but formidable plants draw hungry bees from their colonies with their vibrant flowers and pleasant scent. Crocus plants will reproduce and return yearly, bringing additional flowers each time.

Lily of the Valley

The bell-shaped, clustered blooms of lily of the valley develop on one side of a leafless stem and remain for around three weeks. The leaves are situated at the plant’s base. The lovely white or light pink blossoms emit a strong scent.

Daffodil

Daffodils have two layers of petals, one large layer at the back with a cone-shaped bud. The distinctive beauty of these flowers is that when they are at their peak of development, they sit up and stare straight forward. These well-known yellow blooms are a great way to bring some brightness to a garden. To keep daffodils healthy and blooming, they need frequent watering and a climate free from high heat and humidity.

Tulip

Most tulip flowers have three petals and three sepals that form a cup shape. Every set has a tulip, from small “species” tulips in naturalized woodland areas to larger tulips that fit formal garden plantings in beds and borders. The upright flowers can be single or double, and they can be simple cups, bowls, or goblets, or they can have more complicated shapes. The height is between 6 inches and 2 feet. Each stem has one tulip, and each plant has two to six broad leaves.

Hyacinth

Some of the easiest perennial spring bulbs to grow are new hyacinths. Hyacinths will come back every year, but their flowers will lose their strength after a few years. They grow slowly, and it’s best to plant them in the fall. Hyacinths can grow in the ground or in pots outside, or in a bulb vase with water inside. The bulbs are dangerous for people and animals, so please be careful and keep them out of reach.

Blue Squill

Blue squill is a beautiful spring-flowering bulb that produces blue flowers. The plant grows to about 12 inches tall and has foliage that ranges from light green to deep green, with purple markings. Blue squill bulbs are poisonous if ingested, so be careful when planting them in your garden.

Perennial Companions | Bloom with Peonies

Iris- The blooming season of the peony may or may not be accompanied by the vivid additions of dwarf irises (Iris pumila) and bearded irises (Iris germanica). Pick hues that go well with the adjacent peonies. They frequently outgrow the space they are given in a matter of years, hinting that they should be divided and replanted every three to four years. Pick hues for the borders that go nicely with the peonies.

Spring through fall are the best times to plant. For Siberian and Japanese irises, divide mature plants in the spring; for the larger leaves, wait until August or September. Choose hues that go well with peony blossoms.

Coneflower

If you want to add layers of flowers to your garden, you can combine peonies with coneflowers. Peonies only bloom for a short time, which happens early in the season.

Coneflowers can help here. When the peonies are about to bloom, it’s just a simple green perennial. The stems are medium height and have simple, green, pointed leaves. When the peony blooms, it’s not exciting or amazing or anything.

But by late summer or early fall, when peonies are a distant memory, coneflower takes over with its big daisy-like flowers. They look amazing and add color later in the season, which makes them an excellent match for peonies.

Foxglove

Itmay be a perfect choice! This shrub grows quickly and is easy to care for, making it an ideal companion plant for peonies.

These flowers are brightly colored and can attract pollinators such as bees and butterflies. In addition to this beauty benefit, foxgloves are known to have antibacterial properties that help keep your gardens free from harmful bacteria, fungi, or viruses. They also contain oxalic acid, which helps deter weeds from growing near the peony roots. Together, these two plants make a lovely display in your garden that benefits both of them!

Bleeding Heart

The Bleeding Heart is so named because its flower petals, formed like hearts, open from the bottom up, causing the heart to split open when fully bloomed. The fact that this bloom is often pink makes its common name all the more apt.

Some hybrid forms of these flowers are even harder to both sun and heat.

If you live in an area with deer, you may rest easy knowing that the Bleeding Heart will survive without fuss.

Columbines

In full bloom, the columbine is a delicate perennial with two layers of petals. A flower’s core is surrounded by radiating clusters of tiny, yellow buds. The columbine’s vibrant hues make it a welcome addition to any garden. Planting this flower in your garden can guarantee visits from little, helpful pollinators known as hummingbirds.

Allium

This plant is a great choice for companion planting with peonies because of its strong fragrance. These bulb-forming plants produce dozens of tiny flowers that bloom in white, pink, or purple shades. Alliums can also be challenging to grow, so choose one that is hardy in your area before planting it near peonies.

Daylily

Daylilies complement peonies in two ways: the smoothness of their leaves and the beauty of their flowers. Daylily leaves, which are long and strappy, stand in striking contrast to the more robust form of peony leaves. The peony and daylily blooming seasons may overlap, but if you plant a reblooming variety, the flowers will continue to open throughout the summer. Lighter, brighter-hued daylilies stand out against the dark green of peony foliage. The Marque Moon daylily can have as many as 40 blooms open at once. Siberian irises and bearded irises are also perennials with strap-shaped leaves that complement peonies.

Geraniums

The geranium family contains some of the most unique and varied species in the plant kingdom. Because of their wide variety of forms and hues, geraniums may be found a home in any garden. Geraniums are the ideal all-around plant for sprucing up any garden, thanks to their wide range of aesthetic possibilities. It is common knowledge that geraniums need almost no care. Furthermore, these hardy plants can endure dry spells without any problems.

Lavender

Lavender is a great companion plant to peonies because it repels insects, reduces stress levels in the garden, and helps to increase yields. It also has antibacterial properties that can help protect the peony from diseases and pests.

When planting lavenders around your peony plants, make sure that you keep their distance since they are both aggressive growers. You may also want to train them together so that their branches cooperate as one unit.

Larkspur

Larkspurs are a subspecies of Delphinium. Delphinium and peonies are a match made in heaven. This is a traditional combination in an English garden, before the delphiniums, plant peonies. They do not usually bloom simultaneously, but Delphinium provides the ideal backdrop of lacy leaves for the peony’s floral display.

Lupine

The lupine plant can be vigorous and invasive in certain regions. Be sure to remove the seed pods. There is nothing quite like the profoundly lobed foliage of lupine and its erect, multicolored flower plumes.

When it comes to planting lupine and peony together, they are an ideal match. The beautiful long perennial blooms of the lupine will appear shortly before the peonies begin to emerge. Both possess magnificent flowers that steal the scene. Having successive flowers bloom in succession makes your garden visually attractive.

The foliage of these plants is also attractive. Lupine leaves are deeply lobed, while peony leaves are lacy lobed. Together, they look fantastic in the garden.

Masterwort

It is a beautiful perennial. It can reach a size comparable to or somewhat larger than a peony. It possesses these complex and lovely little flower fireworks.

These flowers bloom about the same time as peonies, but their petals last much longer than those of peonies. Both are available in beautiful pink and white hues. In contrast to the big, fluffy peony petals, the masterwort flowers are tiny and spike-like. They both have fascinating, deeply lobed foliage that resembles one another and combines well.

Monkshood

The blooms appear after the peonies have blossomed in the summer. It has tall flowering stems that are purple, white, or pink. The flowers themselves resemble tiny hooded monks, as their name implies!

Monkshood is an excellent option for gardens troubled by animals such as deer and rabbits. They are highly toxic, preventing animals from consuming them.

Painted Daisy

The painted daisy is a beautiful plant with large, multicolored flowers that rise above airy ferny leaves. They often come in pink and red hues. Peonies and painted daisies bloom simultaneously and are almost the same size, if not slightly smaller.

The straightforward flower structure of daisies complements a peony’s delicate folds and ruffles. I appreciate the fern-like texture of the painted daisy’s foliage. In contrast to the strong leaf structure of the peony, it is light and airy.

Pansy

Pansies are dependable bloomers, and their large, flat petals contrast beautifully with the massive, fluffy peony blossoms. Both pansies and peonies prefer cool climates and a lovely spring garden that is also cool. They will both perish under excessively hot conditions. To emphasize the beauty of the peony without distraction, it is best to choose a solid-colored pansy, such as Matrix White or Matrix True Blue. Violas are still another beautiful alternative. The little flowers make a ground cover from which the peonies emerge. Win with white violas and pink peonies.

Pincushion Flower

The tiny pin-like buds that radiate from the flower’s center give the Pincushion Flower its common name. The traditional color palette for these blossoms includes blues and purples.

Constant blooming and a swarm of butterflies are two additional benefits of these flowers. They may stay healthy even during dry spells and need little upkeep. Rather than meticulously deadheading its petals, it is recommended to just shear the plant when its blooms begin to fade.

Poppy

Some evidence suggests that the poppy can be a good companion plant for peonies. This is because both plants are known to attract beneficial insects, like bees and butterflies, which in turn help to pollinate the flowers. Additionally, the poppy has been shown to suppress harmful fungi and bacteria while promoting the growth of beneficial microorganisms. Together, these benefits may lead to increased yields of fruits and other crops.

Leopard Plant

Ligularia dentata

Leopard plants are drought-tolerant and enjoy plenty of sunlight, which is good for peonies. They also share some common leaf characteristics, so they can help to fertilize each other’s leaves. Additionally, both plants prefer soil that is well-drained and evenly moistened.

Salvia

Salvia and peonies bloom simultaneously and have comparable heights, making them a beautiful floral combo. They also look lovely in bouquets. This is a successful combo.

Sea Holly

The plant’s whole structure was visible when the peonies were in flower. Their heights are equivalent when the sea holly is just beginning to produce its prickly bloom. It is colorless and serves only as a structure since the peonies’ enormous blooms grab the spotlight.

Snow in Summer

Snow in Summer is an attractive perennial groundcover with silvery, velvety leaves. It appears beautiful at the base of a peony. Like the peony, it produces a carpet of snow-white flowers around the same time. This combo looks pretty whimsical and romantic.

It is beautiful with peonies with darker flowers, such as ‘Kansas,’ ‘Karl Rosenfield,’ and ‘Chocolate Soldier.’ Even when the plants are not in bloom, the contrast of the foliage is always attractive.

Sweet Woodruff

The sweet woodruff is an attractive ground cover. It has small, delicate, glossy leaves that look lovely as a ground cover at the foot of peonies. Additionally, it functions as a natural mulch to keep the soil moist and weeds at bay.

Depending on the area and variety, this plant blooms simultaneously as peonies or sooner. The numerous tiny flowers complement the large, striking peony beautifully. This is one of my favorite and, in my opinion, underappreciated ground covers.

Woody Shrub | Grow Side-by-Side with Peonies

Lilac

Many lovely flowers can be enjoyed together, but lilacs and peonies might be the ultimate match. Lilacs are known for their delicate scent and abundant petals, while peonies boast a sweetly fragrant flower frequently used in floral arrangements. They also have some features, such as being deciduous, having soft petals and impressive colors (lilac varies from pale pink to deep purple), and requiring good drainage so they don’t get waterlogged.

Boxwood

Boxwood is a popular companion plant for peonies and can help brighten the garden, enhance the color of flowers, and attract beneficial insects. Boxwood has sturdy branches that are colorful throughout the year, making it a great addition to any landscape. Additionally, boxwoods provide pollen and nectar for bees, which helps them pollinate your plants.

Camellia

Camellia is a good companion plant for Peonies. Both camellias and peonies are flowering shrubs that require similar growing conditions, such as well-drained soil and partial shade. They are similar to roses but much larger. Camellias bloom best in shady areas and thrive on shrubs reaching 6 to 12 feet. The flower’s semicircular petals are so finely shaped that they appear artificial. Their delicate beauty makes them a prized addition to any outdoor space. They say a camellia can live for hundreds of years. A few of them can even reach the age of a hundred. This vegetation can withstand a lot of abuse. They only need consistent watering, with a touch more during the warmer months.

Rose

While peonies and roses may not always get along, they can be grown side-by-side if done correctly. Both plants like a medium amount of sun and acidic soil, but their growth rates differ. Roses will typically grow taller than peonies, while flowers bloom throughout the summer, whereas peonies tend to bloom in early spring and then go dormant for the rest of the year.

To ensure that both plants thrive together, it is best to plant them at similar distances and evenly space out their bulbs among surrounding soil. You can also create a barrier around the peonies to keep the roses from blooming.

Alyssum

This is an excellent mix for creating a traditional country garden. It is an annual plant with a short life cycle and fluffy, fragrant blossoms. It’s the ideal shape for positioning under peony bushes, which produce enormous, substantial flowers.

Further, select peonies and the fragrant perfume of sweet alyssum together are just wonderful. If you want to make a statement with your flower arrangements, try mixing bright yellow alyssum with deep red peonies like ‘buckeye belle’ or red charm.

Azalea

The azalea is a flower that resembles the daylily in form but is distinguished by its more subdued, pastel tones of purple and pink. Depending on the color scheme, these flowers can feature delicate white petals with sophisticated pink streaks. Pink, delicate buds emerge from the flower’s core. Masses of azaleas, when not pruned, look like colorful shrubs due to their vibrant foliage.

Hydrangea

The flower clusters of hydrangeas are tiny yet vibrant in color. They typically come in shades of pink, purple, or a mix.

Maintenance for hydrangeas is minimal. All that is required to keep these flowers looking full and lovely is regular watering and the addition of mulch on occasion.

Wisteria

It’s a long-lived climbing plant with stunning spring and early summer blossoms that cascade from a pergola or arch. Nevertheless, this vine is a quick and vigorous grower, frequently reaching 30 feet or more in length, and is known to become fairly heavy. Wisteria vines will grow into any crevice or crevice they can get, so avoid planting them too close to your home.

Grow Above Peonies | Bloom Before Peonies

Magnolia

On deciduous variants, flowers bloom before leaves grow in early spring. They arise from huge buds resembling pussywillow formed during the growing season and persisting into the fall and winter. Spring to June is the peak blooming season for evergreen varieties. However, you should not be astonished if your magnolia tree flowers again in the summer or early autumn. On new growth, it is not rare for scattered blooms to occur.

Dogwood

One of the most popular shrubs in America, dogwoods bloom all summer long. They come in various colors: red, white/pink, and pink. However, as with all shrubs, they will bloom better if they are pruned back regularly to keep them compact.

Clematis

Peonies look beautiful against a clematis-covered trellis or fence. Clematis comes in a wide variety and can be found in annual and perennial forms.

Blooming early in the spring, the hardy alpine clematis is a welcome sight. The dependable Jackmanii cultivar has a later flowering time, possibly even matching that of peonies. The peonies will still look fantastic against the verdant background whether they bloom simultaneously or in succession.

Clematis also benefits from having their feet in the shade since it keeps them cool. The peony is one of the first spring flowers to emerge from the soil. Shade from these structures can shield the clematis’s root system.

Cherry

Cherry blossoms are beautiful, but you might not want them in your yard if they bloom too close to your home. The shrub grows fast and can quickly cover an area near your house. Additionally, cherries produce a lot of fruit that can fall onto the ground and become rotten.