Steve Yoder
I'm Steve, a 30-something urban gardener fascinated by companion planting research. Growing up surrounded by greenery sparked my passion for gardening early on. I enjoy transforming my small backyard, experimenting with companion planting techniques and eco-friendly practices. Sustainability matters—I advocate for native plants and composting.
Table of Contents
Hydrangeas are beautiful, but sometimes they need a little help. If you’re looking for the best hydrangea companion plants that will make your blooms even more spectacular, here’s what to look for:
Best Hydrangea Companion Plants
- Azalea
- Black-Eyed Susan
- Golden Black-Eyed Susan
- Coneflower
- Herbs
- Hostas
- Ornamental Grasses
- Rose
Azaleas
Today we start our list of the best hydrangea companion plants with azalea. Hydrangea and azalea make a wonderful plant combo1. They are simple to cultivate and tolerate shade. Azaleas and hydrangeas bloom at various periods of the year. Azaleas bloom in the spring and hydrangeas in the summer.
We have other good news for you! As we already mentioned azalea is a very friendly plant and makes great companions with many plants. For this reason, we have also prepared a list of the best azalea companion plants. Let’s check it out:
Black-Eyed Susan
We continue the list with a special plant, the black-eyed Susan. Hydrangea and black-eyed Susan make great companion plants together. Their beautiful flowers gift you great nectar for butterflies and bees. Another point because you must plant black-eyed Susan next to your hydrangea plants is that they lure aphids. With the help of aphids, your sap problem will be solved. The reason is that aphids keep those enemies away from your hydrangea plants.
If you want to learn more about black-eyed Susan companion plants, check out the following article:
Golden Black-Eyed Susan
A special edition of black-eyed Susan is the golden black-eyed Susan! They produce a bunch of nectar for insects and have yellow blooms. Planting them next to your hydrangea is also a smart move since they draw sap-eating aphids away from the leaves and stems of your hydrangeas. What a great aid this is when planting hydrangea!
Coneflower
A perennial, coneflower, also called echinacea, flowers in the late summer and early fall. It draws hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies. Besides that fact, it also helps your hydrangea grow better and faster. The reason is that coneflower and hydrangea are both very friendly plants. This leads to a big harmony between them. They don’t compete with each other for nutrients and love to share the same garden bed. What a great companionship that is!
Don’t forget to check out our list of the best coneflower companion plants:
Herbs
Due to their strong aroma, which draws pollinators, herbs are excellent hydrangea companion plants. These fragrant plants are also a great ground cover. Herbs can be planted in patio pots or as a low hedge. Even tea and meals may be made with certain plants! It copes well with hydrangea, making it a wonderful companion plant.
Hostas
The next great member of the best hydrangea companion plants is the hosta plant Hostas are perennials that tolerate shade and don’t require much maintenance. This is very well for your hydrangea because your hostas won’t compete with your hydrangea plant. Hostas may be cultivated in pots, allowing you to bring them indoors and make use of their evergreen foliage.
They are also available in a huge range of forms, dimensions, and hues. Nothing will be able to restrict your creativity!
Ornamental grasses
Ornamental grasses make wonderful hydrangea companion plants because of their thin, strappy foliage.
Depending on what you choose, the variegated green and cream varieties work well with white, pink, and blue hydrangeas. On the other side also, the dark green selections go particularly well with white hydrangeas. Many of these grasses thrive in shadow and partial shade and need hydrangeas to help them retain moisture frequently. So, it is a win-win situation that makes both plants grow better.
Roses
We finish our list of the best hydrangea companion plants with a wonderful flower, the rose. Hydrangeas and roses make a nice plant combination. They both like comparable growth environments and do well in the same kind of soil.2 Roses may be grown as huge bushes or tiny trees, but they can also be trimmed to form a dense shrub that is ideal for smaller gardens. They are a great option for many different types of gardening because of their versatility.
Before growing them together in your yard, you should be aware of a few minor incompatibilities between roses and hydrangea. To prevent their roots from competing with one another for soil nutrients, if you even want to put both plants together, make sure there is enough space between them.
Another great news is that we also prepared a list of the best companion plants for roses. Check it out:
Bad Hydrangea Companion Plants
Lavender
No matter how lovely the blooms seem together, plants that favor dry or poor soil, like lavenders, will not grow well with hydrangeas. This combination can be very dangerous because in the worst case they will lead each other to death.
On the contrary, lavender has many other good companions. Here is the list:
Sunflower
As we already learned, hydrangeas love the partial sun and enjoy its nutrients. That is why it does not go well with sun-loving plants. The biggest example of this is the sunflower. Sunflower, as the name says, loves the sun and also enjoys its nutrients. So, if you plant them too close to each other they will start competing and this will harm your garden.
Last but not least, we also prepared a list of sunflowers. You will find everything you need to know about sunflower companion plants in the article below:
References
- Li, T., Zhao, X., Bi, G., Barickman, T. C., & Harkess, R. L. (2022). Nitrogen Fertigation Rate and Foliar Urea Spray Affect Plant Growth, Nitrogen, and Carbohydrate Compositions of Encore Azalea ‘Chiffon’Grown in Alternative Containers. Horticulturae, 8(6), 525.
- Ammons, A., LeBude, A. V., Owen Jr, J. S., & McGinnis, M. (2022). Effect of Irrigation, Fertilizer Rate and Placement, and Two Substrates on Growth of Rose and Hydrangea. Journal of Environmental Horticulture, 40(3), 123-128.
