The Best Peony Companion Plants for Your Garden

Peonies are perennials known for their lush blooms that anchor late spring and early summer gardens. To enhance their beauty, companion planting is a design approach that strategically places other plants nearby. This creates a cohesive garden bed with visual appeal that extends beyond the peony’s flowering season.

Benefits of Companion Planting with Peonies

Companion planting with peonies offers several advantages. A primary benefit is extending the garden’s bloom period. Selecting plants that flower before or after peonies ensures a continuous display of color, preventing the garden from looking bare once peony blossoms fade.

Companion plants can also conceal peony foliage as it declines. By late summer, peony leaves can become weathered or develop powdery mildew, and plants with full, late-season foliage can mask these issues. Finally, companions introduce varied forms and textures. The contrast between large peony blooms and the spiky or delicate forms of other plants adds depth to the garden design.

Best Perennial Companions for Peonies

The best perennial companions for peonies will thrive in the same conditions: full sun and well-drained soil. Choosing plants with different bloom times, textures, and forms is the key to creating a harmonious and elevated garden bed.

Alliums

Alliums provide a strong structural contrast to the mounded form of peonies. Their globe-shaped flower heads on tall, slender stems often bloom at the same time, creating a display of purple or white spheres rising above the peony foliage. The vertical lines of alliums add a modern element to the planting. As a bonus, the peony’s lush leaves conveniently hide the fading foliage of tall alliums as they flower.

Columbine (Aquilegia)

For early season interest, columbine is a great choice. Its delicate, nodding flowers appear in mid-to-late spring, providing color just before or as the first peonies open. The fine, fern-like foliage of columbine creates a soft textural contrast to the peony’s bold leaves. Its airy presence does not compete with the more substantial peony plant.

Foxglove (Digitalis)

Foxgloves provide a vertical accent that pairs well with the rounded shape of peony flowers. Their tall spires of bell-shaped blooms emerge in early summer, often overlapping with or following the peony season. This timing ensures the garden remains vibrant as the peonies finish blooming. The height of the foxglove draws the eye upward, creating layers of interest.

Nepeta (Catmint)

Nepeta, or catmint, is an effective edging plant for the front of a peony border. Its soft, grey-green foliage and clouds of lavender-blue flowers create a billowy look that softens the base of the peony plants. Nepeta has a long bloom season, starting before the peonies and continuing long after. This provides continuous color and hides the peony’s lower stems.

Siberian Iris

Siberian irises offer a strong vertical element with their sword-like foliage and upright flowers. They bloom in late spring, often coinciding with the peony season. The fine texture of the iris leaves also provides a pleasing contrast to the broad peony foliage long after the flowers have faded. The contrasting forms of the upright iris and the mounded peony create a balanced composition.

Shrub and Evergreen Companions for Structure

Integrating shrubs and evergreens into a peony bed provides permanence and structure that lasts throughout the year. These plants act as a framework for the garden, offering a consistent backdrop that highlights the seasonal beauty of peonies and ensures the garden remains visually interesting even in winter.

A classic choice is boxwood. A low, clipped boxwood hedge creates a formal border in front of peonies, and its dense, dark green foliage contrasts well with the vibrant peony blooms. This pairing brings a sense of order to the garden design.

Flowering shrubs also serve as excellent companions. Choose compact varieties, like weigela or spirea, that will not grow large enough to cast excessive shade on the peonies. Their woody structure adds mass and height to the back of a border, creating a lush, multi-layered effect.

Plants to Avoid Planting with Peonies

Knowing which plants to avoid is as important as choosing the right companions for peonies. Because peonies have specific needs and are sensitive to their surroundings, the wrong neighbors can lead to competition for resources, reduced flowering, and an increased risk of disease.

Plants that spread aggressively are poor companions. Species like gooseneck loosestrife or mint have vigorous root systems that invade the peony’s space, competing for water and nutrients. This competition can stress the peony and reduce its vigor. Because peonies have a sensitive root system and dislike being disturbed, controlling these invasive neighbors is difficult without harming the peony.

Avoid planting large trees and shrubs too close to peonies. They cast dense shade, and peonies need at least six hours of direct sun daily for good flowering. The extensive root systems of large plants also outcompete peonies for soil moisture and nutrients.

It is also wise to avoid plants with conflicting soil needs. Peonies require well-drained soil and are susceptible to root rot in wet conditions, so do not plant them with moisture-loving species. Likewise, their water needs are different from desert plants that prefer dry, gravelly soil.

Finally, steer clear of heavy-feeding plants that compete for nutrients. Demanding vegetables like tomatoes or squash can deplete the soil of resources peonies need. Giving peonies their own space free from these competitors is the best way to ensure they thrive.