A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Plants and Flowers Forum The Rose Grower's Forum How far apart?

Hey! Can someone please answer a question for me, or tell me where to find the answer?

I planted some knock out roses and want to plant some companions along with them. I know that the roses need to be planted 3 feet apart from one another but what about the companion say for instance Russian Sage or Daisies? Your help will really be appreciated. Thank you, Nancy.

Plant rose companions at least one foot away from your roses so that you do not disturb their roots.
Do you know what you want to choose?
I found this:
"Many sun-loving annuals such as heliotropes (Heliotropium), summer-snapdragon (Angelonia), lantana (Lantana), verbena (Verbena) and million bells petunia (Calibrachoa) hold up well throughout the summer and fill the space among roses nicely. They all have modest water requirements and will benefit from the heavy feeding regime that roses demand.

Herbs and other aromatic plants make wonderful rose companions. Scented geraniums (Pelargonium), rue (Ruta), feverfew (T anacetum), parsley (Petroselinum), and thyme (Thymus) all may help ward off Japanese beetles and aphids. Marigolds (Tagetes) may also repel pests and encourage growth. Try ornamental and culinary sage (Salvia), anise-hyssop (Agastache), Russian-sage (Perovskia), lavender (Lavandula), yarrow (Achillea), oregano (Origanum), catmint (Nepeta) and calamint (Calamintha). Oddly enough, tomatoes allegedly prevent black spot, but not many people will be inclined to combine roses and tomatoes. Lavender (Lavandula) and catmint (Nepeta) are good at keeping rabbits away. Four-o’ clocks (Mirabilis) and larkspur (Consolida) are said to act as decoys by attracting rose-loving Japanese beetles to eat their poisonous leaves. Yarrow (Achillea) may attract ladybugs who in turn feed on aphids."

And Happy Birthday!

Hey Tina! Thank you so much for your response. Have not really made up my mind what companions but will def be looking over your list. Thank you so much for the Happy Birthday too. I'm counting backwards these days...

Do you know your zone? Some of the plants listed as annual on that list are not annuals in my zone8-9. They live over to shade the roots of larger plants and actually act as a mulch.

I'm not of a state of mind to comment on the list Tina gave, but I like yarrow and lavender, if your zone allows lavendula as a perennial. Four-o-clocks tend to be large and invasive(reseeders) and I'd have to ponder that option for roses, but depending on your zone, many groundcover perennials could be a good option, consider the color combinations you like and choose the appropriate annuals or perennials that suit you.
Hi Tina!

I just copy/pasted what I found. I agree about the four o'clocks. But I do love them in waste places. They live over here from year to year and reseed as well. And do well on their own on the hillsides. And they are fun plants for kids.

They are pretty, I have several patches of them...I can't bear to rip 'em out, lol. They're a very good plant for attracting some fascinating moths, some ot the exotic looking ones you don't ordinarily see. I don't know if they encourage damaging moths or not, it doesn't seem like they do.