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PERENNIALS
franeli85

Plants to compliment ninebarks

franeli85
8 years ago

I have some beautiful,purple leaved, ninebarks. What annual or shrub would compliment this plant? A chartreuse juniper? Rose colored zinnias? Right now
I have purple/red daylilies,and a large group of sedum 'autum fire' but they are dwarfed by the large shrubs. Thanks,any help wanted.

Featured Answer
  • NHBabs z4b-5a NH
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    The most difficult thing I find about growing perennials near my ninebark/Physocarpus Coppertina is that it is so large and has overgrown several perennials that I have tried near it, and even one small shrub. I don't want to prune the ninebark much, so I have ended up trying several things. I have flowers nearby that include just about every color at various times of the season: white pagoda dogwood and Hydrangea paniculata, yellow tree peony, orange azalea, red and pink rhododendrons along with a pink geranium and the pink phase of the hydrangea, pale blue Amsonia, and mid purple clematis and Baptisia. I like them all, and they all show up well. I think the best thing about it is that even when little is blooming near it, the foliage contrasts nicely with what grows nearby: a blue spruce, rhodies, a gold hosta and various other perennials that have interesting foliage texture.

    Here is the bright medium purple clematis that climbs into my Coppertina.

    I like the combination of light/bright purple near it, and also have a Baptisia and an Amsonia hubrichtii nearby, both of which are large and bloom with the ninebark. (Apologies for photo quality; this is on the east end of the garden, and I often end up taking photos into the sun after work.) One of the nice things about this combination is that it looks good all season because of the foliage contrast. In the fall the deep red of the ninebark and the gold of the Amsonia just sing together, especially when contrasted with the other nearby foliage. I can see planting any of the white, yellow or brighter blue Baptisias near a dark ninebark.

    Here is a geranium planted at its feet. I think this would have been successful if I had planted it further away so that it didn't get smothered. Also, a larger, long-blooming one like Rozanne might have worked better.

    fall Hydrangea paniculata Quickfire. I could see planting a smaller H. paniculata such as Bobo at the ninebark's feet instead of perennials.

    I also have a P. Tiny Wine which is too small to photograph yet, but is planted in a red/pink garden with red, white, and pink clematis, red dianthus, red and pink asters, etc. I think the asters might do well with the larger ninebarks as well.

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