Gentian: 10 best companion plants for a beautiful flower bed

Gentian is a perennial semi-shrub with bright blue flowers - a wonderful decoration for any garden. Its second name - "sapphires" - clearly reflects the role of this plant surrounded by other equally precious plants. No, gentian, not so dignified and capricious, but still companion plants next to it must be carefully selected. We present to your attention ten suitable gentian friends that emphasize its beauty favorably.

Flower Gentian: plant photo

Flower Gentian: description

The gentian with its representative collection of species that can bloom at any time of the year (except, of course, winter) continues to be a "special star" in any garden. Especially this "star" shines where her fabulous blue rug is favorably emphasized by her friends.
The gentian, a perennial shrub with vibrant blue flowers, is the perfect decoration for any garden. Its second name - "sapphires" - clearly reflects the role of this plant surrounded by other equally precious plants. No, gentian, not so dignified and capricious, but still companion plants next to it must be carefully selected so that it does not look like an ordinary inconspicuous weed.
We present to your attention ten suitable gentian friends that emphasize its beauty favorably.

Goryachavka flower next to Heather

Heather representatives themselves are very diverse (from tiny Erica shrubs to meter-high rhododendron bushes) and are often self-sufficient. Suffice it to recall the Scottish or Irish heather gardens, which are very impressive. But it turns out that if you add at least a little "sapphire" gentian to the heather texture, the overall picture will become more luxurious.
Decorated Chinese gentian / Gentiana sino-ornata / blends perfectly with heather / Calluna / Bring this combination to life and witness the magic. The sunset of summer and the whole of autumn will be a time of shining gentian (all shades of blue) against the background of a unique heather texture.

Flower Gentian: plant photo

Plant Gentian and Rhododendron

From such a duo, you get a real landscape "bomb"! Just choose the right place and correctly place accents. The main violin, nevertheless, remains behind the gentian, which creates a solid floral carpet and fills any glades. And the shrub rhododendron, highlighting the beauty of the blue gentian carpet, will add majesty and greenery to the overall picture.
For such an idea, a large plot would be enough, maybe somewhere on the edge of the garden. As structural "points" will be Calmia multifoliate and some of the varieties of Rhododendron. Plant them first and the gentian will fill the rest of the space. However, give her time, and then you will witness a magnificent sight.
Remember that shrubs should add relief to the flat areas of the garden and emphasize the vertical elements of the entire composition.
Rhododendrons can be replaced with conifers, but those varieties that prefer acidic soil.

Lingonberry and Saxifrage

For Lingonberry or Saxifrage, we select the most spectacular of all the Chinese-decorated Gentian. It turns out a rather extravagant composition, and again from plants that prefer acidic soils.
The leader of this composition is the decorated bush gentian, which together with Lingonberry / Vaccinium vitis-idaea / creates partial shade, and Saxifraga cortusifolia / slightly revives and softens this brightness.

Gentian near Cyclamen

A new and very unusual combination: Cyclamen cilician or ivy-leaved / Cyclamen cillicium or cyclamen hederifolium / and Sino-decorated gentian / Gentiana sino-ornata /.
The charming cyclamen with its interesting rounded foliage contrasts beautifully with the fabulous blue carpet of the Gentian. Together they are flashy and stylish and seem to be a little untamed. And the more free they are, the more beautiful their composition looks.

Bellflower, Sage, Sedge

These guys are wonderfully combined with Gentian yellow / Gentianа lutea /, which under optimal conditions, without much care, lives for decades. In addition, there is no better garden partner than this almost long-lived perennial. Showy plants with a similar shape and line, but contrasting colors of flowers and leaves, such as Bellflower / Campanula /, Sage / Salvia / and Sedka / Carex / are suitable for yellow gentian.

Aconite, Astrantia, Goldenrod

Now we will select a magnificent retinue for Gentiana asclepiadea /. This gentian variety is very beautiful, with flowers with brightly carved petals. This beauty will suit the classic autumn handsome friends who feel great in partial shade. These are Aconite / Aconitum /, Astrantia / Astrantia /, Common goldenrod / Solidago virgaurea /. All sorts of ornamental cereals are suitable for this gentian variety. Try also combining the Gingerbread Gentian with the Forest Geranium (Geranium sylvaticum), Doronicum (Doronicum), and all types of Sedges (Carex).

Arnebia, Sesleria, Primula or Lady's slipper

Spring gentian (Narrow-leaved, Dinaric, Stemless, Alpine) is a particularly capricious and difficult plant to grow in comparison with summer and autumn relatives. But many gardeners choose these, one might say, exclusive varieties for their uniqueness and charm.
The ideal dream garden is the Spring Gentian paired with the Lady's Slipper. You can simplify the idyll and replace the rare Lady's slipper with simpler and more familiar Sedge strong / Carex firma /, Sesleria albicans /, Mealy primrose / Primula farinose / or Primula Darialica / Primula darialica /. It will turn out to be no less exciting!

Fescue, Thistle, Elecampane, Carnation

Now we will find friends for summer gentians (Summer large-leaved, Bolotnaya, Semi-parting), which are suitable exclusively for textural partners. If you are picking a gentian for rocky hills, rockeries or heather gardens, then you will not find a better Gentian / Gentian cruciata /. Its best companions are Fescue / Festuca /, Stemless thistle / Carlina acaulis /, Dwarf elecampane / Inula ensifolia, Compacta /, Cortusian and Balkan carnation / Dianthus knappii, Dianthus carthusianoruni /.

Saxifrage, Dwarf iris, Levisia, Arabis

Here, consider a partnership with a gentian in a rocky garden. It is rockeries or rock gardens that are often used for most gentians. It is best not to experiment here, but to use proven partnership schemes, especially since there are many options. So, a gentian (and a gardener) in a stone garden will not disappoint Saxifraga /, Dwarf iris / Iris /, Levisia / Lewisia /, Daphne cneorum /, Arabis / Arabis /. Try to place at least one Edelweiss / Leontopodium / next to this idyll.

Gentian and Ivy, Liriope

The gentian is often used in a potted ensemble or in a portable flower garden. For these purposes, partner flowers are selected that are similar in shape and care requirements. For a potted composition of gentian, use Gentiana scabra x Gentiana septemfida /, also known as / Gentiana x septemscabra /.
An excellent combination in a potted flower garden with this gentian variety will be: Sedge / Carex /, Sage / Salvia /, Ivy / Hedera / and Liriope / Liriope /.

Enjoy your health!