Companion Plants to Cinnamon Ferns

Ground Covers

• Choose ground covers to grow alongside cinnamon ferns that prefer soil on the acid side and a lot of moisture. Heather (Calluna vulgaris) has evergreen foliage and red, pink or white flowers. Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) is another ground cover that likes acid soil and lots of moisture. It is also evergreen and produces bright red berries in autumn.

Perennials

• Indigenous to marshlands, Joe-Pye weed (Eupatorium maculatum) will grow well in the moist, acid soil in which cinnamon ferns thrive. It produces tubular flowers and grows best in full sun. The marsh mallow plant (Althaea officinalis) also grows best in moist, acid soil. Hardy hibiscus, also called rose mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos), is another moisture-loving perennial that is native to wetlands.

Flowering Shrubs

• Include flowering shrubs in the garden with cinnamon ferns for seasonal color. Rose daphne (Daphne cneorum) produces fragrant pink flowers in spring. Its soil must be kept continuously moist; grow in full sun with the roots well-mulched. Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) grows in the wild near the edge of bodies of water and will thrive in a moist garden bed. It produces small white flowers in summer. Azaleas, a deciduous or semi-evergreen variety of rhododendron, grow best in moist, acid soils. Grow in partial shade and protect from winter sun and winds.

Evergreen Shrubs

• Include a few evergreen shrubs in the garden bed for winter interest. Mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) is a broadleaved evergreen with pink, red or white flowers in spring. Provide it with some shade and protect it from harsh winter winds. Japanese pieris (Pieris japonica) is another broadleaved evergreen that grows in moist, acidic soils. Arborvitae, whether cone-, globe- or pyramid-shaped, grows well in the moist soils cinnamon ferns require.