Dwarf Mugo Pine Companion Plants

Shrubs

• Choose shrubs that complement mugo pine's dark foliage. For example, "Rheingold" arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis "Rheingold"), also a dwarf evergreen, has golden foliage that takes on a copper tone in winter, offering bright contrast to mugo pine. Hardy in USDA zones 4 through 8, this 5-foot-tall and equally wide shrub performs best in a sunny site. Plant rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) at the back of a border containing mugo pine. This 15-foot-tall shrub spreads to 6 feet wide and blooms in summer with showy pink, white or red flowers. It's hardy in USDA zones 5 through 9 and grows well in a sunny, well-draining site.

Ground-Covers

• Ground-covers spread wider than they grow tall, filling empty spaces around a mugo pine. One option is bigroot geranium (Geranium macrorrhizum), a spreading perennial that forms a dense carpet of fragrant foliage. It blooms from spring through summer with pink flowers. Bigroot geranium is hardy in USDA zones 4 through 8, where it thrives in full sun to partial shade. Another ground-cover option is dwarf Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii "Golden Nugget"), which offers golden foliage that contrasts with mugo pine's dark needles. Hardy in USDA zones 5 through 8, this deciduous ground-cover grows to 12 inches tall with a 3-foot spread and produces its brightest color in a sunny location.

Ornamental Grasses

• Ornamental grasses add vertical interest. Companions for mugo pine include little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), a 3-foot-tall grass that forms upright clumps of blue-green foliage. In fall, little bluestem grass turns a showy shade of purple-red. This grass is hardy in USDA zones 2 through 9 and grows best in full sun. Reed grass (Calamagrostis brachytricha) also grows well with mugo pine. Reaching a height up to 3 feet, this upright, green grass blooms with pink plumes in fall. It's hardy in USDA zones 4 through 9 and tolerates full sun to partial shade.

Perennials

• Choose perennials that bloom at different times for season-long color. Foamflowers (Tiarella "Starfish"), for example, burst into spires of white-pink flowers in spring. Reaching 3 feet tall and hardy in USDA zones 4 through 9, they grow well in shade cast by a mugo pine. The "Cool Jazz" daylily (Hemerocallis "Cool Jazz") is hardy in USDA zones 3 to 11 and blooms through summer with peach-colored flowers. This 3-foot-tall perennial grows best in full sun and, though it tolerates drought, produces its showiest flowers when supplied with regular irrigation. Lady's mantle (Alchemilla mollis) provides color from late summer through fall. Hardy in USDA zones 4 through 7, this perennial produces yellow-green flowers over large foliage. Lady's mantle grows in a sunny site or partial shade.