What to Plant With Ageratum

Commonly known as Floss Flower, Ageratum is a compact, low-growing annual that produces soft, cushion-like blooms in shades of blue, purple, pink, or white. Its unique texture and long-lasting flowers make it a favorite in borders, containers, and mass plantings. But to create a garden that truly pops, it helps to pair Ageratum with the right companion plants—those that complement its color, texture, and growth habit.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the best plants to pair with Ageratum, as well as important considerations for planning a successful mixed planting.

By: Reggie Meehan (11/13/2025)

How to Pair Ageratum With Other Plants

Ageratum adds fine texture, cool-toned color, and season-long blooms to the garden. However, on its own, it can sometimes fade into the background—especially in full-sun beds or expansive landscape designs. Pairing it with bold foliage, striking color contrasts, and plants of different heights enhances the visual appeal and helps Ageratum stand out as a key player in your garden design.

Companion planting with Ageratum offers multiple benefits. It creates eye-catching color contrast that highlights its soft, fluffy blooms, fills vertical and horizontal space for a more layered look, and supports continuous seasonal interest by staggering bloom times. Additionally, when paired with other pollinator-friendly plants, Ageratum helps attract bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects, making your garden both beautiful and ecologically vibrant.

Pair It With Plants With Similar Needs

To make your garden easier to maintain, it’s wise to group Ageratum with plants that share its growing preferences. Ageratum thrives in full sun to partial shade, prefers well-draining, moderately fertile soil, and benefits from regular watering—especially during hot weather. It also requires good airflow between plants to help prevent mildew, making thoughtful spacing essential for healthy growth and vibrant blooms.

7 Ideal Companions for Ageratum

Whether you’re building a container combo or planning out your landscape border, here are some of the best plants to pair with Ageratum:

Marigolds

Marigolds offer bright, warm tones—such as golden yellow and deep orange—that contrast beautifully with the cool blue and purple hues of Ageratum. Their upright growth habit provides height and visual balance against Ageratum’s compact, mounding form. Both plants thrive in full sun and average, well-draining soil, making them low-maintenance companions. Additionally, marigolds are known for their pest-repelling properties and ability to attract pollinators, adding practical benefits to your garden beyond just visual appeal.

Dusty Miller

The silvery, felt-like foliage of Dusty Miller adds a striking contrast to Ageratum’s soft, colorful blooms. This pairing brings an elegant, cool-toned palette and textural interest to flower beds and borders. Dusty Miller’s drought tolerance makes it especially suitable for sunnier spots, where it complements Ageratum’s similar light and soil preferences. Together, they create a sophisticated and resilient planting combination that performs well in both containers and landscapes.

Petunias

Petunias provide a wide array of color options—from classic white to rich magentas and deep purples—that either complement or boldly contrast Ageratum’s fluffy blooms. Their mounding and sometimes trailing habit works beautifully with Ageratum in both garden beds and container arrangements. This pairing offers long-lasting seasonal color and thrives in full sun with regular watering. For an eye-catching combination, try purple Ageratum with hot pink or bright white petunias to create a vibrant, playful garden feature.

Coleus

Known for its show-stopping foliage in vivid shades of red, burgundy, lime green, and variegated patterns, Coleus pairs beautifully with Ageratum’s soft, uniform blue or lavender blooms. This bold foliage contrast helps Ageratum stand out while adding visual depth to garden beds. Since both plants can tolerate partial sun, opt for sun-tolerant coleus varieties to ensure strong performance in mixed plantings. The combination of colorful leaves and delicate flowers creates a dynamic and eye-catching display.

Zinnias

Zinnias are tall, sun-loving annuals that produce large, daisy-like blooms in a wide range of bright colors. Their upright structure makes them ideal for planting behind Ageratum in layered beds, adding height and a burst of warm-toned flowers. This combination brings both vertical dimension and lively color contrast to your garden. Zinnias are also excellent for attracting pollinators and are easy to grow in hot, sunny climates. Try pairing orange or red zinnias with blue Ageratum for a stunning complementary effect.

Ornamental Grasses

Compact ornamental grasses like Blue Fescue or Carex offer a naturalistic texture that contrasts well with the dense, mounding shape of Ageratum. The grasses add movement, airiness, and structural interest, while Ageratum supplies bold color and softness. Together, they evoke a relaxed, meadow-inspired aesthetic that works well in both formal borders and casual plantings. This pairing also provides seasonal interest, as many grasses remain attractive well into fall.

Salvia

Salvia and Ageratum make a great team in pollinator-friendly gardens, thanks to their long-lasting blooms and nectar-rich flowers. Salvia’s tall, spiky blooms offer a strong vertical accent that contrasts with the rounded, cushion-like flowers of Ageratum. Their shared love for full sun and well-drained soil makes them easy to grow together. Choose Salvia in white, pink, or lavender tones to either harmonize or contrast with your Ageratum color palette, depending on your garden’s aesthetic goals.

Tips for Designing With Ageratum

Here are a few extra pointers for designing beautiful combinations with Ageratum:

Think in Layers

One of the most effective ways to design with Ageratum is by thinking in layers. Its compact, mounding growth makes it ideal for the front of borders or the edge of planting beds. Placing taller annuals or perennials—such as Salvia, Zinnias, or Coneflowers—behind Ageratum helps create depth and structure. This arrangement not only enhances visual appeal but also ensures that taller plants don’t shade out Ageratum, which thrives in full sun. Layering also makes maintenance easier and highlights each plant's unique shape and color.

Great for Containers

Ageratum performs beautifully in container gardens, where its tidy growth habit and fluffy blooms add soft texture and long-lasting color. It works especially well when paired with trailing plants like Bacopa or Sweet Alyssum, which spill over the sides of pots, adding contrast and movement. For height and visual impact, include upright “thriller” plants such as Angelonia, Salvia, or even ornamental grasses. This classic thriller-filler-spiller formula ensures your containers stay full, balanced, and blooming from spring through fall. Just be sure to place containers in full sun and water regularly for best results.

Pollinator-Friendly Combos

To support pollinators and enhance your garden’s ecological value, pair Ageratum with other nectar-rich plants like Lantana, Bee Balm, or Echinacea (Coneflower). These combinations provide a succession of blooms that attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds throughout the growing season. Ageratum’s fluffy blooms may be smaller than some pollinator magnets, but their dense clusters still offer valuable nectar—especially for smaller bees. By mixing various flower shapes and colors, you’ll appeal to a wider range of beneficial insects. The result is a garden that’s not only beautiful but also buzzing with life.

Final Thoughts

Ageratum is a versatile and low-maintenance annual that shines when combined with the right companions. Whether you want bold contrast, soft pastels, or a pollinator paradise, there's no shortage of options when it comes to pairing plants with Ageratum. By choosing plants with similar needs and complementary forms or colors, you can build garden beds and containers that offer beauty and balance all season long.