A stone bed is characterized above all by the fact that it is particularly easy to care for and tolerates drought. Stone beds are often in the sun. Below we have put together a selection of the most beautiful plants for your stone bed, with information on their growth height and special characteristics.
Rock gardens are often planted with low-maintenance shrubs
What to consider when choosing plants for the stone bed
A stone bed should be easy to maintain. To ensure that this is the case, you should consider a few things when choosing plants:
- Only plant hardy plants in your rock bed.
- Leave enough space between each plant.
- Cover your stone bed with a weed fleece (€21.70).
- Plant small shrubs that you rarely need to cut back.
- Note the site requirements of each plant.
- Put some evergreen plants on your stone bed so that it stays green even in winter.
Which plants for the stone bed?
Stone beds are usually planted with grasses and shrubs. If you prefer something more luxuriant and don't mind watering every day on hot summer days, you can also plant flowering ground cover or drought-resistant flowers in the stone bed. A selection of the most beautiful flowering plants for the rock garden can be found in this article.
Below we have put together a selection of the most beautiful hardy grasses and shrubs for sunny stone beds. For shady rock gardens you will find ideas and a selection of plants here.
The most beautiful grasses for the stone bed
| grass name | growth height | wintergreen | features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlas fescue | Up to 1m | Yes | Filigree, tall stems |
| bearskin grass | Up to 20cm | Yes | Low, green tufts of grass |
| mountain sedge | Up to 20cm | Durable mini weed | |
| blue fescue | Up to 30cm | Yes | Beautiful bluish culms |
| diamond grass | Up to 1m | no | White ears of corn in autumn |
| Pennisetum grass | Depending on the variety, 60cm to 120cm | no | Beautiful ears of corn in late summer |
| Morning Star Sedge | Up to 70cm | Yes | Bushy grass with star-shaped fruits |
| moor grass | Depending on the variety up to 1m | no | Light, narrow culms with elongated spikes |
| riding grass | Up to 1.50 m | no | Bright ears of corn in summer |
| Giant Chinese reed | Depending on the variety, up to 4m | no | Impressive giant grass |
| Switchgrass | Depending on the variety from 60cm to 2m | no | Some with beautiful leaf coloring |
| iridescent grass | Up to 40cm | Yes | Bluish culms |
| zebra reed | Up to 1.50 m | no | Beautiful, white-green striped culms |
| trembling grass | Up to 40cm | Yes | Filigree spikes from May to August |
The most beautiful shrubs for the stone bed
Conifers are almost always winter green. Choose dwarf varieties for your rock garden, such as:
| conifers | growth height | wintergreen | features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue dwarf juniper | Up to 1m | Yes | Bluish needles, bushy growth |
| mountain pine | Up to 1m | Yes | Bushy, small growth |
| Blue hedgehog spruce | Up to 40cm | Yes | Bluish, short needles |
| Blue carpet juniper | Up to 50cm | Yes | Bluish needles, grows near the ground |
| Japanese larch, dwarf variety | 50 to 150cm | no | Available as a standard |
| Japanese umbrella fir | Up to 1m | Yes | Expensive variety from Japan |
| Low balsam fir | Up to 1m | Yes | Short, thick needles |
| dwarf pine | Up to 1m | Yes | Grows more in width than in height |
| Dwarf Orb Arborvitae | Up to 80cm | Yes | Small thuja variety |
But deciduous trees are also beautiful in the rock garden, especially when they are in bloom. The most beautiful flowering, small shrubs for the rock garden:
- dwarf lilac
- spring pier
- mayflower bush
- forsythia
- blue diamond
- Kalmia Deutzia
- summer pier
- broom
- hydrangeas
- Laurel Snowball