Over the last two decades, green roofs and green walls have emerged as popular ways to garden and help the environment too.
We have assembled a list of many great plants for green roofs from our massive on-line plant catalog and have included plants that are widely used. A good green roof will have at least 10 different plant species in order to provide visual interest, attract the widest variety of wildlife, and prevent the disease problems of monoculture (if one species falters, there are several others to replace it). Due to climatic differences, a green roof in Seattle will have different plants than a green roof in Atlanta.
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Verbena bonariensis
Item #: 1144
Zones: 7a to 10b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 30" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: South America
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $20.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Verbena canadensis 'Snowflurry'
Item #: 1148
Zones: 5a to 8b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 12" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $20.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Verbena catharinae 'Lavender Frappe'
Item #: 9573
Zones: 7b to 10b, at least
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 1" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Brazil
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $20.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Verbena peruviana
Item #: 1154
Zones: 6a to 10b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 2" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Argentina, Brazil
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $20.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Verbena 'Pink Princess'
Item #: 10782
Zones: 8a to 10b, at least
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 18" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $20.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Verbena 'Princess Bride'
Item #: 6646
Zones: 7b to 10b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 12" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $20.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Verbena tenera 'Sissinghurst'
Item #: 1159
Zones: 7b to 10b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 3" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $20.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Verbena tenuisecta 'Decked Out'
Item #: 5423
Zones: 7b to 10b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 6" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $20.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Sold out
Verbena 'Texas Appleblossom'
Item #: 1327
Zones: 7b to 10b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 6" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $20.00Regular priceUnit price perNext crop available: 06/14/2024Sold out -
Veronica umbrosa 'Georgia Blue'
Item #: 1170
Zones: 4a to 8b, guessing
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 4" tall
Culture: Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Asia, Europe
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $20.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Viola pedata 'Blue Bibb'
Item #: 12804
Zones: 4a to 8b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 3" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $25.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Viola pedata 'Eco Artist Palette'
Item #: 7215
Zones: 4a to 8b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 3" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $23.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Sold out
Yucca flaccida 'Color Guard'
Item #: 1568
Zones: 4a to 10b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 20" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $26.00Regular priceUnit price perNext crop available: 06/21/2024Sold out -
Sold out
Yucca flaccida 'Gold Heart'
Item #: 1179
Zones: 5a to 10b, at least
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 20" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $26.00Regular priceUnit price perNext crop available: 07/05/2024Sold out -
Sold out
Yucca flaccida 'Hairy'
Item #: 6066
Zones: 5a to 9b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 18" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $26.00Regular priceUnit price perNext crop available: 06/28/2024Sold out -
Yucca x gloriosa 'Some Beach'
Item #: 13284
Zones: 7a to 9b, at least
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 48" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $28.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Yucca x gloriosa 'Variegata'
Item #: 2104
Zones: 7a to 10b, at least
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 48" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $29.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Yucca rostrata 'Sapphire Skies'
Item #: 6697
Zones: 5b to 10b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 48" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Mexico, United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $29.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Yucca 'Silver Anniversary' PP 31,437
Item #: 12621
Zones: 5b to 10b, at least
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 24" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: United States Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $27.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Zephyranthes 'Big Dude'
Item #: 4367
Zones: 7a to 10b
Dormancy:
Height: 6" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Mexico
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $22.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Zephyranthes 'Buttery Billowy Blowout'
Item #: 12203
Zones: 7b to 10b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 10" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $28.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Zephyranthes drummondii 'Fedora'
Item #: 7075
Zones: 7a to 9b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 8" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Mexico
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $22.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Zephyranthes 'Eastern Pearl'
Item #: 9153
Zones: 7b to 11
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 10" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $22.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Zephyranthes 'Heart Throb'
Item #: 5945
Zones: 7b to 10b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 6" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Mexico
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $22.00Regular priceUnit price per
More Information About Green Roofs
What do you do when you run out of room in your garden for new plants? Look up and you'll see the answer. Over the last two decades, green roofs and green walls have emerged as popular ways to garden and help the environment too.
What is the purpose of a green roof?
Other than aesthetics (plants for green roofs look great!) green roofs help the environment and reduce electricity consumption. Much like a shade tree, a green roof prevents sunlight from warming buildings during summer. Plants for green roofs also transpire water which provides evaporative cooling during summer. Green roof plants reduce winter heating costs because of their insulating effect. Plants for green roofs filter air pollutants and reduce stormwater runoff, keeping the local air and water clean.
What are the best green roof plants?
Any drought-tolerant, heat-tolerant, wind-tolerant, low-maintenance, sun-loving plant with a shallow root system is a good candidate for a green roof garden. Nationwide, the most widely used plants for green roofs include Sedum, Carex, Sempervivum, Opuntia cactus, Aster, Oregano, Dianthus, Rudbeckia, to name just a few.
Our list of plants for green roofs includes both extensive and semi-intensive green roof species for a variety of environments nationwide. Not every plant on this list will work well on every green roof. Green roofs are a fairly new field and we are always discovering new plants that perform well, so check back often for periodic updates.