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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Agave x parryspina
Item #: 16582
Zones: 7b to 9b, at least
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 24" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Mexico
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $35.00Regular priceUnit price perNext crop available: 05/24/2024Sold out -
Agave striata 'Live Wires'
Item #: 9335
Zones: 7b to 10b, at least
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 18" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Mexico
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $36.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Agave victoriae-reginae 'Tora Fu'
Item #: 8599
Zones: 8a to 10b, guessing
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 10" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Mexico
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $39.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Agave xylonacantha 'Frostbite'
Item #: 8723
Zones: 9a to 10b, guessing
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 18" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Mexico
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $32.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Ajuga 'Parrot Paradise' PPAF
Item #: 16733
Zones: 4a to 9b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 3" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Europe, Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $19.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Ajuga 'Pleasant Pheasant' PPAF
Item #: 17288
Zones: 4a to 9b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 3" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Europe, Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $19.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Ajuga pyramidalis 'Metallica Crispa Purpurea'
Item #: 39
Zones: 3a to 8b, at least
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 3" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Europe
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $19.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Ajuga reptans 'Black Scallop' PP 15,815
Item #: 13515
Zones: 3a to 8b, at least
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 3" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Europe
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $19.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Ajuga reptans 'Texas Tough'
Item #: 12990
Zones: 3a to 9b, at least
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 4" tall
Culture: Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Europe
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $19.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Ajuga tenorei 'Blueberry Muffin' PP 22,092
Item #: 14897
Zones: 4a to 9b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 3" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Italy
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $19.00Regular priceUnit price perNext crop available: 05/31/2024Sold out -
Ajuga tenorei 'Cordial Canary' PPAF
Item #: 16734
Zones: 4a to 9b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 3" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Italy
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $19.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Ajuga tenorei 'Princess Nadia' PP 31,028
Item #: 15031
Zones: 4a to 9b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 3" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Italy
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $19.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Ajuga 'Tropical Toucan' PPAF
Item #: 16739
Zones: 4a to 8b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 3" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Italy
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $19.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Allium kiiense
Item #: 3352
Zones: 5a to 9b, at least
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 6" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Japan
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $22.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Allium 'Millenium'
Item #: 5466
Zones: 5a to 8b, 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 -
Aloe aristata
Item #: 8526
Zones: 7b to 10b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 6" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: South Africa
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $26.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Amsonia glaberrima 'Hardin's Gem'
Item #: 16876
Zones: 5a to 8b, guessing
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 30" 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 -
Amsonia hubrichtii
Item #: 759
Zones: 5a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 36" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $22.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Amsonia hubrichtii 'String Theory' PP 34,419
Item #: 16722
Zones: 5a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 36" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $22.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Amsonia orientalis 'Blue Ice'
Item #: 4225
Zones: 4a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 15" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Greece, Turkey
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $22.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Amsonia tabernaemontana 'Storm Cloud'
Item #: 12043
Zones: 5a to 8b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 24" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $22.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Anisacanthus wrightii
Item #: 5119
Zones: 7a to 10b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 48" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Mexico, United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $22.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Antennaria solitaria 'RDU'
Item #: 15111
Zones: 5b to 8b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 4" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $21.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Antirrhinum glutinosum 'White Hot'
Item #: 11833
Zones: 7b to 9b, at least
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 8" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Spain
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $21.00Regular 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.