Rock garden plants are those that are adapted to high alpine environments, mountainsides, canyons, steep river banks, or any conditions where soil is rocky and loose. Some examples of plants that thrive in rock garden conditions include Sedum, Cheilanthes, Agaves, Oregano, Phlox, Scutellaria, Hesperaloe, Yucca, and many more.
We are really proud of our own crevice garden made from upcycled materials here at Plant Delights/Juniper Level Botanic Garden in 2017 and have compiled a pictorial history that you can view here. We hope that it will inspire you to create your own!
Be sure to also read this excellent blog post about our crevice garden via the blog of landscape designer Kenton Seth, who helped design and install sections of the crevice garden. Also, be sure to watch our video showing our rock garden and berm garden here at Plant Delights.
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Carex conica 'Hime'
Item #: 95
Zones: 5a to 9b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 10" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Shade
Origin: Japan
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $21.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Carex divulsa
Item #: 8932
Zones: 4a to 10b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 15" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Europe
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $21.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Carex eburnea
Item #: 1602
Zones: 2a to 8b, possibly warmer
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 6" tall
Culture: Sun to Shade
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $22.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Carex flacca 'Mini'
Item #: 12441
Zones: 4a to 8b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 8" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Africa, Mediterranean Europe, Southern Europe
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $21.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Carex howei 'Bonnie and Clyde'
Item #: 8727
Zones: 5a to 9b, guessing
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 15" 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 -
Carex howei 'Willow the Wisp'
Item #: 17608
Zones: 5a to 9b, guessing
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 $22.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Sold out
Carex lanceolata 'Silk Tassel'
Item #: 1197
Zones: 5a to 9b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 10" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Shade
Origin: Japan
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $22.00Regular priceUnit price perNext crop available: 05/31/2024Sold out -
Carex laxiculmis 'Hobb'
Item #: 8383
Zones: 4b to 8b, at least
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 12" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Canada, United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $21.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Carex oshimensis 'Everillo' PP 21,002
Item #: 9802
Zones: 5a to 9b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 12" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Japan
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $22.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Carex pensylvanica 'Straw Hat' PP 29,432
Item #: 14345
Zones: 4a to 7b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 8" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Canada, United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $22.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Carex picta 'Bama Beauty'
Item #: 12814
Zones: 5a to 7b, at least
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 8" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $22.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Sold out
Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Chirimen'
Item #: 11405
Zones: 5a to 8b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 48" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Japan
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $30.00Regular priceUnit price perNext crop available: 05/24/2024Sold out -
Chrysogonum virginianum 'Pierre'
Item #: 5269
Zones: 5a to 8b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 6" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $20.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Clematis hexapetala 'Mongolian Snowflakes'
Item #: 10603
Zones: 4a to 7b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 18" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: China, Eastern Asia, Korea, Mongolia, Siberia Russia
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $26.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Clematis integrifolia 'Lake Baikal'
Item #: 5937
Zones: 3a to 8b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 24" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Russia
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $26.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Clematis ochroleuca 'Bald Knob'
Item #: 5943
Zones: 4b to 8b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 15" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $28.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Clematis 'Sapphire Indigo' PP 17,012
Item #: 8947
Zones: 4a to 8b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 18" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $28.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Conradina verticillata 'Rocky Top'
Item #: 758
Zones: 6a to 8b, at least
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 6" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $24.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Crambe maritima
Item #: 14328
Zones: 5b to 7b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 36" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Denmark, Europe, France, Norway, Spain, United Kingdom
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $22.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Sold out
Cyclamen coum 'Maurice Dryden'
Item #: 3319
Zones: 4a to 8b
Dormancy: Summer, Fall
Height: 2" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Europe
Pot Size: 2.5" pot (7.9 fl. oz/233 ml)
Regular price $24.00Regular priceUnit price perSold out -
Cyclamen hederifolium
Item #: 1281
Zones: 4a to 8b
Dormancy: Spring
Height: 3" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Southern Europe
Pot Size: 2.5" pot (7.9 fl. oz/233 ml)
Regular price $22.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Sold out
Cyclamen hederifolium 'Album'
Item #: 3312
Zones: 4a to 8b
Dormancy: Spring, Summer
Height: 3" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Southern Europe
Pot Size: 2.5" pot (7.9 fl. oz/233 ml)
Regular price $22.00Regular priceUnit price perNext crop available: 09/06/2024Sold out -
Cyclamen hederifolium Long Leaf Form
Item #: 8161
Zones: 4a to 8b
Dormancy: Spring, Summer
Height: 6" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Southern Europe
Pot Size: 2.5" pot (7.9 fl. oz/233 ml)
Regular price $23.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Cyclamen hederifolium 'Mottled Madness'
Item #: 17666
Zones: 4a to 8b
Dormancy: Spring
Height: 3" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Southern Europe
Pot Size: 2.5" pot (7.9 fl. oz/233 ml)
Regular price $22.00Regular priceUnit price perSold out
More Information About Rock Garden Plants
What is a rock garden?
Rock Gardens are landscape features designed to mimic high-altitude alpine landscapes, mountain-sides, desert canyons, steep river banks or any other ecosystem where the ground is rocky and loose. In the wild, alpine and other rocky ecosystems tend to be windy, free-draining and harsh and thus are populated by drought-tolerant plants that survive by staying small. Rock gardens are an artistic simulation of these ecosystems and feature small hardy perennials growing among artfully arranged rock outcrops. The goal of a rock garden is to feature small attractive rock garden plants that might otherwise be overlooked or out-competed in another type of garden bed such as a perennial border.
What are the best rock garden plants?
Some rock gardeners feature alpine plants in their rock gardens while others focus on small desert succulents. Still others will put any small, tough plant that deserves special attention into a rock garden. Plants that naturally grow in cold mountainous regions (especially the Alps) are known as alpine plants and plants that naturally grow on rock outcrops or among loose rocks are known as saxatile plants or lithophytes. These rock garden plants are almost always hardy perennials like sedum, but beyond that they can be deciduous or evergreen; bulb or fibrous rooted; flowering, grass, fern or conifer; leafy or succulent; native or exotic; and sun- or shade-loving. As long as they are small and tough, they are appropriate. Although we are not exclusively a rock garden nursery, we have filtered through our enormous on-line plant catalog and selected the best hardy perennials for rock gardens.
Building a Rock Garden - Crevice Garden
We've established an impressive crevasse garden here at PDN. Here is a short video showing the early stages. If you would like to see the final results, be sure to visit us on one of our open house days throughout the year or schedule a visit.
Gardening Unplugged - Berm Gardening
In this video, PDN founder Tony Avent takes guests on a tour of our berm garden and discusses how you can build your own.