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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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 $21.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Yucca 'Dragon Slayer' PP 36,889
Item #: 18530
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
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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 per -
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 per
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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 per -
Yucca 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 linearifolia
Item #: 7190
Zones: 7a to 10b, guessing
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 -
Sold outYucca 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 -
Yucca smalliana 'Bright Edge'
Item #: 822
Zones: 5a to 10b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 18" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $25.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Yucca 'Tromping Around'
Item #: 12995
Zones: 7a to 9b, at least
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 60" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $27.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Zephyranthes 'Batik'
Item #: 6980
Zones: 7b to 10b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 6" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $22.00Regular 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 $24.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Zephyranthes candida 'Quite White'
Item #: 18031
Zones: 7a to 10b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 10" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: South America, Uruguay
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $22.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Sold outZephyranthes 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 'Early and Often'
Item #: 10829
Zones: 7a to 10b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 10" 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 -
Sold outZephyranthes '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 -
Sold outZephyranthes '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 -
Zephyranthes 'Kathryn'
Item #: 13536
Zones: 7b to 10b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 9" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $22.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Sold outZephyranthes 'Krakatau'
Item #: 6975
Zones: 7b to 10b, at least
Dormancy:
Height: 10" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $23.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Sold outZephyranthes 'Morning Star'
Item #: 9151
Zones: 7b to 10b
Dormancy:
Height: 8" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $22.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Zephyranthes morrisclintii 'Starfrost'
Item #: 17271
Zones: 7a to 10b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 12" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Mexico
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $22.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Sold outZephyranthes 'Moulin Rouge'
Item #: 6982
Zones: 7b to 10b, at least
Dormancy:
Height: 6" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Hybrid
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.