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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Campanula 'Sarastro'
Item #: 5547
Zones: 3a to 8b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 18" tall
Culture: Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $21.00Regular priceUnit price per
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Cardamine quinquefolia
Item #: 10148
Zones: 6a to 8b, guessing
Dormancy: Summer, Fall
Height: 6" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Asia Minor, Bulgaria, Caucasus Mountains, Iran, Southern Europe, Turkey
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $22.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Sold outCarex appalachica
Item #: 5793
Zones: 4a to 7b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 6" tall
Culture: Light Shade to Shade
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $22.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Carex bromoides
Item #: 12439
Zones: 4a to 8b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 6" tall
Culture: Sun to Shade
Origin: Canada, United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $22.00Regular 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 'Feather Falls' PP 26,199
Item #: 16730
Zones: 6a to 9b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 24" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $22.00Regular 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 $23.00Regular priceUnit price per
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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 $23.00Regular priceUnit price per -
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 $23.00Regular 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 -
Cheilanthes distans
Item #: 9545
Zones: 7b to 10b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 6" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Australia, New Zealand
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $23.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Chrysanthemum 'Country Girl'
Item #: 6906
Zones: 6a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 15" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $20.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Chrysanthemum 'Gethsemane Moonlight'
Item #: 9818
Zones: 5a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 24" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $20.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Chrysanthemum 'Matchsticks'
Item #: 9263
Zones: 5a to 8b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 24" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $21.00Regular 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 $27.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Sold outClematis ochroleuca 'Penny's Bend'
Item #: 10051
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 $26.00Regular 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 -
Clematis 'Stand by Me' PP 30,556
Item #: 13500
Zones: 3b to 8b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 36" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $28.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Coreopsis palustris 'Summer Sunshine'
Item #: 3802
Zones: 6a to 9b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 30" tall
Culture: 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 -
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 -
Crocanthemum carolinianum 'Goldtender'
Item #: 18301
Zones: 7a to 9b, possibly much colder
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 6" 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 -
Cucurbita foetidissima
Item #: 10906
Zones: 4a to 8b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 12" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $23.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Sold outCuphea glutinosa
Item #: 1489
Zones: 7a to 10b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 8" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Argentina, Brazil, United States
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.