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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Cuphea micropetala
Item #: 6807
Zones: 7b to 10b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 42" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Mexico
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $23.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Sold outDalea bicolor var. argyraea
Item #: 14033
Zones: 7b to 11, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 36" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $23.00Regular priceUnit price per
Next crop available: 02/13/2026Sold out -
Delosperma 'Dancing Embers' PP36547
Item #: 18267
Zones: 6a to 8b, at least
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 2" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $20.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Delosperma dyeri
Item #: 8871
Zones: 5a to 7b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 2" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: South Africa
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $20.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Delosperma 'Fire Spinner'
Item #: 9675
Zones: 5a to 8b, at least
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 2" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: South Africa
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $20.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Delosperma 'Kelaidis'
Item #: 4951
Zones: 4a to 8a
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 2" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: South Africa
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $20.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Delosperma 'Mountain Dew' PP 31,543
Item #: 16806
Zones: 5a to 8a, at least
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 1" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $20.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Delosperma 'Orchid Flash' PPAF
Item #: 18302
Zones: 6a to 8b, at least
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 2" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $20.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Delosperma 'Razzle Dazzle' PPAF
Item #: 18269
Zones: 6a to 8b, at least
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 2" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $20.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Delosperma sutherlandii
Item #: 853
Zones: 6a to 9b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 3" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: South Africa
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $21.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Dianthus barbatus 'Scarlet Fever' PP 30,454
Item #: 13199
Zones: 4a to 8b, at least
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 12" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Southern Europe
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $21.00Regular priceUnit price per
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Sold outDianthus 'Bright Light' PP 28,239
Item #: 15028
Zones: 4a to 8b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 10" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $21.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Sold outDianthus 'Cherry Charm' PP 30,871
Item #: 15027
Zones: 5a to 8b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 8" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $21.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Dianthus 'Razzlepop'
Item #: 17008
Zones: 3a to 8a
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 12" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $21.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Sold outDianthus 'Rose Bouquet' PP 30,274
Item #: 15891
Zones: 3a to 9b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 8" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $21.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Sold outDianthus 'Ruby Glitter' PP 33,461
Item #: 18230
Zones: 5a to 8b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 6" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $21.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Sold outDianthus 'Wicked Witch' PP 19,824
Item #: 5426
Zones: 3a to 9b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 8" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $21.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Sold outDicentra eximia 'Dolly Sods'
Item #: 1264
Zones: 3a to 8b
Dormancy: Winter
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 -
Dicliptera suberecta
Item #: 1285
Zones: 7a to 10b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 20" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Uruguay
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $22.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Sold outDigitalis laevigata
Item #: 17065
Zones: 4a to 8b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 60" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Montenegro, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $20.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Digitalis thapsi 'Spanish Peaks'
Item #: 16658
Zones: 4a to 8b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 24" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Portugal, Spain
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $20.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Sold outDionaea muscipula 'Akai Ryu'
Item #: 4107
Zones: 5a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 4" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $27.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Dionaea muscipula 'Dente'
Item #: 4109
Zones: 5a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 4" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $30.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Dionaea muscipula 'Red Piranha'
Item #: 17900
Zones: 5a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 4" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $27.00Regular 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.