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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Lantana 'Chapel Hill Yellow' PP 19,548
Item #: 8970
Zones: 7b to 10b
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 -
Lavandula x intermedia 'Phenomenal' PP 24,193
Item #: 6216
Zones: 4a to 7b, at least
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 30" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $22.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Lavandula stoechas 'Javelin Forte Deep Purple' PP 27,493
Item #: 18299
Zones: 7b to 10b, possibly colder
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 24" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Spain
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $22.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Leucanthemum x superbum 'Daisy Duke' PP 21,914
Item #: 10716
Zones: 5a to 7b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 20" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $20.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Linum lewisii
Item #: 14202
Zones: 4a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 24" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Canada, Mexico, United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $16.80Regular priceUnit price per$21.00Sale price $16.80
Sale -
Liriope minor 'Gotemba Gold'
Item #: 18293
Zones: 6a to 10a
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 3" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Shade
Origin: Japan
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $18.40Regular priceUnit price per$23.00Sale price $18.40Sale -
Liriope muscari 'Okina'
Item #: 3542
Zones: 6a to 10b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 10" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: China, Japan, Taiwan
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $25.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Liriope muscari 'Peedee Ingot'
Item #: 3096
Zones: 6a to 10b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 18" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: China, Japan, Taiwan
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $20.00Regular priceUnit price per$25.00Sale price $20.00
Sale -
Liriope platyphylla 'Peter's Pick'
Item #: 13042
Zones: 5a to 10b, guessing
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 9" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: China
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $20.80Regular priceUnit price per$26.00Sale price $20.80Sale -
Lobelia angulata
Item #: 790
Zones: 6a to 10b, possibly colder
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 1" tall
Culture: Sun to Light Shade
Origin: New Zealand
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $21.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Lysimachia congestiflora 'Persian Chocolate'
Item #: 5803
Zones: 6a to 9b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 2" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: China
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $16.00Regular priceUnit price per$20.00Sale price $16.00Sale -
Mangave 'American Masterpiece' PPAF
Item #: 17982
Zones: 8b to 10b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 18" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Hybrid, Mexico
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $35.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Mangave 'Arctic Sunray'
Item #: 16483
Zones: 8a to 10b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 24" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $22.40Regular priceUnit price per$28.00Sale price $22.40Sale -
Mangave 'Bloodlines'
Item #: 14958
Zones: 9a to 10b, guessing
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 12" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $23.20Regular priceUnit price per$29.00Sale price $23.20Sale -
Mangave 'Espresso'
Item #: 8384
Zones: 8a to 10b, at least
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 12" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $30.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Mangave 'Gilt Edge'
Item #: 17726
Zones: 8b to 10b, guessing
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 15" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Hybrid, Mexico
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $24.00Regular priceUnit price per$30.00Sale price $24.00Sale -
Mangave 'Golden Friendship'
Item #: 17727
Zones: 8b to 10b, guessing
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 18" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Hybrid, Mexico
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $24.00Regular priceUnit price per$30.00Sale price $24.00Sale -
Sold outMangave 'Praying Hands' PP 34,508
Item #: 16604
Zones: 9a to 10b, guessing
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 18" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $35.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Meehania cordata
Item #: 7767
Zones: 5a to 7b, probably colder
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 5" 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 -
Meehania cordata 'Roby Rose'
Item #: 17508
Zones: 5a to 7b, probably colder
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 5" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $17.60Regular priceUnit price per$22.00Sale price $17.60Sale -
Microbiota decussata 'Prides'
Item #: 18238
Zones: 2a to 8a
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 12" tall
Culture: Light Shade
Origin: Russia
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $12.80Regular priceUnit price per$16.00Sale price $12.80
Sale -
Minuartia laricifolia
Item #: 14056
Zones: 5a to 8a
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 6" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: France, Italy, Spain
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $17.60Regular priceUnit price per$22.00Sale price $17.60Sale -
Muhlenbergia sericea (capillaris of Horticulture)
Item #: 2317
Zones: 6b to 10b, possibly colder
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 $18.40Regular priceUnit price per$23.00Sale price $18.40Sale -
Muhlenbergia sericea 'White Cloud'
Item #: 6240
Zones: 6b to 10b, possibly colder
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 48" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $24.00Regular 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.