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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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 $28.00Regular priceUnit price per
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Sold outMangave '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 $29.00Regular priceUnit price per -
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 $30.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Mangave '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
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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 $22.00Regular priceUnit price per -
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 $26.00Regular priceUnit price per -
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 $21.00Regular priceUnit price per -
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 $23.00Regular priceUnit price per -
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 -
Nananthus vittatus
Item #: 14224
Zones: 6a to 10b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 2" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: South Africa
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $22.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Nassella tenuissima
Item #: 258
Zones: 7a to 10b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 24" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Mexico, United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $22.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Nepeta 'Cat's Pajamas' PP 31,127
Item #: 16656
Zones: 3a to 8b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 14" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $21.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Nepeta 'Purple Haze' PP 23,180
Item #: 9597
Zones: 5a to 8b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
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 -
Nierembergia gracilis 'Starry Eyes'
Item #: 5660
Zones: 8a to 10b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 10" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Argentina
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $21.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Nolina nelsonii
Item #: 1484
Zones: 7b to 10b, at least
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 144" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Mexico
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $24.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Nothoscordum sellowianum
Item #: 6448
Zones: 7a to 8b, at least
Dormancy: Summer, Fall
Height: 1" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Argentina
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $21.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Oenothera fruticosa 'Fireworks'
Item #: 8719
Zones: 3a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 20" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $20.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Onoclea sensibilis 'Supersize'
Item #: 9212
Zones: 3a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 36" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $23.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Onoclea sensibilis 'Texas Too Tall'
Item #: 8279
Zones: 3a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 42" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $23.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Sold outOnychium japonicum 'Sichuan Lace'
Item #: 5958
Zones: 7a to 9b, possibly colder
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 24" tall
Culture: Sun to Light Shade
Origin: China
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $23.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Sold outOpuntia cacanapa 'Ellisiana'
Item #: 5564
Zones: 7a to 10b, possibly colder
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 36" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $25.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Origanum calcaratum
Item #: 10263
Zones: 7a to 8b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 15" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Crete, Greece
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $20.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Sold outOrostachys malacophylla
Item #: 4954
Zones: 5a to 8b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 2" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Russia
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $22.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Oxalis crassipes 'Cherry Spritzer'
Item #: 12350
Zones: 6a to 9b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 10" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Argentina, Brazil
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.