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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Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Foxtrot'
Item #: 6870
Zones: 5a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 60" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Asia
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $24.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Pennisetum alopecuroides 'JS Jommenik' PP 27,435
Item #: 13802
Zones: 6a to 9b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 24" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Asia
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $24.00Regular priceUnit price perNext crop available: 06/07/2024Sold out -
Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Lemon Squeeze' PP 34,634
Item #: 16517
Zones: 5a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 42" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Asia
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $24.00Regular priceUnit price perNext crop available: 05/10/2024Sold out -
Perovskia atriplicifolia 'Blue Jean Baby' PP 29,281
Item #: 13502
Zones: 4a to 8b, possibly colder
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 34" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Afghanistan, China, Himalayan Mountains, Pakistan, Turkey
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $21.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Phemeranthus rugospermus 'Anderson'
Item #: 17490
Zones: 3b to 9a, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 10" 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 -
Phlox 'Bedazzled Lavender' PP 31,168
Item #: 14269
Zones: 4a to 7b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 4" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $20.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Phlox nivalis 'Eco Flirty Eyes'
Item #: 16626
Zones: 4a to 8b, at least
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 6" 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 -
Phlox stolonifera 'Weesie Smith'
Item #: 8635
Zones: 3a to 8b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 10" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $20.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Phlox subulata 'Candy Stripe'
Item #: 1419
Zones: 3a to 9b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 6" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $20.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Phlox subulata 'Nettleton's Variation'
Item #: 2940
Zones: 3a to 9b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 2" 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 -
Phyla nodiflora 'Ramble On'
Item #: 17820
Zones: 7b to 10b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 1" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $20.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Pleopeltis lepidopteris 'Morro dos Conventos'
Item #: 10774
Zones: 7b to 9b, at least
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 18" tall
Culture: Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Brazil
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $28.00Regular priceUnit price perSold out -
Sold out
Pteris vittata 'Benzilan'
Item #: 4255
Zones: 7b to 10b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 36" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: China
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $24.00Regular priceUnit price perNext crop available: 06/21/2024Sold out -
Pycnanthemum albescens 'Malcolm Vidrine'
Item #: 17623
Zones: 5a to 9b, 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 $22.00Regular priceUnit price perNext crop available: 06/14/2024Sold out -
Pycnanthemum tenuifolium 'Campbell Carpet'
Item #: 12812
Zones: 6a to 8b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 18" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $22.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Rosmarinus officinalis 'Arp'
Item #: 1268
Zones: 7a to 9b, possibly colder
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 84" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Mediterranean Europe
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $22.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Rubus pentalobus 'Emerald Carpet'
Item #: 729
Zones: 6a to 9b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 6" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Taiwan
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $21.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Salvia chamaedryoides
Item #: 688
Zones: 7a to 10b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 18" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Mexico
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $21.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Salvia darcyi 'Presidio'
Item #: 17484
Zones: 6a to 10b, possibly colder
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 54" 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 -
Salvia greggii 'Big Pink'
Item #: 2615
Zones: 7a to 10b, possibly colder
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 40" 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 -
Salvia greggii 'Diane'
Item #: 5082
Zones: 7a to 9b, at least
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 18" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Mexico, United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $22.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Salvia greggii 'Lipstick'
Item #: 3202
Zones: 7a to 10b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 36" 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 -
Salvia greggii 'Pink Preference'
Item #: 5042
Zones: 6a to 10b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 24" 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 -
Salvia greggii 'Teresa'
Item #: 7195
Zones: 7a to 9b, at least
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 36" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: 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.