Living walls or green walls and the plants that grow on them are similar in concept to green roofs, but are quite different in execution. While green-roof plants are usually low-maintenance, drought-tolerant species, plants for living walls can include more intensively managed species. Here at Plant Delights Nursery, we have an enormous on-line plant catalog and have searched through it to create this mini-catalog of plants for living green walls that look great hanging out in the garden.
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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 -
Pyrrosia lingua 'Alabama Gold'
Item #: 4104
Zones: 7b 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 $30.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Sold outPyrrosia lingua 'Corymbifera'
Item #: 1507
Zones: 7b to 10b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 12" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Shade
Origin: China, Japan, Taiwan
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $30.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Sold outPyrrosia polydactyla
Item #: 2145
Zones: 7b to 10b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 12" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Shade
Origin: Taiwan
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $30.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Pyrrosia subfurfuracea 'Red China'
Item #: 14901
Zones: 7b to 10b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 15" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Shade
Origin: China
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $30.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Remusatia pumila 'Mini Mask'
Item #: 5186
Zones: 7b to 10b
Dormancy: Winter, Spring
Height: 14" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Shade
Origin: China, India
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $25.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Rhynchospora colorata
Item #: 4757
Zones: 7a to 10b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 15" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $22.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Rhynchospora latifolia 'Class of Charleston'
Item #: 18087
Zones: 7a to 10b, 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 $24.00Regular priceUnit price per
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Rohdea japonica 'Wrath of Kan'
Item #: 18319
Zones: 6a to 10b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 20" tall
Culture: Light Shade to Shade
Origin: Japan
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $35.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Rohdea japonica 'Yori-Kaku-no-Matsa'
Item #: 12928
Zones: 6a to 10b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 8" tall
Culture: Light Shade to Shade
Origin: Japan
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $32.00Regular 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 -
Ruellia elegans 'Ragin' Cajun'
Item #: 8832
Zones: 7b to 10b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 48" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Argentina, Brazil
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $21.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Sold outRuellia sp. 'Humility'
Item #: 16728
Zones: 5b to 9a
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 16" 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 -
Ruscus aculeatus 'Elizabeth Lawrence'
Item #: 5932
Zones: 7a to 9b, at least
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 24" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Shade
Origin: England, Iran, Mediterranean Europe, Southern Europe
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $29.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Sold outRuscus aculeatus 'Wheeler's'
Item #: 1371
Zones: 7a to 9b, possibly colder
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 54" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: England, Iran, Mediterranean Europe, Southern Europe
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $39.00Regular 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 $22.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Sold outSalvia 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 farinacea 'Henry Duelberg'
Item #: 6822
Zones: 7b 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 per -
Salvia 'Feathers Peacock' PP 33,993
Item #: 18547
Zones: 4a to 8a
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 16" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $21.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Salvia guaranitica 'Black and Blue'
Item #: 2016
Zones: 7a to 10b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 36" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Brazil
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $21.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Salvia guaranitica 'Van Remsen'
Item #: 8363
Zones: 7a to 10b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 84" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Argentina, Brazil
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $21.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Salvia koyamae
Item #: 1269
Zones: 4b to 10b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 24" 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 -
Salvia regla 'Jame'
Item #: 1626
Zones: 7b to 10b, possibly colder
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 48" 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 -
Salvia 'Rockin' ® Deep Purple' PP 30,206
Item #: 16698
Zones: 8a to 10b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 60" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $20.00Regular priceUnit price per
More Information About Living Wall
The Best Plants for Interior Living Walls
Some green walls/living walls are interior-scape structures that contain evergreen foliage plants and flowering plants embedded in a vertical hydroponic rack. The plants embedded in the interior living wall are like living wallpaper. Large scale interior living walls can be seen in luxury hotel lobbies, large malls or airports. The best plants for these types of green living walls are deep shade-tolerant species with arching foliage such as aspidistra, evergreen ferns, heuchera and heucherella.
The Best Plants for Outdoor Living Walls
Most living wall installations occur outdoors, on patio walls. The plants for these green living walls need to be more sun tolerant, and since they are outdoors also need to be tolerant of weather. In addition to the plants listed above, sedum and other succulents can be used, as can ornamental grasses like carex, liriope and ophiopogon. Outdoor green living walls tend to change color throughout the season which is a nice effect.
Backyard Green Living Walls
On the smallest scale, are backyard green living walls. These can be as simple as hanging a terra-cotta pot on a wall or fence, trellising a small tree or vine along a wall, or installing a small planter with a picture frame around it. The plants in small scale living walls may be irrigated by hand or with drip tube. Small scale living walls don't necessarily need to contain just evergreen plants. Thus, backyard green living walls are the most flexible of all. Some of our favorite plants for small scale green living walls are agave, dicentra, helleborus, lobelia, salvia, rubus and acorus.