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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Asplenium tutwilerae
Item #: 5360
Zones: 5a to 8b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 6" tall
Culture: Light Shade
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $23.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Aster mongolicus 'Hortensis'
Item #: 1219
Zones: 6a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 20" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Asia
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $23.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Aster savatieri 'Edo Murasaki'
Item #: 9582
Zones: 5a to 8b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 15" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Japan
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $23.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Astrolepis sinuata
Item #: 3763
Zones: 7a to 9b, at least
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 12" 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 -
Astrolepis sinuata 'Parker Creek'
Item #: 7066
Zones: 7b to 9b, at least
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 12" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Mexico, United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $24.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Athyrium filix-femina 'Victoriae'
Item #: 2361
Zones: 3a to 8b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 18" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Europe, United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $23.00Regular priceUnit price per
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Athyrium 'Ghost'
Item #: 3881
Zones: 3a to 8b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 30" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $23.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Athyrium 'Godzilla'
Item #: 8169
Zones: 5a to 8b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 36" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $23.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Athyrium niponicum 'Burgundy Lace'
Item #: 5105
Zones: 4a to 8b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 18" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: China, Japan
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $23.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Athyrium niponicum 'Silver Falls'
Item #: 3889
Zones: 4a to 8b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 20" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Shade
Origin: Japan
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $23.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Athyrium 'Ocean's Fury' PP 20,126
Item #: 7817
Zones: 3a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 36" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $25.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Athyrium sheareri
Item #: 4853
Zones: 5a to 8b, at least
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 8" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: China, Japan, Korea
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $23.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Begonia 'Caribbean Star'
Item #: 13026
Zones: 8a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 24" tall
Culture: Light Shade
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $23.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Begonia 'Cotes de Castillon'
Item #: 12822
Zones: 7b to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 20" tall
Culture: Light Shade
Origin: Malaysia
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $23.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Begonia grandis 'Pink Teardrops'
Item #: 11863
Zones: 5a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 24" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Shade
Origin: China
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $22.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Begonia 'Harvest Moon' PP 34,895
Item #: 18450
Zones: 7b to 8b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 20" tall
Culture: Light Shade
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $23.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Begonia 'Smooch'
Item #: 7517
Zones: 6a to 8b, guessing
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 16" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $22.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Begonia sp. 'Pewterware'
Item #: 8534
Zones: 8b to 10b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 18" tall
Culture: Light Shade
Origin: Malaysia
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $23.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Begonia 'Sterling Moon' PP 33,164
Item #: 18448
Zones: 7b to 8b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 24" tall
Culture: Light Shade
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $23.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Beschorneria septentrionalis 'Fairey Christmas'
Item #: 2704
Zones: 7b to 10b, at least
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 60" tall
Culture: Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Mexico
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $27.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Bletilla ochracea 'Dawn's Early Light'
Item #: 18849
Zones: 7a to 9b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 30" tall
Culture: Part Sun
Origin: China, Vietnam
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $36.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Bletilla striata
Item #: 754
Zones: 6a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 30" tall
Culture: Part Sun
Origin: Burma/Myanmar, China, Japan, Korea
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $29.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Bletilla striata 'Albostriata'
Item #: 1859
Zones: 6a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 24" tall
Culture: Part Sun
Origin: Eastern Asia, Japan
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $29.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Bletilla striata 'First Kiss'
Item #: 3004
Zones: 6a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 24" tall
Culture: Part Sun
Origin: Eastern Asia
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $30.00Regular 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.