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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Bletilla 'Weaver's Pink'
Item #: 13483
Zones: 7a to 10b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 40" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $38.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Bletilla x yokohama 'Sweet Lips'
Item #: 8927
Zones: 7a to 9b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 24" tall
Culture: Part Sun
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $32.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Sold out
Boehmeria nivea 'Solar Eclipse'
Item #: 10644
Zones: 6a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 36" 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 perNext crop available: 04/26/2024Sold out -
Bouvardia ternifolia 'Scarlet Hummer'
Item #: 4943
Zones: 7b to 10b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 24" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Mexico, United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $26.00Regular priceUnit price perNext crop available: 04/19/2024Sold out -
Brunnera macrophylla 'Alexander's Great' PP 25,789
Item #: 6251
Zones: 3a to 7b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 15" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Mediterranean Europe
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $22.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost'
Item #: 3367
Zones: 3a to 7b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 12" tall
Culture: Light Shade to Shade
Origin: Mediterranean Europe
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $22.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack of Diamonds' PPAF
Item #: 15742
Zones: 3a to 7b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 14" tall
Culture: Light Shade to Shade
Origin: Mediterranean Europe
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $22.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Brunnera macrophylla 'Queen of Hearts' PP 32,737
Item #: 15741
Zones: 3a to 7b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 18" tall
Culture: Light Shade to Shade
Origin: Mediterranean Europe
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $22.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Calamintha nepeta var. nepeta
Item #: 3501
Zones: 5a to 8a, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 20" tall
Culture: Sun
Origin: Southern Europe
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $21.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Calanthe discolor
Item #: 2617
Zones: 6b to 9b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 10" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Japan
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $60.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Calanthe 'Kozu Spice'
Item #: 650
Zones: 7a to 9b, possibly colder
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 10" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Shade
Origin: Hybrid
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $65.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Sold out
Calanthe sieboldii
Item #: 1861
Zones: 7a to 9b, possibly colder
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 $72.00Regular priceUnit price perNext crop available: 05/17/2024Sold out -
Calanthe 'Takane'
Item #: 2330
Zones: 7a to 9a
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 8" tall
Culture: Light Shade to Shade
Origin: Hybrid, Japan
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $65.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Callirhoe involucrata
Item #: 1839
Zones: 4a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 6" tall
Culture: Sun to Part Sun
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $21.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Callirhoe involucrata var. tenuissima
Item #: 1995
Zones: 4a to 9b
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 6" 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 -
Sold out
Calylophus berlandieri 'Gold Foil'
Item #: 17463
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 perNext crop available: 04/19/2024Sold out -
Campanula poscharskyana 'Camgood'
Item #: 8037
Zones: 4a to 7b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 8" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Balkans
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $21.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Cardamine quinquefolia
Item #: 10148
Zones: 6a to 8b, guessing
Dormancy: Summer, Fall
Height: 6" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Asia Minor, Bulgaria, Caucasus Mountains, Iran, Southern Europe, Turkey
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $22.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Carex appalachica
Item #: 5793
Zones: 4a to 7b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 6" tall
Culture: Light Shade to Shade
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $21.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Carex bromoides
Item #: 12439
Zones: 4a to 8b, at least
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 6" tall
Culture: Sun to Shade
Origin: Canada, United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $21.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Carex cherokeensis 'Crying Time'
Item #: 16663
Zones: 6a to 9b, possibly colder
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 30" 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 -
Carex conica 'Hime'
Item #: 95
Zones: 5a to 9b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 10" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Shade
Origin: Japan
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $21.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Carex divulsa
Item #: 8932
Zones: 4a to 10b
Dormancy: Evergreen
Height: 15" tall
Culture: Part Sun to Light Shade
Origin: Europe
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $21.00Regular priceUnit price per -
Carex eburnea
Item #: 1602
Zones: 2a to 8b, possibly warmer
Dormancy: Winter
Height: 6" tall
Culture: Sun to Shade
Origin: United States
Pot Size: 3.5" pot (24 fl. oz/0.7 L)
Regular price $22.00Regular 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.