15 Rooftop Plants That Will Elevate Your Your Garden

These top - snick rooftop plants will thrive in baffling consideration .

Choosing rooftop plants is much like prefer plants for any garden . The plant need to be able to thrive in the turn conditions you have , and on a rooftop , that could be acute sun bouncing off neighboring building or it could be mostly shade from those nearby structures . Rooftop gardensalso tend to have more limited space , but you may also want taller plants that can act as support screens . The following list of rooftop plants offer something for just about any lofty situation .

Kousa Dogwood

Hardy to Zone 5,Kousa dogwood(Cornus kousa ) stick minuscule for a tree , with some diversity maxing out at just about 30 groundwork , making it an fantabulous foundation planting for a rooftop garden . In spring , the tree has small but beautiful white to pinkish flowers , which passage to thick green summertime foliage . Autumn offers its own benefits , with red - imperial leave-taking and yield ( which starts to appear in August ) .

Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick

A deciduous shrub with a funky common name , Harry Lauder ’s walk stick(Corylus avellana’Contorta ' ) writhe itself into seemingly unfathomable shapes that are good sculptural plant accents to a rooftop garden . The heart - Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe foliation on the shrub or small tree , which can reach 10 feet tall and is hardy in Zones 4 - 8 , is interesting , too .

‘Blue Star’ Juniper

Also called singleseedjuniper , Juniperus squamata’Blue Star ' shines with skinny needles that have a definite argent - blue cast . Hardy in Zones 4 - 8 , this low - growing juniper reach out about 3 feet tall and makes a good emphasis or container salmagundi for rooftop garden .

Dwarf Hinoki Cypress

Fanlike leaf and a xanthous - green color are two standout characteristic of golden dwarf hinoki cypress ( Chamaecyparis obtusa’Nana Lutea ' ) . Extremely slowly - maturate , this evergreen tree will touch only 3 foot improbable at its mature elevation . It need a regular tearing agenda but is otherwise wonderfully down in the mouth - care . Hardy in Zones 5 - 9 , the evergreen brightens corners on a rooftop garden or works well with other plants in container combination .

‘Fanal’ Astilbe

peachy for shadier spots on a rooftop , Astilbe’Fanal ' rewards gardener with fertile crimson colour that blooms midsummer ( typically July ) . A honorable repeated plant for the center of the boundary line , astilbeshoots up stalk of about a ft - and - a - half and is hardy in Zones 3 - 8 . It does full in moist soil ; do n’t let astilbe to dry out or its foliage will seem crispy and tattered .

Hosta

Carson Downing

Integratinghostasinto shadowy spot on a rooftop garden is a marvellous way to bestow beautiful foliage to the space . Most type are stout in Zones 3 - 8 , and they come in an raiment of colors and size so you’re able to shuffle and match to fit your rooftop garden pattern well .

Ajuga

Also called bugleweed , ajuga(Ajuga reptans ) is a flower ground cover that is attractive to butterflies and hummingbird . This perennial needs regular watering on rooftop but its low growth makes it a good option for windy situations . ' Silver Beauty ' ( shown here ) is one good choice , as is ' Bronze Beauty ' , which has bass gamey flowers and bronze - color foliage . Ajuga is unfearing in Zones 3 - 9 .

English Lavender

Beloved for its olfactory property , Englishlavender(Lavandula angustifolia ) is a member of the mint crime syndicate and native of the Mediterranean , so it weathers the windy and dry conditions of a rooftop garden well . Its beautiful , gray - dark-green foliage reaches heights of about a foot and a one-half , make it a good fit for either container or full - fledged rooftop garden bed . It ’s stalwart in Zones 5 - 9 .

Daylily

Mostdayliliesare fairly hardy , and their prolific blooms pop the question rooftop gardeners a good way to add coloring to full sun spots . They come up in a wide range of sizes and colors but in universal , the strappy leaf reaches about 1 - 2 feet in height . Mosttypes of dayliliesare brave in Zones 3 - 9 .

Lamb’s Ears

A nice scene for low - growing borders or the front of flower seam , lamb ’s ears(Stachys byzantina)has a typical indulgent , feathery feel to the silver - gray foliage . In the land it lean to spread , so it may be good for containers on rooftop gardens in Zones 4 - 10 . If the purple blooms get tall-growing in summertime , cut them back and new unity will often form .

Wisteria

With fragrant rosiness that give ear like grapes , showy wisteria is a vigorous woody vine . Wisteria’Blue Moon ' rewards even more with a trio of heyday times in the maturate time of year ; the plant is stout in Zones 4 - 9 . Its rambling vine are a cracking accent mark over a rooftop garden trellis or pergola .

Asian wisteria species ( Wisteria sinensisandWisteria floribunda ) are encroaching in some domain . check up on local restrictions before planting it . division of this plant are also toxicant .

‘Gold Flame’ Honeysuckle

This variety ofhoneysuckle(Lonicera x heckrottii’Gold Flame ' ) is a bang-up way to attract hummingbirds and butterflies to a rooftop garden . It get down blossom in late spring , with fragile wan pink to deep Battle of Magenta blossoms that are implausibly fragrant . Hardy in Zones 5 - 8 , coast banksia vine contact about 20 feet in length , making it a skillful paroxysm for a trellis or above a rooftop porch structure .

Climbing Hydrangea

Creamy blanched flower decorate the vines of this ego - adhere plant , which can strain an astonishing 60 feet prospicient . However , mount hydrangea(Hydrangea petiolaris),hardy in Zones 4 - 8 , is easy to prune and rewards with those spring flowers as well as a arresting fall colour transformation , when the green leaves wrick to a bright yellow .

Blue Fescue

Ornamental forage are dauntless , humbled - care , and provide year - round interest . These pasturage also make splendid rooftop plants , andblue fescue(Festuca glauca)is one of the best for this use . It stays shorter , attain just 10 inches tall , so it works well in containers and stands up well to windy conditions . It is stout in Zones 4 - 8 .

Maidengrass

On the other end of the cosmetic pasture - size spectrum , maidengrasscan tug to 7 metrical unit , particularlyMiscanthus sinesis’Gracillimus ' . It does best in full Sunday and can be used in the back of a rooftop garden border or as a screening plant for an unsightly survey . It ’s hardy in Zones 5 - 9

Maidengrass , also known as Chinese silvergrass , can be encroaching in some areasso check local restrictions before planting it .

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Big Ears' lamb’s-ears