Top 10 New Rooftop Plants for Your Garden That Will Make It beautiful

Many advantages come with a rooftop garden, including maximising outdoor space, improving aesthetics in buildings, and even making the environmental benefits of your property more significant. However, given the radical differences the rooftop often presents from traditional garden spaces, choosing the right plants for the rooftop garden requires a lot of careful thinking. Intensified sun, exposure to wind, and minimal space require that the plants be hardy, adaptable, and aesthetically pleasing.
Here are 15 of the finest rooftop plants that can really thrive in difficult conditions and add both beauty and functionality to your urban oasis:.

Top 10 New Rooftop Plants for Your Garden That Will Make It beautiful

1. Kousa Dogwood (Cornus kousa)

Hardiness Zone: 5
Height: Up to 30 feet
Sun Requirements: Full sun to partial shade

Kousa dogwood is an excellent choice for a rooftop garden, especially if you have space for a tree. While its larger cousin, the flowering dogwood, can grow to significant sizes, the Kousa dogwood remains relatively small and compact, growing around 30 feet at maturity. This tree has year-round interest with its springtime white or pink flowers, green summer foliage, and red-purple leaves in autumn. It tolerates tough conditions such as wind and full sun, making it an ideal choice for urban rooftop environments.
Perfect plants for focal points or as foundation plants, these dogwoods produce fruit, which, ripening in August, adds another interest element to the tree.

Top 10 New Rooftop Plants for Your Garden That Will Make It beautiful

2. Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick (Corylus avellana, ‘Contorta’)

Hardiness Zone: 4-8
Height: 10 feet
Sun Requirements: Full sun to partial shade

It’s a little quirky, deciduous shrub that is kind of an interesting addition to a rooftop garden. Contorted, twisted branches on Harry Lauder’s walking stick provide an interesting sculptural element, adding a lot of texture and visual appeal to the space. It grows well in a wide range of climates and tolerates full sun to partial shade. The heart-shaped leaves and beautifully branching structure can only be seen at its best during winter, since by this time all its leaves are shed and expose its twisted shape.
This shrub can be grown as a focal point alone or with other smaller plantings for a whimsy and eclectic garden design.

Top 10 New Rooftop Plants for Your Garden That Will Make It beautiful

3. ‘Blue Star’ Juniper (Juniperus squamata, ‘Blue Star’)

Hardiness Zone: 4-8
Height: 3 feet
Sun Requirements: Full sun

Blue Star’s juniper is a great filler for a low-maintenance, evergreen addition for a rooftop garden. Its compact shrub grows to about 3 feet tall with lovely silvery-blue needles that give them a striking appearance. Also, because of its low-growth habit, it perfects filling in between others and can also be used as a filler in containers within the garden. It has special drought tolerance and therefore can be specially used for rooftops as the dry times can sometimes occur during summers. Moreover, it tolerates wind greatly, and so its very vital for spaces in a rooftop garden.
This Blue Star’ Juniper makes cool-toned contrast in your rooftop garden. It works well when used with flowering plants or other evergreens to give interest all year long.

Top 10 New Rooftop Plants for Your Garden That Will Make It beautiful

4. Dwarf Hinoki Cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa, ‘Nana Lutea’)

Hardiness Zone: 5-9
Height: 3 feet
Sun Requirements: Full sun to partial shade

This slow-growing, evergreen tree is ideal for small rooftop gardens. Dwarf Hinoki Cypress has slender, fan-shaped foliage of yellowish-green. With this slow-growing plant being so small, it has no problem staying in little spaces or container gardens and prefers regular watering but dries out fairly well between waterings. Its neat, eye-catching shape gives it a nice fit into small spaces or containers.
This means that the Dwarf Hinoki Cypress is a reliable option for someone looking for a low-care but beautiful plant for their rooftop garden, due to its slow growth rate and minimal maintenance requirements.

Top 10 New Rooftop Plants for Your Garden That Will Make It beautiful

5. ‘Fanal’ Astilbe (Astilbe ‘Fanal’)

Hardiness Zone: 3-8
Height: 1.5 feet
Sun Requirements: Partial shade

Astilbe ‘Fanal’ is perfect for giving a pop of color in the shadier areas of your rooftop garden. This perennial produces rich, deep red flowers in mid-summer, rising on delicate stalks that give height and texture to the garden. Astilbe prefers moist soil, so it’s well-suited to areas with ample irrigation. However, if it dries out, the foliage can be crispy and unsightly.
Astilbe can be used to add energetic borders in shadier zones and thrives well in containers. It’s also an excellent choice for growers who want low-maintenance, colorful plants that could tolerate more temperate climates.

Top 10 New Rooftop Plants for Your Garden That Will Make It beautiful

6. Hosta (Hosta spp.)

Hardiness Zone: 3-8
Height: 1-3 feet
Sun Requirements: Partial to full shade

Hostas have lush, vibrant foliage and are, therefore, the perfect perennials to cultivate a wonderful foliage-based garden. These perennial flowers will grow well dappled or in partial shades, so they are perfect for some of those less sunny patches of your rooftop. You will be able to blend all the many shapes, sizes, and colors of hostas that come in an infinite variety to create layered, textured designs for your garden.
Hostas also require very little maintenance and are an excellent choice for rooftop gardens, where space may be limited and you need plants that can thrive without constant attention.

Top 10 New Rooftop Plants for Your Garden That Will Make It beautiful

7. Ajuga (Ajuga reptans)

Hardiness Zone: 3-9
Height: 6 inches
Sun Requirements: Full sun to partial shade

Ajuga is known as bugleweed but is a low-growing perennial that spreads quickly, making it ideal for ground cover in a rooftop garden. It attracts hummingbirds and butterflies with its glossy foliage and spikes of blue flowers. Its low-growing nature makes it work exceptionally well in windier rooftop environments.
Plant this hardy ground cover to create lush carpeting between taller plants, or use it for filling in the base of container gardens. Its versatility for partial shade makes it adaptable to a variety of rooftop conditions.

Top 10 New Rooftop Plants for Your Garden That Will Make It beautiful

8. English Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)

Hardiness Zone: 5-9
Height: 1.5 feet
Sun Requirements: Full sun

Lavender is an aromatic, drought-tolerant perennial that thrives on rooftops under full sun. The sweetly fragrant English lavender will add scent and texture to your rooftop garden. The silvery-green foliage with purple spikes is attractive for containers or garden beds. Lavender attracts pollinators, making it an excellent plant to encourage bees and butterflies to visit your rooftop.
Lavender can be used as a border plant, in pots, or in a Mediterranean-inspired rooftop garden, bringing a soothing, aromatic atmosphere.

Top 10 New Rooftop Plants for Your Garden That Will Make It beautiful

9. Daylily (Hemerocallis spp.)

Hardiness Zone: 3-9
Height: 1-2 feet
Sun Requirements: Full sun

Daylilies are flexible, hardy plants that can handle the extreme conditions of the rooftop garden. Vibrant blooms, which range widely in color, add the pop of color in a sunny spot. They can be used in the environment because they are low in maintenance and resistant to pests. Daylilies fit well into small garden beds and containers with their strap-like foliage and compact shape.
Plant daylilies in groups or as feature plants to add color and texture to full-sun areas of your rooftop garden.

Top 10 New Rooftop Plants for Your Garden That Will Make It beautiful

10. Lamb’s Ears (Stachys byzantina)

Hardiness Zone: 4-10
Height: 1 foot
Sun Requirements: Full sun to partial shade

Lamb’s ears are a great touch-and-feel plant with soft, silvery-gray foliage. This is a great versatile plant that can be used in low-growing borders or at the front of flower beds to add beauty and interest. Its drought tolerance makes it an excellent choice for containers, and it’s ideal for rooftop gardens.

The purple blooms of the plant are lovely but can become leggy at times. However, regular trimming encourages fresh growth and helps maintain a neat, compact shape. Lamb’s ears not only add beauty to your garden but also serve as an interactive plant for children, offering a soft, touchable texture for exploration.

The contrast that lamb’s ears provide against the more rigid forms of other plants is gentle, so it doesn’t create any form of unbalance in a garden. It’s a tactile quality and soft accent that will add charm and functionality to an outdoor space.

Top 10 New Rooftop Plants for Your Garden That Will Make It beautiful

Top 10 New Rooftop Plants for Your Garden That Will Make It beautiful

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Top 10 New Rooftop Plants for Your Garden That Will Make It beautiful

Top 10 New Rooftop Plants for Your Garden That Will Make It beautiful