Back to Plant Lists

PLANTS FOR ROCK GARDENS

This form is also available here in printable format
(Word 6.0/95/2000 DOC - 97.5kb).

Dwarf shrubs and low-growing forms of evergreens COMMON NAME SCIENTIFIC NAME Barberries, creeping Berberis spp. Boxwoods Buxus spp. Cotoneasters Cotoneaster spp. Euonymus Euonymus spp. False Cypresses Chamaecyparis spp. Junipers Juniperus spp. Hemlocks Tsuga spp. Pines Pinus spp. Spruces Picea spp. Tamarack, Larch Larix spp. Perennials with evergreen foliage to add Winter interest COMMON NAME SCIENTIFIC NAME Stonecrops Sedum spp. Hens-and-chickens Sempervivum spp. Candytuft Iberis sempervivum spp. Some Spring and Summer-blooming perennials COMMON NAME SCIENTIFIC NAME Ajuga Ajuga reptans Basket-of-gold Aurinia saxatilis Bellflowers, Dwarf Campanula spp. Catmints Nepeta spp. Columbines Aquilegia spp. Coral Bells Heuchera sanguinea Creeping Jenny Lysimachia nummularia Flag, Sweet Acorus calamus Flag, Yellow Iris pseudacorus Goldenrods, Dwarf Solidago spp. Harebell, Carpathian Campanula carpatica Iris, crested Dwarf Iris cristata Iris, Yellow Flag Iris pseudacorus Iris, Dwarf Iris pumila Iris, Siberian Iris siberica Phlox, Creeping Phlox subulata Pinks Dianthus spp. Primroses Primula spp. Saxifrage, early Saxifraga virginiensis Saxifrages Saxifraga spp. Thymes Thymus spp. Windflowers Anemone spp. Low-growing grasses for rock gardens COMMON NAME SCIENTIFIC NAME HEIGHT Blue Fescue Festuca ovina v. glauca 15-30 cm Blue Fescue, Large Festuca pulchella 40 cm Bluegrass, Alpine Poa alpina 20 cm Blue Hair Grass Koeleria glauca 35 cm Bluestem, Little Schizachyrium scoparium 30-90 cm Bottlebrush, Squirreltail Sitanon hystrix 15-30 cm Sweet Grass Hierochloe odorata 40 cm Tall grasses to create a backdrop for the rock garden COMMON NAME SCIENTIFIC NAME HEIGHT Bluestem, Big Andropogon gerardii 150-180 cm Bluestem, Little Schizachyrium scoparium 30-90 cm Brome Grass, Fringed Prairie Bromus kalmii 100 cm Brome Grass, Mountain Bromus marginatus 60-100 cm Blue-Bunch Wheatgrass Elymus spicatus 60-90 cm Canada Wild Rye Elymus canadensis 180 cm Fountain Grass Pennisetum alopecuroides 60-120 cm Great Basin Wild Rye Elymus cinereus 90-150 cm Indian Grass Sorghastrum nutans 180 cm Indian Rice Grass Oryzopsis hymenoides 40-90 cm Moor Grass Molinia caerulea 90 cm Prairie Cord Grass Spartina pectinata 150 cm Prairie Drop Seed Sporobolus heterolepis 100 cm Quaking Grass Briza media 75 cm Sweet Grass Hierochloe odorata 40 cm Switch Grass Panicum virgatum 120-240 cm Tufted Hair Grass Deschampsia caespitosa 60-90 cm Plants for shaded rock gardens COMMON NAME SCIENTIFIC NAME Plantain lilies Hosta spp. Christmas Fern Polystichum acrostichoides Cinnamon Fern Osmunda cinnamonea Deer Fern Blechnum spicant Evergreen Wood Fern Dryopteris intermedia Hay-scented Fern Dennstaedtia punctilobula Maidenhair Fern Adiantum pedatum Marginal Shield Fern Dryopteris marginalis Ostrich Fern Matteuccia struthiopteris Sensitive Fern Onoclea sensibilis Shade-loving wildflowers   Hardy bulbs for shade or sun COMMON NAME SCIENTIFIC NAME Narcissi, Dwarf Narcissus spp. Squills Scilla spp. Snowdrops Galanthus spp. Water plants for a moist rock gardens COMMON NAME SCIENTIFIC NAME Fern, Marsh Thelypteris palustris Flag, Sweet Acorus calamus Flag, Yellow Iris pseudacorus Japanese primrose Primula japonica Lotus Nelumbo nucifera or Nelumbo lutea Marigold, Marsh Caltha palustris Pickerel Weed Pontederia cordata Pond Lily, small Nuphar microphyllum Rice, Wild Zizania aquatica Zizania aquatica Chelone lyonii Water Lily Nymphaea hybrid Sedges for moist areas COMMON NAME SCIENTIFIC NAME HEIGHT Gray's Sedge, Morning Star Sedge Carex grayii 60-90 cm Palm-Branched Sedge Carex muskingumensis 75 cm [ Back to top ]