The best living wall plants: top plants for shady or semi-shady outdoor green walls and some to avoid

Varieties include: Sarcococca confusa, Sarcococca hookeriana and Sarcococca ruscifolia.
Accolades: RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM); RHS plants for pollinators.
Description: Small bushy evergreen with glossy leaves and fragrant flowers in late winter and berries in the summer.
Position: Full shade or partial shade.
Soil conditions: Moist, but well drained.
Growth expectations in living wall: 40-60cm.
Why we love it: The glossy foliage of Sarcococca looks stunning in a shady, sheltered living walls. It flowers with amazing fragrance in late winter when nothing else does. Great for pollinators.
Maintenance: A light trim after flowering in early spring.
Image: Sarcococca confusa, Dan Wetherall, Pritchard & Pritchard.

Varieties include: Fatsia japonica; Fatsia japonica ‘Spider’s Web’; Fatsia japonica ‘Variegata’.
Accolades: RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM); RHS plants for pollinators.
Description: Evergreen shrub with large lobed glossy fig-like leaves with prominent clusters of small white flowers in autumn.
Position: Full shade or partial shade.
Soil conditions: Moist, but well drained.
Growth expectations in living wall: Depends on root space and pruning. Typically, 50cm – 1m
Why we love it: This is a large bold plant that looks stunning in a shady living walls. Great for pollinators.
Maintenance: Needs to be pruned regularly to keep it in the allotted space.
Image: Fatsia japonica by Janet Tarbox.

Many ferns work in shady living walls, including the UK natives such as Asplenium scolopendrium, a.k.a. hart’s tongue fern, Asplenium trichomanoides, a.k.a. maidenhair spleenwort, Polystichum setiferum a.k.a. soft shield fern, Polypodium vulgare, a.k.a. common polypody.
Accolades: RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM): asplenium scolopendrium, Asplenium trichomanoides, Polystichum setiferum.
Description: Evergreen and semi-evergreen ferns bring an array of different green foliage, from the strap-shaped fronds of the hart’s tongue fern to the delicate pinnate fronds of the maidenhair or polypody. Many are found naturally colonising vertical landscapes, making them excellent choices for living walls.
Position: Full shade or partial shade.
Soil conditions: Moist.
Growth expectations in living wall: 20-40 cm.
Why we love them: Ferns are an essential part of any green wall or part of green wall that is not in full sun. The unfurling of the new fronds in spring are a joy to behold.
Maintenance: Remove the old fronds in spring.
Images: Asplenium scolopendrium by Evelyn Simak; Asplenium trichomanoides by Lazaregagnidze; Polypodium vulgare by Anneli Salo; Polystichum setiferum by Marc Ryckaert.

Accolades: RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM); RHS plants for pollinators; British Beekeepers Association: shrubs for bees.
Description:
Vigorous evergreen shrub with glossy dark green slightly prickly foliage, with good autumn winter colour. Lots of eye-catching yellow flowers in spring followed by black berries.
Position: Full shade or partial shade.
Soil conditions:
Moist, but well drained.
Growth expectations in living wall: 75cm.
Why we love it: Mahonia is a versatile plant with attractive foliage that makes it stand out in the wall, especially when planted in blocks or drifts. But it really comes into its own when it bursts into flower – loved by bees and people alike.
Maintenance: Pruning mid to late spring after flowing will prevent mahonia from becoming woody.
Image: Apollonio Tottoli

There are many variegated forms of the common ivy which are slow growing or compact such as ‘Midas touch’, ‘Golden Ingot’ or ‘Ice Cream’ while being attractive and wildlife friendly. Ivy provides food for and shelter for birds in winter.
Accolades: RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM) and RHS plants for pollinators: ‘Midas touch’, ‘Golden Ingot’, ‘Ice Cream’.
Description: Ivy is a versatile plant that will climb or dangle. Choose a slow-growing or compact variety that can be easily kept in check. The variegated forms have evergreen leaves with cream, yellow or white splashes on triangular, heart-shaped or 3 to 5-lobed leaves. Small, rounded clusters of greenish flowers appear in late autumn, followed by black berries. They are a valuable food source for pollinators and birds in scarce times.
Position: Full sun, partial shade, full shade.
Soil conditions: Moist, but well drained.
Growth expectations in living wall: Compact forms grow to 1m.
Why we love it: Ivy looks great dangling in a shady wall, bringing great colour and texture, with attractive flower heads in autumn and berries in winter. Ivy is excellent for pollinators and birds.
Maintenance: Trim out any green growth to maintain the variegation, trim to keep in the allotted space.
Image: Hedera helix ‘Midas touch’ by Krzysztof Ziarnek

Accolades: RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM)
Description: An evergreen clump-forming sedge with thin leaves each with a central yellow stripe, with brown flower spikes in summer.
Position: Full sun or partial shade
Soil conditions: Moist, but well drained.
Growth expectations in living wall: 30-40cm
Why we love it: Carex Evergold is a well-behaved, trouble-free plant, needing little maintenance and providing elegant variegated grass-like foliage in a semi-shady wall.
Maintenance: Cut out any dead leaves in summer.
Image: Carex oshimensis ‘Evergold’ by Dan Wetherall, Pritchard & Pritchard.

Varieties include: Iris foetidissima; Iris foetidissima ‘Variegata’.
Accolades: RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM).
Description: An evergreen perennial, with glossy long leaves. It has yellow and purple flowers in summer followed by bright orange-red seeds, which last into winter. The variegated form has cream-striped leaves.
Position: Full sun, partial shade or full shade.
Soil conditions Moist, but well drained.
Growth expectations in living wall: 40 cm, upright habit.
Why we love it: Iris foetidissima is a useful plant for deep shade. While the flowers are attractive, the berries are a standout feature.
Maintenance: Remove dead leaves in autumn.
Image: Iris foetidissima by Christophe Quintin

Varieties include: Persicaria bistorta ‘Superba’, Persicaria bistorta ‘Hohe Tatra’.
Accolades: RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM): Persicaria bistorta ‘Superba’, ‘Hohe Tatra’; RHS plants for pollinators.
Description: Persicaria bistorta is a vigorous rhizomatous perennial native to the UK. It has long ovate leaves and a sea of pink flowers on spikes in summer and autumn.
Position: Full sun or partial shade.
Soil conditions: Moist, but well drained.
Growth expectations in living wall: 75cm.
Why we love it: Not only does Persicaria bistorta put on a fabulous display through summer and into autumn, it is one of few plants beloved by bees that is happy in semi-shade.
Maintenance: Deadhead old flower spikes, to encourage repeat flowering.
Image: Persicaria bistorta by Lairich Rig.

Accolades: RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM); RHS plants for pollinators.
Description: Escallonia is a small, bushy evergreen shrub with glossy leaves. In summer it produces masses of pink flowers. It will often flower again in autumn.
Position: Full sun or partial shade.
Soil conditions: Moist, but well drained.
Growth expectations in living wall: 50cm.
Why we love it: Escallonia is an attractive, compact and rounded shrub, that puts on an excellent display of showy flowers in Summer.
Maintenance: Requires pruning annually after flowering to ensure it doesn’t outgrow its allotted space.
Image: Plantnet

Description: Creeping perennial with small round leaves and tiny pinkish white flowers in summer. The branching stems root as they spread, forming a dense mat of foliage.
Position: Full shade or partial shade.
Soil conditions: Moist, but well drained.
Growth expectations in living wall: 10cm, with limitless spread.
Why we love it: Soleirolia soleirolii is a very useful plant for covering the parts wall where other plants struggle to grow, including areas where other plants overhang.
Maintenance: Despite its small size it spreads with impressive speed, so it needs to be kept in check.
Images: Soleirolia soleirolii by Aroche

Plants to avoid in a shady wall:

• Avoid sun lovers, obviously, these will fail in a shady wall.
• Care should also be taken when planning the position of all plants in shady walls. Plants that are tolerant of semi-shade, but not full shade should not be placed too far down the wall or under plants that will grow too large.
• Avoid high maintenance plants, particularly in walls where access is an issue.
• Avoid perennials that will look scruffy or leave big gaps in the wall when they die back in autumn.
• Avoid plants that are affected by fungus, such as powdery mildew.
• Avoid plants that are affected by pests such as slugs, aphids, leaf hopper, spider mite and vine weevil.

Some species that we are cautious about including in our green wall planting plans:

Heuchera – many species of heuchera look amazing in living walls when they are installed, but some species commonly used in living walls can suffer from infestations of vine weevil, particularly the lava, which attacks the roots.
Bergenia – Bergenia, with its large foliage also look amazing in living walls when they are installed, but commonly used Bergenia varieties are also likely to be attacked by vine weevil.
Euphorbias – many species of Euphorbia work well in shady living walls, but some species are susceptible to leaf hopper damage and powdery mildew. The sap of many Euphorbias is can cause irritation or burning to skin, so it is best to avoid walls that are accessible by children including family homes, public area and schools etc.

Image: Vine weevil on Bergenia leaf, by David Short.

If you found this guide useful, you should also read: The ultimate guide to plants for biosolar roofs. With the help of leading botanists, ecologists, environmentalists and wildflower experts, we have compiled a species mix that is well-suited to roofs that combine living roofs with photovoltaic panels. We believe the perfect biosolar plant mix should be a compromise between plants that are:

• Beneficial for wildlife, including pollinators.
• Beneficial for plant biodiversity, including endangered species.
• Of moderate sizes (ideally 60cm height or less), or taller plants that can be kept in check through regular maintenance.
• Can grow in extreme roof-top conditions, coping with wind, lack of shade, other forms of extreme weather.
• Plants that will grow in shady, drier conditions (under the panels).
• Easily self-propagate, but are not invasive.
• Perennial and annuals.