Table of Contents
Plants for rock gardens varies because the structure of the rock is different that of soil. Before planting flowers you should know about flower character, where it can grow at the weather it can grow after knowing these things now can plant flowers. Now, you just need to take care of it to grow.
A. Plants for Rock Garden
1. Yellow Alyssum (Aurinia saxatilis)
Yellow Alyssum is also known as a common name for a basket of gold, golden tuft alyssum, golden alyssum, golden Alison, gold-dust, golden-tuft alyssum, golden-tuft madwort, and rock madwort. This is a small, rounded, evergreen everlasting that can get bigger from 4 to 12 inches high, establishing a heap up to 16-20 inches across. The flowers are clear yellow, but the numerous cultivars prepare flowers in white, cream, lemon, peach, or gold.
USDA Growing Zones: 3 to 7
Color Differences: Yellow
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Soil Required: Dry, average to sandy, well-draining
2. Ice Plant (Delosperma cooperi)
It is a small perennial plant found in South Africa. It makes a dense lawn with generous, long-lasting flowers. It can achieve sizes of nearly 10–15 cm (4–6 inches) tall, with fleshy leaves that are linear and simple and can get bigger up to 1.5 inches long and a trailing stem that swing down. These plants for rock gardens are suitable.
USDA Growing Zones: 6 to 10
Color Differences: Red-purple
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Soil Required: Average to poor, dry, well-draining
3. Angelina Stonecrop (Sedum rupestre ‘Angelina’)
Sedum is a huge sub-division of flowering plants in the group of Crassulaceae, members of which are mostly called stonecrops. The sub-division has been termed as having up to 600 members, decreased to 400–500. They are leaf succulents available mostly in the Northern Hemisphere, but expanding into the southern hemisphere in Africa and South America. These plants for rock gardens are suitable. The plants range from annual and creeping herbs to shrubs.
USDA Growing Zones: 5 to 8
Color Differences: Yellow
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Soil Required: Average, dry to medium moisture, well-draining
4. Dragon’s Blood Stonecrop (Sedum spurium)
It is a flowering plant in the family Crassulaceae. The flowers are pink, borne in spring through fall. These plants for rock gardens are suitable.
USDA Growing Zones: 4 to 9
Color Differences: Pink
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Soil Required: Average, acidic, dry to medium moisture, well-draining
5. Hens and Chicks (sempervivum tectorum)
It is a member of flowering plant in the family Crassulaceae, found in the mountains of southern Europe, cultivated in the whole of Europe for its appearance and a Roman tradition asserting that it preserves buildings against lightning strikes.
It can grow up to 15 cm (6 in) tall by 50 cm (20 in) broad, it is a rosette-forming moist evergreen everlasting, spreading by offsets. It has grey-green, tufted, sessile leaves, 4–10 cm (2–4 inches) in diameter, which are usually permeated with rose-red.
USDA Growing Zones: 3 to 8
Color Differences: Red-purple
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Soil Required: Average, dry to medium moisture, well-draining
6. Creeping Thyme (Thymus serpyllum)
Thymus serpyllum, known by the names of Breckland thyme, Breckland wild thyme, wild thyme, creeping thyme, or elfin thyme, is a member of flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae, found mostly in Europe and North Africa.
It is low, generally, prone subshrub gets bigger up to 2 cm (1 inch) tall with creeping stems up to 10 cm (4 inches) long. The oval evergreen leaves are 3-8 mm lengthy.
USDA Growing Zones: 4 to 8
Color Differences: Pink
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Soil Required: Average, dry to medium moisture, well-draining
7. Blue Fescue Grass (Festuca glauca)
Festuca glauca, mostly called blue fescue, is a member of the flowering plant in the grass family, Poaceae. It is a majorly cultivated evergreen or semi-evergreen herbaceous everlasting.
USDA Growing Zones: 4 to 8
Color Differences: Light green to yellow
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Soil Required: Average, dry to medium moisture, well-draining
8. Snow-in-Summer (Cerastium tomentosum)
Cerastium tomentosum (snow-in-summer) is an herbaceous flowering plant and a species of the family Caryophyllaceae. It is usually separated from other species of its sub-divisions by “tomentose” or felty foliage. It is a short, spreading everlasting found in alpine regions of Europe. The stems & leaves of these flowers are silvery-grey, while the flowers are star-like, white & about 15mm across.
USDA Growing Zones: 3 to 7
Color Differences: White
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Soil Required: Sandy, dry, well-draining
9. Candytuft (Iberis sempervirens)
It is a member of the flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae. It is mostly found in southern Europe. It is an expanding subshrub that gets bigger up to 30 cm (12 in) high by 40 cm (16 in) broad. As an ornamental plant, it is a spring-blooming favorite, usually observed cascading over rocks and walls or utilized as a groundcover.
USDA Growing Zones: 3 to 8
Color Differences: White, pink
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Soil Required: Medium moisture, well-draining
10. Ajuga (Ajuga reptans)
Ajuga reptans are mostly called bugle, blue bugle, bugle herb, bugleweed, carpetweed, and carpet bugleweed. Ajuga reptans possess dark green leaves with purple lines. It is a spreading and thick ground cover. The leaves can get bigger up to 5-8 cm (2.0-3.1 inches) tall, but in the spring finish up 10-15 cm (3.9-5.9 inches) tall flower trunk bearing various purple flowers. The flowers are from time to time gathered by flies, such as Rhingia campestris.
USDA Growing Areas: 3 to 10
Color Differences: Blue, violet
Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
Soil Required: Average, medium moisture, well-draining
11. Creeping Phlox (Phlox subulata)
It is a member of flowering plant in the group Polemoniaceae, found in eastern and central USA, and majorly planted. It gets bigger about 13 cm (5 in) high at most and covers a 50 cm (20 inches) large area, it is evergreen everlasting forming mats or cushions of hairy, linear leaves. The tiny, five-petaled flowers bloom in rose, mauve, blue, white, or pink in late spring to starting of summer.
USDA Growing Zones: 3 to 9
Color Differences: Red, purple, pink, blue, white
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Soil Required: Humusy, medium moisture, well-draining
12. Pasque Flower (Pulsatilla vulgaris)
Pulsatilla vulgaris, the pasqueflower, is a member of a flowering plant related to the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae), available locally on calcareous grassland in Europe. It gets bigger up to 15–30 cm (6-12 inches) high and when it is fruit-bearing up to 40 cm (16 in). The roots move 1 m (39 in) down into the soil. These plants for rock gardens are suitable.
USDA Growing Zones: 4 to 8
Color Differences: Purple, white
Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
Soil Required: Humus, gritty, medium moisture, well-draining
13. Reticulated Iris (Iris reticulata)
Iris reticulata, the netted iris or golden netted iris, is a member of the flowering plant in the group of Iridaceae. It is found from eastern Turkey to Iran. They are tiny plants to 15 centimeters (5.9 in), with tubular, sharply-pointed, ribbed leaves, and flowers of yellow, blue, or purple with an orange blaze on the falls, seen at starting of spring. These plants for rock gardens are suitable.
USDA Growing Zones: 5 to 9
Color Differences: Blue, purple
Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
Soil Required: Average, medium moisture, well-draining
14. Wood Spurge (Euphorbia amygdaloides)
Euphorbia amygdaloides, the wood spurge, is a member of the flowering plant in the group of Euphorbiaceae, found in woodland located in Europe, Turkey, and the Caucasus. It is a bushy evergreen everlasting, it can get bigger to a height of 80 cm (31 inches), with dark green a bit hairy leaves about 6 cm (2 inches) long.
USDA Growing Zones: 6 to 8
Color Differences: Yellow
Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
Soil Required: Average, dry to medium moisture, well-draining
15. Moonbeam Coreopsis (Coreopsis verticillata ‘Moonbeam’)
Coreopsis verticillata is a North American species of tickseed in the sunflower group. It is native to the east-central United States, from Maryland south to Georgia, with isolated populations as far west as Oklahoma and as far north as Québec and Ontario.
It is an herbaceous perennial that can get bigger up to 2-3 ft (1-1 m) tall and about 2 ft (1 m) wide, although as it moves laterally by rhizomes, this width can be exceeded.
USDA Growing Zones: 3 to 9
Color Differences: Yellow
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Soil Required: Average, dry to medium moisture, well-draining
16. Lavender (Lavandula spp.)
Lavandula also known by the common name of lavender. It is a member of 47 known groups of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is found in the Old World and is native to Cape Verde and the Canary Islands and from Europe all over to northern and eastern Africa, the Mediterranean, and southwest Asia to India. English lavender has a very lengthy germination process it takes 14–28 days and takes 100–110 days to get mature.
USDA Growing Zones: 5 to 8
Color Differences: Purple
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Soil Required: Average, dry to medium moisture, alkaline, well-draining
17. Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
Achillea millefolium is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is found in the temperate areas of the Northern Hemisphere in Asia, Europe, and North America. It has been known as a feed for livestock in New Zealand and Australia, where it is a common weed in both wet and dry regions, such as roadsides, meadows, fields, and coastal places. Achillea millefolium is an erect, herbaceous, everlasting plant that gives one to several stems 0.2–1 meter (8–40 inches) in height
USDA Growing Zones: 3 to 9
Color Differences: White, yellow, pink, red
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Soil Required: Lean, dry to medium moisture, well-draining
18. Autumn Joy Sedum (Hylotelephium herbstfreude)
It is a member of flowering plants in the group of Crassulaceae. The different species have been hybridized by horticulturalists to make unique cultivars. Various unique ones are obtained.
USDA Growing Zones: 3 to 9
Color Differences: Pink, red, purple
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Soil Required: Average, dry to medium moisture, well-draining
19. Spiked Speedwell (Veronica spicata ‘Royal Candles’)
Veronica spicata is a member of the flowering plant in the group Plantaginaceae. It is 1–3 feet (0.30–0.91 m) tall and bears 1-foot-long spikes with blue, pink, purple, and white flowers.
USDA Growing Zones: 3 to 8
Color Differences: Blue-purple
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Soil Required: Average, medium moisture, well-draining
20. Columbine (Aquilegia spp.)
Columbine is a member of about 60–70 species of everlasting plants that are native to meadows, woodlands, and at higher altitudes throughout the Northern Hemisphere, it is known for the spurred petals of its flowers.
USDA Growing Zones: 3 to 9
Color Differences: Red, pink, yellow, white, blue, purple
Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
Soil Required: Average, medium moisture, well-draining
21. Coneflower (Echinacea spp.)
It is a sub-division of herbaceous flowering plants in the daisy group. It has ten kinds, which are mostly known as coneflowers. They are native to only eastern and central North America, where they can get bigger in wet to dry prairies and open wooded regions. These plants for rock gardens are suitable.
USDA Growing Zones: 3 to 9
Color Differences: Pink, purple, red, white.
Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
Soil Required: Average, dry to medium moisture, well-draining
22. Purple Fountain Grass (Pennisetum setaceum ‘Rubrum’)
It is a C4 everlasting bunch of grass that is found in open, scrubby habitats in East Africa, tropical Africa, the Middle East, and south-western Asia. It has been produced in various parts of the world as an ornamental plant. It has set off an invasive group in some of them. It is drought-tolerant, gets bigger faster, achieves feet in height, and contains various purple, plumose flower spikes. These plants for rock gardens are suitable.
USDA Growing Zones: 9 to 10
Color Differences: Purple
Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
Soil Required: Average, medium moisture, well-draining
23. Blue Rug Juniper (Juniperus horizontalis ‘Wiltonii’)
Juniperus horizontalis, the creeping juniper or creeping cedar, is a low-growing shrubby juniper found in northern North America, all over Canada from Yukon east to Newfoundland, and in some of the northern United States. These plants for rock gardens are suitable.
USDA Growing Zones: 3 to 9
Color Differences: Nonflowering
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Soil Required: Average, dry to medium moisture, well-draining
24. Shasta Daisy (Leucanthemum x superbum)
It is a commonly planted flowering herbaceous everlasting plant with the classic daisy beauty of white petals (ray florets) around a yellow disc, same as the oxeye daisy Leucanthemum vulgare Lam, but bigger.
USDA Growing Zones: 5 to 9
Color Varieties: White and yellow
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Soil Required: Average, dry to medium moisture, well-draining
25. Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
It is a North American flowering plant in the group of Asteraceae, found in Eastern and Central North America and naturalized in the Western regions of the continent and also in China. It has now been native to all 10 Canadian Provinces and all 48 of the states in the contiguous United States. These plants for rock gardens are suitable.
USDA Growing Zones: 3 to 7
Color Differences: Yellow, yellow-orange
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Soil Required: Average, medium moisture, well-draining
26. Perennial Salvia (Salvia spp.)
It is the biggest sub-division of plants in the sage group of Lamiaceae, with about 1000 members of shrubs, herbaceous everlasting, and annuals. Within the Lamiaceae, Salvia is a member of the tribe Mentheae within the sub-division of Nepetoideae. These plants for rock gardens are suitable.
USDA Growing Zones: 4 to 10 (depends on variety)
Color Differences: Pink, purple, green, blue, yellow, white
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Soil Required: Average, dry to medium moisture, well-draining
27. Six Hills Giant Catmint (Nepeta ‘Six Hills Giant’)
a flowering plant is also known as catmint and Faassen’s catnip is the first hybrid of garden origin. The parent sub-divisions are Nepeta racemose and Nepeta nepetella. It is an herbaceous everlasting, with oval, opposite, intricately veined, gray-green leaves, on square stems. The foliage is fragrant. It gets bigger from 1-2 feet (30–61 cm) tall and 1-3 feet (30–91 cm) thick. These plants for rock gardens are suitable.
USDA Growing Zones: 4 to 7
Color Differences: Blue, purple, white
Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
Soil Required: Average, dry to medium moisture, well-draining
28. Russian Sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia)
It is a good-looking plant with elongate, gray-green leaves and square, silvery-gray stems that prepare an airy cloud of color at the time of the summer. The tiny, purple-blue, tubular flowers are managed in whorls along long stems.
USDA Growing Zones: 5 to 9
Color Differences: Blue, purple
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Soil Required: Average, dry to medium moisture, well-draining
29. Mugo Pine (Pinus mugo)
Pinus mugo is called by another name bog pine, creeping pine, dwarf mountain pine, mugo pine, mountain pine, scrub mountain pine, or Swiss mountain pine, is a sub-division of conifer, found in high elevation habitats from southwestern to Central Europe and Southeast Europe. These plants for rock gardens are suitable.
USDA Growing Zones: 2 to 7
Color Differences: Nonflowering
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Soil Required: Loamy, medium moisture, well-draining
30. Rockspray Cotoneaster (Cotoneaster horizontalis)
Cotoneaster horizontalis is a small shrub with a growing habit, it can get bigger up to 1 meter (3 ft 3 inches) tall and 1.5 meters (4 ft 11 inches) thick. It is planted for its flat, symmetrical sprays of glossy green, deciduous leaves 6 to 12 mm long, and masses of bright red berries (pomes) in autumn, persisting into winter. The flowers are observed in summer and can vary from pink to white. It is mostly planted in parks and gardens in mild areas such as hedging or groundcover.
USDA Growing Zones: 5 to 7
Color Differences: Pink
Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
Soil Required: Loamy, moist, well-draining
31. Lamb’s Ear (Stachys byzantina)
It is a sub-division of flowering plants in the mint group of Lamiaceae, found in Armenia, Iran, and Turkey. It is planted over much of the mild world as an ornamental plant and is naturalized in a few locations as an escapee from gardens. These plants for rock gardens are suitable. These plants are very usually available under the synonym Stachys lanata or Stachys olympica.
USDA Growing Zones: 4 to 8
Color Differences: Pink-purple
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Soil Required: Average, dry to medium moisture, well-draining
32. Maiden Grass (Miscanthus Sinensis ‘Gracillimus’)
It is a sub-division of flowering plants in the grass group of Poaceae, found in eastern Asia throughout most of China, Japan, Taiwan, and Korea. It is an herbaceous everlasting grass, that gets bigger up to 0.8–2 m (3–7 ft) tall, 4 m (13 ft), forming moist clumps from an underground rhizome. The leaves of these plants are 18–75 cm (7–30 in) tall and 0.3–2 cm wide.
USDA Growing Zones: 5 to 9
Color Differences: Copper to silver
Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
Soil Required: Average, medium moisture, well-draining
33. Rugosa Rose (Rosa rugosa)
It is a sub-division of rose found in eastern Asia, in northeastern China, Japan, Korea, and southeastern Siberia, where it gets bigger on beach coasts, usually on sand dunes.
It is a suckering shrub that grows new plants from the roots and forms moist thickets 1-1.50 m tall with stems densely protected in many short, straight prickles 3-10 mm lengthy. The leaves are 8-15 cm lengthy, pinnate with 5-9 leaflets, most usually 7, each leaflet 3-4 cm lengthy. These plants for rock gardens are suitable.
USDA Growing Zones: 2 to 7
Color Varieties: Pink, white
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Soil Required: Loamy, moist, slightly acidic, well-draining
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