A living wall can last anywhere from several years to over a decade when properly maintained. Lifespan depends on plant type, maintenance, growing conditions, and how well the system supports water, nutrients, and root space.
Living walls all have a lifespan, and it’s important to be realistic about the expectations you have relating to plant life.
No matter how much care you take to maintain and care for your living wall, there are very few plants that can survive in a constricted space forever.
Most living wall structures feature some sort of container and even with the best care and maintenance, eventually root systems fill the space in the container and restrict the number of nutrients and water that can be absorbed through the root system, compromising the overall health of the plants.
There are, of course, things you can do to extend the life of the plants in your living wall. Selecting plants with shallow root systems means that these plants typically thrive in a living wall and can last for much longer than those plants with fast-growing roots that quickly fill up the space in a contained system.
Regular maintenance
Key Maintenance Tasks to Support Longevity
Regular maintenance plays a vital role in ensuring your living wall remains healthy, visually appealing, and long-lasting. These ongoing tasks help prevent stress on the plants, keep the system functioning efficiently, and reduce the chances of early plant decline. Consistent care also allows you to identify issues, such as pests, nutrient deficiencies, or irrigation problems, before they become more serious.
Key maintenance tasks include:
- Watering (manual or automated irrigation)
- Pruning, weeding and deadheading
- Monitoring plant health and moisture levels
- Seasonal checks (weekly, monthly, annual schedules)
- Professional maintenance for large installations
Routine attention to these areas not only prolongs the lifespan of the plants but also helps maintain the integrity of the entire living wall structure. For larger or more complex installations, scheduled professional maintenance ensures that every component, from irrigation lines to plant health, is assessed and cared for thoroughly.
Regular maintenance is an essential part of the process if you want to maximise the lifespan of your living wall.
Whether it’s a large, exterior living wall, or an interior space dividing living wall, without regular maintenance, your living wall can quickly start to suffer.
Watering is the most obvious maintenance that is required for all living walls and many systems include an automated irrigation system. Even when this is in place, it’s important to keep a watchful eye on the plants within the wall to ensure they are all getting enough water to thrive.
Beyond watering, it’s important to keep up with regular plant maintenance such as pruning, weeding and deadheading where relevant. Depending on the plants you have in your living wall, and whether your wall is located inside or out, you may be able to carry out maintenance yourself as part of a weekly/monthly/annual cycle, however, for major installations, it always pays to bring in the experts.
At SRS Group, we provide full maintenance programmes on an annual contract basis, so you can ensure your green wall or garden is always thriving.
Our bespoke maintenance programmes ensure the overall health and stable growing conditions that allow living walls to flourish and blossom all year round. Living walls provide many benefits, however, one of their key “selling points” is the aesthetic appeal so it’s important to keep your plants looking healthy through the seasons.
Selecting the right plants
Factors That Influence Plant Success
Several environmental and structural factors determine how well plants will thrive in a living wall system. Understanding these conditions helps ensure each plant has what it needs to grow, adapt, and remain healthy over time. These elements also guide proper plant selection, preventing the use of species that may struggle in confined spaces or specific climates. When these factors are considered early in the planning and maintenance process, the overall lifespan and appearance of the living wall significantly improve.
Key factors include:
- Light exposure
- Water availability
- Climate conditions (warm, cold, wind)
- Indoor vs. outdoor environment
- Root growth behaviour
- Native plant suitability
Each factor plays a crucial role in determining plant performance, from how well roots develop to how effectively plants photosynthesise and resist environmental stress. Taking these influences into account ensures a more resilient, long-lasting living wall.
Not all living walls are created equal. This means that just because a certain plant works in one living wall, it won’t necessarily thrive in another. There are a number of factors to consider when selecting the right plants for your living wall. Light, water, climate (warm/cold/wind) and position can all impact how well the plants in your living wall will thrive.
At SRS, we have over 15 years’ experience, and our foliage team has delivered more than 200 thriving gardens on iconic buildings in both New Zealand and Australia. This expertise allows us to offer advice and assistance throughout the process, from design development to final delivery.
Our trained botanist will help you select the best plants for your project, matching plant options to the known growing environment of every garden type on a building. With a focus on providing ecologically sustainable gardens, our preference is to use native plants where possible.
How to extend the life of your living wall?
Ways to Prolong Plant Health
Extending the lifespan of a living wall requires ongoing, proactive care that supports plant vitality and prevents issues from developing over time. While some plants naturally have shorter life cycles, consistent maintenance routines can significantly improve overall plant health and appearance. By focusing on proper nourishment, routine upkeep, and early detection of potential problems, you can help ensure your living wall remains lush, vibrant, and structurally stable throughout the year.
Key practices include:
- Consistent watering
- Proper fertilising
- Regular pruning and deadheading
- Monitoring for plant diseases
- Removing or treating affected plants
- Root trimming and refreshing the growing medium
These measures help maintain strong growth patterns, reduce stress on root systems, and keep your living wall looking its best across every season.
Even when you take good care of all the plants in your living wall, sometimes they just die of natural causes. We’ve already talked about the importance of watering the plants in your living wall, and this is the biggest cause of plants dying in living walls; however, there are other measures you can take to prolong the life of your plants.
Fertilising is an important step to take to ensure the plants in your living wall are getting enough nutrients to thrive. Pruning and deadheading are also important tasks that should be carried out regularly. Not only will this improve the aesthetics of your living wall, but it will also encourage growth.
Disease is something that should be carefully monitored. Plants can get a disease for a variety of reasons; however, vigilance is important, and if you do see plants with a disease, these either need to be quickly treated if they can be saved or removed to stop them from infecting healthy plants.
With some types of plants, you can remove them periodically and cut back the roots to create more room within the container. When you replace the plants, add some fresh growing medium (compost) that will allow the roots to thrive. The end of winter is a great time to carry out maintenance like this when the plants are dormant, but just as the spring growing season is about the begin.
Summary
Living walls can last a long time with the correct maintenance and a well-selected range of plants. Some plants will need replacing annually; however, others can last 10+ years when they are well cared for and selected for the container they will be living in.
Talk to the team at SRS today, and we can advise you on living wall installation and plant selection. Find out more about all our Green Wall solutions, including vertical gardens, green facades and arbours.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do living walls require a lot of maintenance?
Yes, regular watering, pruning, fertilising, and plant health monitoring are essential to keep a living wall thriving.
What type of plants work best in living walls?
Plants with shallow roots, good drought tolerance, and species suited to the wall’s light and climate conditions work best.
What causes plants in living walls to die early?
Common causes include underwatering, poor drainage, disease, incorrect plant choice, and roots outgrowing their container.
Post first published 17 December 2021 and last updated 14 November 2025
