Water use and drought responses of eight native herbaceous perennials for living wall systems

•Functional traits can be used to select species for stormwater-fed living walls.•Eight herbaceous perennials survived three weeks drought on vertical mineral-wool wall.•Succulence of leaves, stems or roots more important than drought survival strategy.•A. maritima, C. persicifolia and S. granulata survived six weeks drought.•K. arvenis and G. sanguineum presented desired trait: high ET when well-watered and low ET in drought.