A comprehensive guide to specialist
green roof growing media and sources of
information for enterprises involved in the
creation and design of sustainable
Green Roof solutions.
Green roofs are usually categorised into three groups: intensive, semi-intensive and extensive.
Essentially roof gardens, which can include trees and shrubs, as well as herbaceous perennials and other less deep-rooted plants.
Vital Earth Product Recommended:
The range of plants is more limited than in an Intensive green roof because the medium is shallower. However, subjects can still be diverse and include dwarf shrubs, bulbs, grasses and perennial hardy plants from prairie, alpine and coastal eco-systems.
Depth of medium usually varies from 100-200 mm.
Some irrigation and maintenance is often required.
Vital Earth Product Recommended:
Planting choice is limited by the shallowness of the system which lends itself to roofs of limited load-bearing capacity (NB retro-fitted green roofs) or situations where maintenance is limited by budget or accessibility.
Depth of medium varies from 50-100 mm.
Subjects include Sedums, Sempervivums, drought-tolerant grasses and herbs. At 50-75mm Sedum is very dominant and is frequently installed as Sedum Mat for quick impact and rapid installation.
Vital Earth Product Recommended:
Sedum Roof Medium (and for Sedum Mat production: Sedum Seed Medium)
For more details of how these systems work reference the Livingroofs.org.
Specialist advice is available, based on the latest research and development, and extensive knowledge of growing media.
