Best Florida Green Roof Plant?
Metroverde is always working to find suitable plants for Green Roofs in Florida. For years Northeast Florida has been experiencing a severe drought. Finding the toughest and most visually appealing is only part of the process. Habitat value, invasiveness, wind and drought tolerance are other issues we consider.
Green roofs in Florida are harsh places – remember the 7 (or more) H’s:
- High Humidity
- Hot, hot heat
- High desiccating winds (killer)
- Hurricanes (not the football team)
- Hard Freezes
- Horrible temperature swings
- Hurtful droughts
- Harmful floods
- Mold
- Water damage to interiors
- Collapse from weight (water is heavy)
- Bacterial breeding
- and who knows what else…
- Can survive the many H’s
- Are visually acceptable by the community
- May be cost-effective
- Are preferably native species (or non-invasive species)
- Do not present a fire hazard or contribute too much dry leaf litter
- Are low maintenance
- Can survive long periods of drought
- Can survive twenty inch downpours
- Resist fungal infestations
- and much more
1. Frog Fruit (Lippia nodiflora), and
2. Wild Garlic (Allium canadense)
I’ll be posting more data on these two species over the next couple days. In the meantime – what are your experiences with these species on green roofs?
Green Roof Plant Dwarfed 2 Year Old Allium Canadense |
1 comment:
These are insightful information, Kevin. It provides a lot of useful information for homeowners who are planning to install a green roof. Another thing, sedum and sempervivum plant families are also a great choice for green roofing. Sedum doesn't need a lot of water to grow, so it's best for the summer season. On the other hand, sempervivum plants have water-storing capabilities, so these plants can live and grow during the winter season.
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