IPM: Growing Hemp on the Green Roof Panels Has Proven Successful

It is time to install this year's FAMU Pilot Project Florida x Hepius variety of hemp plants.

Shallow, extensive green roof panels ready for x Hepius hemp plants

Last year the x Hepius thrived in the shallow planting trays. Rainfall and irrigation water are collected and recycled. We use a special, non-organic planting medium designed by the University of Central Florida's engineering department. Organic nutrients are mixed with irrigation water and delivered via drip irrigation.

Growing hemp on the green roof panels last year proved to be a successful experiment. The x Hepius variety growing in the green roof panels were shorter and exhibited a significantly more compact growth habit than the x Hepius plants growing in the ground level garden soil.

One huge advantage of growing hemp on a roof is that there are significantly fewer caterpillars and other pest insects who crawl up the support walls to reach the hemp. Additionally, any aggressive bugs that make it up to the roof are prime targets for hungry birds.

The x Hepius variety produces significant amounts of aromatic terpenes on flower buds without any detectable level of THC. Last year I noticed the living roof x Hepius plants filled the garden air with a complex scent of citrus and spice.

I prefer shallow green roof systems because I prefer creating shallow but wide root architecture patterns so that our Florida hemp plants can better survive tropical storm wind patterns. Shallow root architecture is not necessarily better than deep, intensive planting systems but they are my preference having worked with coastal and hurricane resilient green roofs over the decades.

As mentioned above, not all green roof systems are shallow such as these.

Green roof systems can be classified based on their depth into extensive, semi-intensive, and intensive systems. Shallow or extensive green roofs, often referred to as "eco-roofs," are the simplest and lightest type. They are typically used on residential, commercial, and small-scale buildings for their ease of implementation and maintenance. Here are some key points to understand about shallow green roof systems:

1. Depth and Weight: Extensive green roofs have a shallow growing medium, typically ranging from 1/2 to 6 inches in depth. The shallow depth makes them relatively lightweight, adding approximately 15-50 pounds per square foot, including plants and saturated growing medium. This makes them suitable for a variety of building structures without requiring significant structural reinforcement.

2. Plant Selection: Due to the shallow depth, the types of plants used in extensive green roofs are those that are drought-tolerant, wind-resistant, and can thrive in shallow soil. These often include succulents (like sedums), herbs, grasses, and some types of wildflowers.

3. Water and Nutrient Requirements: The plants used in shallow green roof systems are typically adapted to harsh conditions and require minimal irrigation and nutrients. This is ideal for conserving water resources and reducing maintenance requirements.

4. Installation and Maintenance: Extensive green roofs are typically easier and less expensive to install compared to their intensive counterparts. They also require minimal maintenance, primarily in the form of periodic weeding and checks to ensure the roof's waterproof membrane is intact.

5. Environmental Benefits: Like all green roofs, shallow systems provide many environmental benefits. They can help reduce the heat island effect, improve air quality, manage stormwater runoff, provide habitat for wildlife, and enhance a building's thermal performance, potentially saving on heating and cooling costs.

6. Aesthetic Value: Extensive green roofs can improve the visual appeal of a building, providing a lush, green space in urban environments that are often dominated by concrete and other hard surfaces.

Despite their many benefits, extensive green roofs aren't suitable for all situations. They require a waterproof and root-resistant roof membrane to protect the building, and while their maintenance needs are relatively low, they still require some care to stay healthy and attractive. Lastly, not all plant species will thrive in the shallow growing medium, limiting the plant diversity compared to intensive green roofs.

Salt Tolerant Native Plants, Turkey Tangled Frog Fruit, Phyla nodiflora

 Old buildings teach me so much about the wind, sun and salt tolerances of native plants.

Phyla nodiflora, Turkey Tangled Frog Fruit growing out of the old brick walls of Fort Pickens, Pensacola Beach

Turkey Tangled Frog Fruit (TTFF), aka Lippia nodiflora (Verbenaceae) has long been one of my favorite Florida native plant species.  First of all I'm enchanted by its name.  Rumor has it that once upon a time a flock of turkeys got their long legs and feet all tangled up in the Frog Fruit vine-like flexible stems. Supposedly all the turkeys then fell over, practically squishing all the happy frogs who were eating the plant's fruit-like flower buds.  Of course this ruckus caused quite a stir with all the butterflies feeding on TTFF's nectar and they proceed to flit about telling the mockingbirds what was happening.  Well you know, once a mockingbird hears a good stanza, it'll be repeated everywhere. To this day the low growing groundcover as been known as Turkey Tangled Frog Fruit.

From time to time, I've been asked for a list of native plants that may be salt, wind and blazing sunlight tolerant.

There are many reference books that discuss optimal growing conditions for native species, but I always find that the best way to learn which native plants do best in any location is to walk around and look at what plants are growing on older buildings in the specific location you are interested in.

Here is a photo of a marvelously healthy Turkey Tangled Frog Fruit growing out of the brick walls of Fort Pickens in Pensacola Beach.

The only irrigation this plant receives is dew, air humidity, ocean salt spray and rain.  The Gulf of Mexico is only a few steps to the south and the just as salty Pensacola harbor is a few steps to the north.

There is no tree canopy around for shade, just hot, glaring sunlight.

The four or five meter per second persistent ocean winds are salt laden and dessicating.

The old brick walls of this fort are a hard place for any plant to survive.  Yet this TTFF specimen is thriving.

Spending time in the field is the very best way to learn what, where and how native plants need to grow.

Florida Green Roofs and Insulation Value

 Do Florida Green Roofs provide insulation or not?  Good question.  There are several different perspectives on the topic.

One current belief is that green roofs may moderate roof temperature fluctuations, leveling out daily swings with respect to heat and cold.

Some of the data we have accumulated points to green roof soil media acting as a heat sink unless the soil is completely covered with shade from plants.


We've compiled data over the last year on how an Extensive Vegetated Roof absorbed and released solar energy (heat) over a twenty four hour cycle.

The roof under study is not insulated.  It has a tongue and groove pine deck with asphalt roll paper and asphalt shingles.  The interior was non-temperature (no heat or HVAC) controlled during the study periods.

The temperature measuring points were the exposed roof tongue and groove decking surfaces and consisted of multiple point averages.  Readings were taken with an EXTECH IR AN200 Unit.

The following illustrations depict a trend we've seen over and over.

The extensive vegetated roof systems absorb solar heat slower than asphalt roofing.  The extensive vegetated roof systems also retain the heat longer and then release the absorbed solar heat slower than asphalt roofing.

The linear trendlines for the temperature curves tell an important story also.  The ambient air temperature and the decking under the non-insulated asphalt shingle roof temperature possess more significant vertical trendline movements.

The temperature swings of the decking under the green roof are much more linear - showing a narrower range in temperature swings.

The data shown here is representative of spring, summer, autumn and winter with summer and winter having the more pronounced curves.

Importantly, we believe extensive green roofs, such as the one we are studying in this case, moderate temperature swings.

The data also points to the fact that green roofs serve as a heat sink, slowly absorbing solar heat during the daylight hours then slowly releasing the heat during the evening dark periods.

During the winter, green roofs may help by moderating cold temperatures at night by releasing heat back into the structure.  However if insulation separated the green roof from the structure then little or no heat would be recaptured unless a heat capture coil or other mechanism existed.

The inverse holds true for the summer.  During the day the green roof would moderate the solar heat gain to the structure by intercepting the solar radiation and absorbing it.  However at night, the green roof would radiate heat back into the structure, slowing the cooling process.

Again, if the roofs are insulated from the green roofs then there is no real benefit from a linear trendline perspective of sink and release.

We believe maybe this data points to the need for a method of harvesting the solar heat captured in the green roof during the day.  Potential capture processes could include water or silicon filled coils or tubes interwoven into the vegetated roof or other similar mechanical systems.

Harvesting the absorbed heat would allow for a more managed use of the solar heat resource.

We do believe that the notion of green roofs working to cool buildings should be more appropriately described as a moderating effect of absorption and slow release of solar heat.

Check out the range bars on the temperature curve chart to the left.

The green roof decking temperature has a much narrower temperature range.

Data points to the fact that green roofs absorb heat and quite a bit of it.

We always welcome your comments - feel free to email us anytime here.

Green roofs offer the potential to collect and harvest solar energy.  They may not be the cooling system we sometimes represent them to be.

Native Plant Selection Modeling, Designing Coastal Green Roofs Part One

Native plants and wildflowers can contribute to the design of a permaculture garden, green roof or container garden on an apartment balcony.  This video shares many of my design hacks and tips for plant selection.  Though the video was made to be an aid to green roof designers, the fundamental design principles are important for any garden or landscape design.  Hope you enjoy and learn from the video.

Florida Green Roof Corn

Florida Green Roof Agriculture, Rooftop Corn

Here's a couple examples of rooftop agriculture in the urban core.  Green roof tomatoes and corn.  When space is at a premium one can be creative.

Florida Green Roof Agriculture, Rooftop Tomatoes

Florida Living Wall and Green Roof Plants, Nature Found

Some of my best learning experiences with green roof and living wall plants come from Mother Nature.

Florida Living Wall & Green Roof Plants Nature Selected (ferns), Ft. Pickens, Pensacola by Kevin Songer

Mother Nature is especially instructive about nature irrigated plants growing in sea salt influenced areas; up the sides of masonry walls and across barren roofs.

Florida Living Wall & Green Roof Plants Nature Selected (Bidens alba & ferns), Ft. Pickens, Pensacola by Kevin Songer

These photos here were taken on the ocean front walls of the old brick Fort Pickens in Pensacola, Florida, US.

Old forts and other relic structures that have been in existence over time are plant laboratories, experiments in drought, heat, wind and salt tolerance.

Florida Living Wall & Green Roof Plants Nature Selected, Ft. Pickens, Pensacola by Kevin Songer

Another fort, Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine, Florida as been surveyed by biologists and the limestone walls found to grow over fifty different species of plants. 

Although in reality most green roof and living wall designers do not use these specific plants typically found growing across structures, the knowledge gained from examining wild roof and wall plants is invaluable.

Identifying and classifying these found plants as to their Genus and Family classifications can help select other related but more suitable to vertical landscape plants.

Florida Living Wall & Green Roof Plants Nature Selected, Ft. Pickens, Pensacola by Kevin Songer

Moreover, understanding the C3, C4 and CAM photosynthesis pathways evolved by these plants provides a solid basis for green roof and living wall design.  

Examine those plants you seeing growing downtown when you are out and about.  Nature has so much more to teach us than the most detailed scientific manuals!

Florida Green Roof and Living Wall Plants, Salt Tolerance Lessons from Mother Nature Ferns

One of the greatest learning centers of #greenroof and #livingwall knowledge can be found on and across the buildings in any local downtown, urban core area.

Ferns growing unattended on old brick adjacent downtown ocean pier, Kevin Songer 

Every living wall and green roof designer, as well as landscape designers and botanists should carry a 'found plant' journal to record information when they come across such resilient plants as those growing in the cracks and crevices of building walls and roofs, without soil media or added irrigation.

Ferns growing unattended on old brick adjacent downtown ocean pier, Kevin Songer 

Looking back across the decades, this is how I learned what I did concerning shallow root growing systems, nature irrigation and plants suitable for hot, windy, salty environs.

Ferns growing unattended on old brick adjacent downtown ocean pier, Kevin Songer 

These ferns are growing on a wall adjacent the downtown pier in Pensacola, exposed to desiccating winds and a barrage of salty mist.  And they seem to be thriving.

Always keep an eye out for those free lessons from Mother Nature about living wall and green roof plants!

Inspiration Found; Ginkgo Walks, Wildflowers, Haiku and Green Roofs

Inspiration found is always welcomed, and today there are so many sources of insight and revelation. One though outshines all others for insight and illumination.  That source is Nature. 

Florida Green Roof and Wildflower Haiku plant, Coral Bean, Erythrina herbacea
Drought, salt and heat tolerant.  Hummingbird plant

Hands down Nature teaches me more about color, texture, geometry, sustainability, art, music, light, green roofs, haiku, life and the cosmos than any YouTube video, internet site, book or podcast.

Florida Green Roof and Wildflower Haiku plant, Prickly Pear Cactus, Opuntia humifusa
Very drought tolerant, great coastal green roof plant for habitat and pollinators

For millennia, haiku poets have used the term 'Ginkgo Walks' for inspiration found when walking with Nature.

Florida Green Roof and Wildflower Haiku plant, Fleabane, Erigeron app.
Tolerates wet and dry soils, wind and heat tolerant, excellent pollinator plant

A Ginkgo Walk is a stroll through the yard or local park.  A Ginkgo Walk can be a hike into the swamp, forest, glades, beach or even along a landscaped avenue.   The point of a Ginkgo Walk is open our ears, eyes and senses to ever changing muses Mother Nature is sharing with us.

Florida Green Roof and Wildflower Haiku plant, Blanketflower, Gaillardia puchella
Amazing hardy green roof plant, tolerating salt, wind, heat and other environmental challenges

I've designed successful drought and salt tolerant green roofs around the world and the reference I first turn to for plant selection are local Ginkgo Walks around the construction site and surrounding landscapes.

Florida Green Roof and Wildflower Haiku plant, Purple Coneflower, Echinacea purpurea
Hardy, drought tolerant green roof plant that pollinators LOVE!

Ginkgo Walks are also my primary haiku, senryu and poetry inspiration.  Mother Nature, acompained by breezes, bees and birds, sweetly sings out verse as I walk under sun and clouds.

Ginkgo Walks are not only valuable for inspiration but too provide mental and physical healing, clearing clutter from our minds and muscles.

Looking for inspiration for a sustainability project, poem or whatever your life needs?  Ginkgo Walks can provide you with amazing awakenings!

Florida Green Roof and Wildflower Haiku plant, Black Eye Susan, Rudbeckia hirta
Stunning rooftop bloomer that will flower all summer and call pollinators for miles around

Wednesday Native Plant & Wildflower Poetry - Haiku (Senryu), Smilax spp.

Wednesday Florida native plant & wildflower haiku (short verse), Smilax spp.

Florida Haiku, Wildflowers & Native Plant Art, Smilax spp.
by Kevin Songer

…
wily cat brier
scampers up tall long leaf pine
hold tight sharp tip thorns
…

Catbrier provides the hungry hiker a quick energizing snack with its tender, tasty vine tips. Some sauté the green vine ends in butter and say the flavor resembles asparagus. 

Catbrier’s vines are loaded with thorns, making the mature, thickly vining plant a veritable evergreen barrier and providing wildlife with protected communal habitat.

Though a bit on the rambling side, many Smilax species make great green roof and living wall plants as they are drought tolerant and grow well in full sun (think of the beach dunes where they grow lush and thick).

Florida Green Roof Wildflowers and Native Plants

Florida Green Roof Wildflowers, Breaking Ground Green Roof

Looking back over some of the Breaking Ground Green Roof (Jacksonville) photographs, I came across this lovely wildflower shot.  Wildflowers on the roof! Gaillardia, Echinacea, Rudbeckia & much more...

DIY Green Roofs for Rabbit Hutches

Here are a couple of green roofs for our rabbit hutches.

DIY Green Roof & Urban Permaculture - Stacking Example of Green Roof over Rabbit Hutch over Worm Bin

The roofs are made with available materials, most recycled and repurposed items.

The rabbit hutches are an example of the 'stacking premise' found in permaculture methods.

The top layer is the green roof which provides food, shade, shelter, cooling (and warming through thermal adsorption), and much more for the rabbits below.

The rabbits eat the forage from the green roof and drop rabbit pellets through the rabbit cages into the worm bins below the rabbits.  The worms then digest the pellets and produce mulch for the green roof.

Urban Green with recycled materials can be completed with minimal cost and surprising effectiveness!

Living Walls, Celtic Cross Fabricated Using DIY Recycled Material

Here is a green wall I easily and inexpensively constructed from recycled materials.

The wall is four feet wide by five feet tall and fashioned out of rigid recycled plastic milk jug crates for the rear and side structural support.

The growing media is mineral wool and the celtic cross cut from old copper gutter sheet.

The Florida Green Anoles absolutely love it, providing them with habitat to escape the larger exotic predators here, the Cuban anoles.

Bringing Urban Green back to the cities doesn't have to be complicated and require high tech materials engineering or mechanical systems.

Recycled material technology is a sustainable approach to take when implementing Urban Green.

Dog House & Green Roofs

Quick post this morning on urban sustainability.

Green Roof for a Frank Lloyd Wright style doghouse here in Florida

Want to learn more about green roofs?

Thinking about adding a green roof or living wall to your house or condo?

Try starting off with a smaller green roof project - like on a doghouse!

Green roofs can add so much to the urban core.

Florida Green Roofs - Know Thy Plants!

Florida summertime is hard on green roofs.  Not only are roofing membranes subject to intense weather challenges, green roof plants also are subject to intense biological and meteorological assaults.

Summer humidity may quickly kill Florida green roof succulents

We have posted notes about Black Rot fungus before here on this blog.  It never fails though that every summer persons will contact me asking why their succulents are turning brown, black or rotting.

Florida green roof succulents battle the Black Rot fungus every summer

The simple answer is to use Florida native plants (preferably evergreen species but a mix of deciduous plants will work too, depending on the green roof location in the state).  Here in Florida native green roof plants usually far outperform horticultural succulents.

Florida green roof succulents rarely become the dominant green roof plant and usually die out

Florida summers bring maximum humidity and maximum temperatures.  With daily afternoon rain showers most rooftops become pressure cookers, steaming green roof plants like vegetables in a hot wok.  If you do not intimately understand Florida roofs and how plants preform there (and this only comes from hands on learning, failures and successes are the best teachers) then your roof design may quickly end up devoid of plants as you stand there, helpless, watching the succulents literally dissolve in the heat and humidity and fungus attacks.

Tropical green roofs are a challenge.  We have listed some great green roof native plants here.

Know how your plants will perform in a pressure cooker before specifying them on a green roof here in Florida.

Florida Green Roof Plant Root Structure, Horizontal Root Architecture

Green roof plant architecture is an important biomechanical component of all green roof design, construction, installation and maintenance activities.  In the end a green roof is first, foremost and all about the plants.

Florida green roof plant root architecture - beautiful horizontal root structure

Without the happy, thriving plants, there is no green roof.  Possibly a brown roof but not a green roof.

I think the Florida extensive green roof root structure depicted here in these photos is simply beautiful.

Green roof plant root architecture -  horizontal root structure growing into anchor

An understanding of green roof plant root architecture is one of those fundamental design talents that every green roof professional should possess.  Some of you will have learned about green roof plant root architecture from years of observation, hands-on planting and study of how green roof species grow, others through educational programs.  I examine root structure across green roofs every chance I get.  

My preference is shallow soil media and unimpeded horizontal growing space for green roof plant roots.  I do not like sectional barriers that may limit horizontal root growth and ultimately cause root circling-root bound growth patterns.

These grasses possess good green roof plant root architecture - not too aggressive but sturdy

Another reason I prefer unimpeded horizontal root growth opportunity on a green roof is because I believe green roof plants will over time, relocate themselves or their offspring to the best place on the roof for their particular species survival.  Yes, plants do move through root biomechanic mechanisms.  It is poor planning to restrict green roof plant root architecture any more than necessary.  Just think of how many times you may have pulled a plant from a nursery tray or pot with twisted and circling roots that have practically strangled the plant.

An anchor system may keep plants on a roof during tropical storms

In addition to catering to the green roof plant through design of open space for root growth to occur we like to provide the roots an anchor to grow into.  There are many different approaches one can take when providing an anchor, including cables, mesh, netting or fabric.  By permanently attaching the anchor material to the roof you create a green roof plant growing system that may be resilient to tropical storms or cyclone winds.

Unimpeded root growth prevents strangulation of green roof plants

Using this approach we have created green roofs that have stayed in place when blown with 130+ MPH winds.

The grasses in these photos show this principle in practice.  Using a small, mock up green roof growing system these plants have embedded their roots into a nylon fabric, creating an impressive anchoring form of root architecture and growing in a well defined, horizontal fashion.

A good green roof plant architecture will create a monolithic growing mat with plants anchoring each other

While some prefer deep plantings with roots reaching down vertically, we find horizontal root structure strategically places roots in an optimal position to absorb those frequent one half to two inch afternoon rainfalls here in Florida.  Rain water usually stays in the top inch or so of the green roof soil media.  With a horizontal growth pattern, green roof plants can take advantage of this rainfall where deep roots may have less rain reach down into deeper soil horizons.

If you are wondering, the photographed soil media contains less than 5% organic material.  The bark-looking chips are actually ground recycled rubber tires.  This is an experimental soil media, one we do not use on actual green roofs due to fire ratings.

Know your green roof plant architecture.  Remember, in the end a green roof is first, foremost and all about designing a growing system that keeps the green roof plants happy, healthy and surviving in the long term.

Green Roof Roof Drains Reference Links

Sizing Roof Drains for Green Roofs (and All Roofs In Fact) is Important

I spent a good hour last night worrying about a new green roof we are working on, and how it would drain with the roof drains designed by the project architect.

Right away I will say that I am not qualified to design roof drains.  Sizing roof drainage is a function for a qualified architect or engineer, not a green roof plant person.  However, I still worry.

Living in Florida I have seen some heavy and prolonged downpours.  Last night in fact, across the panhandle area of western Florida, rainfall totals reached almost 24".  That is a lot of water to move off the roof.

Of course storms dumping huge quantities of water do not happen every day.  But I still want my green roofs to drain.  Most green roof plants do not like 'wet feet' so to speak and I certainly do not want the green roof plants to float off the roof.

Yes, I ultimately trust most architects and engineers on their designs for they are accomplished professionals.  But for those occasions, like last night I feel better after a second opinion.

Now I am not vouching for their accuracy, but there are several easy to use Roof Drain Sizing calculators published across the internet.  It only takes a few seconds once you have the approximate square footage of the roof you are wondering about to see just how many roof drains are needed for different areas of the country.

Do not use these for design, but like last night, when I was wondering if the architect got the design right, these sites may be a good second opinion.

So stop worrying and check out some of these Roofing Drain Sizing Calculators:

• PORTALSPLUS' Drain Calculator
• North Clad's Gutter Sizing Calculator
• JRSmith's Roof Drain Technical Data Sheet (pdf)
• Best Material's.com Drain Sizing Worksheet (pdf)
• and the International Code Council's Storm Drain Standards

Tropical Storm Season is Here, Is Your Green Roof Ready?

It is that time of year again.  Soon there may be cyclones in the Atlantic, wave after tropical wave forming off the African continent and storming westward across the Atlantic.

If your green roof has a parapet then you are lucky.  Most testing has shown parapets minimize wind damage to a green roof - though in a large hurricane, all bets are off.

Even if your green roof does not have a parapet it can still be designed to minimize tropical storm wind damage.

The video here is of a small green roof in Jacksonville, Florida on August 25th, 2008 when Tropical Storm Fay pummeled the northeast Florida area with over twenty inches of rain.  The video shows how the roof reacted to gusts up to 50 mph.  Wind speed was recorded using an ExTech anemometer.

The roof shown in the video does not have a parapet and is sloped.  The video illustrates how the irregular surface of he vegetated roof interrupts wind generated uplift that can damage asphalt shingle roofs.  The plants range in height from two inches to six inches and can be seen moving back and forth in response to the wind.

Wind racing across a flat surface can create lift - or a vacuum - and literally lift the shingles or roll roofing up off the decking below.

The plant habit acts to break the shear flow of air, creating turbulence and working against damaging uplift.  Planting more wind tolerant plants, such as some succulents or grasses may actually create wind breaks in a manner similar to the way a parapet would act.

Another important quality of a well designed green roof is the drainage factor.  The roof here is allowing a rapid drain of roughly 18" of rain over a 24 hour period without washing out. 

Monolithic hurricane mats used as the basis of the planting system allow for quick drainage of the stormwater and create a mechanism where plant roots can attached and anchor themselves to the roof all the while holding soil in place.  A well established root architecture  is important  for tropical green roofs subject to high winds and heavy downpours.

We will always deal with the 5 H's here in Florida - High Heat, High Humidity, Hard Frosts, Hurricanes and Hard Desiccating Winds, but with good green roof design your Florida Green Roof can hopefully withstand a severe storm, including tropical storms!

In the meantime, there are some precautions the green roof owner can take to prepare for tropical storm season (May 15th for the Pacific area and June 1 for the Atlantic regions).

At a minimum, we recommend;

1. No large trees on a roof.
1. Small shrubs and small trees may be used successfully depending upon the final design.  This may seem like a common-sense guideline but people try to put all types of tall, large trees on patio or garden roofs.  During a 130 mph cyclone, the tree may be blown over and may cause damage from the fall against the structure or to the street below.  It may also become airborne if the winds are strong enough.  Growing up in Hialeah I saw plenty of hurricanes come through our area and witnessed first hand the power of these storm events.
2. Anything and everything on a roof should be permanently attached.  
1. Walkways should be constructed from a permanently attached TPO, EDPM or other mat and permanently affixed to the roof.
2. No loose chairs, tables or other items should be present.  If you wish to have a chair and table stay on a roof during a cyclone, they must be permanently attached.
3. All green roof components must be permanently attached to the structure.
4. Any trays, plastics, pots, containers or other green roof components must be permanently attached to the building structure.  Florida Building Code does not allow for loose items to be installed on a roof - they must be attached.
5. Green Roof Irrigation components must be permanently attached to the roof.
3. Make sure all tools and gardening utensils are picked up and put away.
1. It is very easy to forget the pair of shears, scissors or pliers on a roof.  Remember what you were using and where you liad them.
4. Plant selection should be focused on those species that have historically survived cyclone and hurricane incidents.  There are several good books available at most bookstores here in Florida on proper cyclone resistent landscaping and many resources on the web, such as the Brevard County Landscaping Guide for Hurricane Areas.
5. Check on the NOAA National Hurricane Center website daily.  The NHC webpage is a wonderful resource, full of links to climatic data.

Always use a green roof design or green roof system already proven in actual field trials with hurricane simulation testing.  Watching a green roof blow off during a storm is an avoidable event.  Due diligence upfront and preparedness is important for green roofs in hurricane prone and cyclone impacted areas.

Green Roof Videos

Sometimes I can't sleep at night.  My titanium aortic valve makes a racket at night and the Dacron aorta feels like an overfilled balloon bouncing around in my chest.  Times like these I want to watch #GreenRoof videos!  So I made my own collection of my favorite green roof videos and now it is easy to watch them over and over.

Here is one of my favorites:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbzOUC0UICo

I can learn from the pros, like Dusty Gedge and others.  I can also watch others and learn what not to do - like stand on a roof without rails and risk falling off to certain broken somethings or worse.

I am amazed at just how many greenroom websites include photos of obvious OSHA violations where staff are leaning over the edge of rooftops high in the air without personal fall protection equipment.  Safety First on Green Roofs!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy these videos and also do not fall off your green roof! I will be adding more and changing out other videos on a frequent basis.  Please email me links to your favorite green roof or living wall videos and I will try and include those too and give you credit for the link or video if you wish - send the links and comments here.