Intensive Green Roof Maintenance

An intensive green roof is a deeper typically greater than six inches heavier system designed to sustain complex landscapes.

Intensive green roof maintenance. Semi intensive green roofs require a bit more maintenance since the plants tend to need pruning irrigation and fertilization. For more complex green roofs such as the semi intensive or intensive kind growing substrate also known as artificial soil is ideal as it requires less water and less maintenance to support plant growth. If the roof is occupied additional maintenance should be accounted for to make sure the roof is safe and comfortable. Gardens and parks on roofs can store a great deal of water and are therefore good sustainable urban drainage systems suds for stormwater management.

The garden element of the roof will need to be watered regularly though some designs will have an automated system. The plants will not be damaged by walking on them when conducting this maintenance. Green roofs are not maintenance free and while intensive green roofs require as much care as any landscape on the ground extensive roofs also need periodic tending. Intensive green roof maintenance as they often resemble regular gardens the deeper substrate intensive types of green roof require more maintenance than the extensive variety.

Intensive green roofs require more maintenance because of the plant varieties they will support. The garden element of the roof will need to be watered regularly though some designs will have an automated system. Intensive green roof maintenance as they often resemble regular gardens the deeper substrate intensive types of green roof require more maintenance than the extensive variety. Extensive vegetative green roofs are designed to be virtually self sustaining and should require only a minimum of maintenance.

However maintenance requirements are generally no more than would be expected for sidewalk planters. Occasional weeding and a yearly application of slow release fertilizer to boost growth. They are strong enough to be able to compensate for this. The amount of care depends on the roof s exposure the types of plants the growing medium and the vagaries of the weather.

Extensive roofs are usually only accessed for maintenance. In comparison to soil substrate is also more tolerant of weather extremes such as heat cold and drought. Vegetable and herb gardens fit in well on these rooftops and to a degree their care is slightly easier than ground level gardens since fewer pests and weeds find their way to the higher elevations. For intensive green roof profiles a drain restrictor may be used to retain water in the base of the profile for subsequent plant transpiration.