Green Roof´s Maintenance

Homeowners who are curious about green roofs often wonder what they could do with that extra green space. Could you grow vegetables, keep a beehive, or collect rainwater? You might also wonder what kind of maintenance green roofs require. Will your green roof need more maintenance than it’s worth to you? 

Uses For Green Roofs

Many choose to have green roofs for environmental reasons and therefore want to take advantage of all the benefits they can. You need to partner with a green roof provider who can design and install a roof that meets these needs for you. Many features cannot be added after the roof is already installed because they depend on the depth of the roof itself.

Before installing the green roof on your home, you should consider the additional weight of soil, plants and retained moisture, particularly if you live in a climate that experiences regular snowfall. To do this, consult with your green roof design professional and a structural engineer.

How Do Green Roofs Help The Environment?

Green roofs combine many unique features to help promote environmental health and local biodiversity. If you want your green roof to do the same, you need to understand how it helps and choose the green roof system and plants with these goals in mind:

Green roofs could reduce energy consumption from home air conditioning and heating and therefore reduce greenhouse gas emissions. They can provide habitat and food for native plants, insects and animals. To further this cause, choose native or even endangered species for your roof.

Green roofs absorb stormwater, reducing their impact on local plant and animal habitats. Sufficiently large green roofs, such as commercial vegetative roofs, can even reduce the risk of local flooding during heavy rains. This absorption of stormwater also improves local water quality.

Can You Collect Water From A Green Roof?

A green roof absorbs 60 to 100 percent of the rainwater that falls on it, according to Michigan State University. Can you collect and use that water?

You can collect it, but it wouldn’t be smart to count on it being safe to drink or use. Instead, it could be a good option to collect the water for plant irrigation, but it definitely shouldn’t be used for human or pet consumption.

Can You Put Beehives On A Green Roof?

Yes, since the bees won’t interfere with the roof. However, you need to make sure the weight of the hive does not exceed any kind of structural load or weight limit.

You need to add more containers over time as the hive grows, which means more weight. Therefore, find your maximum weight and ask your architect or structural engineer if the roof can support that weight in one area. If a hive is approaching the weight limit, you can always split it in two. Also, if the slope of your roof is very low, to avoid ponding, move the hive frequently so that you don’t have the possibility of creating an indentation in the roof surface.

If you have your heart set on homegrown honey, it is helpful to know what can be done. A very famous green roof that houses four hives is the one installed at the Vancouver Convention Centre.

Please note that keeping a hive may be regulated in your jurisdiction, so be sure to check your local regulations and Federal as well as State/Province legislation to make sure you can legally install and maintain a hive on your green roof.

Can You Grow Vegetables On A Green Roof?

People grow food on their green roofs all the time. However, the green roof has to be designed to support the types of plants you intend to grow; so make your plans known to your architect, structural engineer and green roof system supplier. If you want large or tall plants, you will need a semi-intensive or intensive green roof.

Are Green Roofs Cost-Effective?

Actually, they aren’t. This is simply because it’s landscaping. However, just as many people accept the additional cost of landscaping their yards, the cost of landscaping your roof may be acceptable.

A green roof will have more costs associated with it than other roof systems because you must plan for ongoing maintenance. Most will have their plants trimmed, plus you may need to water the roof (and pay for that water), and you may need to buy replacement plants if some die or succumb to pests. There are many other potential costs that probably won’t offset your energy savings.

Green roofs are more for environmental and aesthetic reasons than having the most cost-effective solution to keep water out of your home.

While a living roof may not save you more money in utility costs than it’s worth, it can be a cost worth paying. Many people find green roofs to be beautiful assets that are nice to spend time on or near, especially if you don’t have a large lawn. In addition, a green roof could help you regulate indoor temperatures and improve the environmental health of your neighborhood.

How Much Maintenance Does A Green Roof Require?

A green roof is landscaping; it happens to be off the ground instead of on the ground. And with landscaping, it all depends on what species of plants you have up there. All the things you have to worry about with landscaping, you have to worry about green roofs.

If you’re comfortable paying for the maintenance of a garden or lawn the size of your roof, chances are you’ll be happy to put that same energy toward your roof. Keep in mind, however, that you may not be able to perform this maintenance yourself, as you may not have the equipment or training to do the work on a roof.

The best thing for you to do is to consider what maintenance you would be willing to perform before selecting your plants. Mosses or succulents usually have the lowest maintenance requirements, while a garden full of vegetables, flowers or trees will involve more work.

How Often Do You Need To Water Your Green Roof?

It depends on the type of plants on the roof. There are some green roof plants, such as sedums, that are drought-tolerant and can withstand long periods without water. Then there are other plants, especially flowers and vegetables, that will need more regular watering.

The same goes for trimming plants; some, such as grass, need regular mowing, while others, such as moss, need only occasional trimming.

A professional landscaper can advise you on the type of maintenance you can expect from the green roof plants you are considering. They can also perform that maintenance for you. Just be sure to hire a landscaper who has experience with green roofs and follows proper safety protocols.

Are Pests A Problem For Green Roofs?

Just like any other garden, a living roof could develop pests. Grasses can develop grubs, gardens can attract insects or birds that eat your vegetables, and even succulents have their own pests. If you do develop pests, you will need to ask a landscaper for advice on how to manage them.

To determine if the benefits you see from your living roof will outweigh the maintenance, you need to have an idea of what kind of upkeep your ideal green roof might need. It will always be necessary to ask your expert roofer and some engineers to make sure this is a good idea for your home and for proceeding in the best possible way.

We are experts in green roofs and you can learn more about other types of green roofs by visiting our blog.