Care and Maintenance

Your Garden Affairs green roof will provide an attractive, low maintenance feature for years to come.

Watering

In general, your green roof is more likely to be damaged by too much water than too little. Sedum plants hate to have soggy roots. Having said that, a green roof will tolerate heavy rainfall, as long as its growing medium is well drained.

A green roof will survive for a month or so without being watered. In most cases therefore, the British weather will absolve you of all watering-can duties but, there are situations in which a little extra help is advisable.

If the foliage starts to take on a wrinkled or rubbery texture, then a good watering is in order.

Feeding

Sedum plants are very economical when it comes to fertilizer. A slow-release, low-nitrogen granular fertiliser applied once a year (preferably in spring) is really all that is needed.

Overfeeding is not only a waste of money, it allows plant nutrients to leach into water courses where they are a pollutant.

Weeding

The geotextile matting that your green roof is grown on will stop some, but not all, perennial weeds growing up from underneath.

A green roof from Garden Affairs has a very dense covering of plants that prevents the majority of weeds from germinating. However, there are always the occasional opportunists that do manage to grow. A thin layer of pebbles or gravel, spread over the roof won't damage the sedum plants but it will act as a deterrent to weeds and help to weigh the material down in windy weather.

In high summer, the sedum plants relish the hot dry conditions while any "imposters" soon languish and die. The few surviving weeds are quickly and easily removed by hand at the end of the summer.

Pests and Diseases

There are very few pests and diseases that affect a sedum roof, in fact it is remarkably trouble-free. When grown outdoors the only 'pest' likely to invade is the aphid.

Aphids love the succulent leaves of sedums but they actually do very little harm to the plants, it's just that large clusters of aphids aren't particularly attractive to look at.

MANY SPRAYS ARE NOT SUITABLE FOR USE ON SEDUMS, they burn and scar the leaves.

Aphids are an important part of the food chain for a wide variety of creatures, including ladybirds, lacewings and many songbirds and encouraging these so-called pests into the garden is ecologically quite sound. However, there are many who would not agree!

A useful and natural insecticide is an infusion (tea) made from the chopped green leaves of the herb tansy (Tanacetum vulgare). Alternatively, use a proprietary aphid spray that is suitable for use on blackcurrants.

Bare Patches

When the sedum roof is installed our team will aim to achieve a 95% coverage with dense sedum plants. Any bare patches will soon be covered as the sedum grows and establishes itself.