Vegetative Roofs: Interest Keeps Growing

Are you nervous about specifying a vegetative roof? Does the thought of planting vegetation – and testing the waterproofing capabilities of your roof while irrigating those plants – make you cringe?

You are not alone. Many facility professionals are hesitant to jump on the green roofs bandwagon, but managers sooner or later might have to bury those reservations. Vegetative systems are becoming integral to an organization’s move toward environmental responsibility, and managers will have to tackle the learning curve related to specifying and maintaining those roofs.

Fortunately, maintenance and engineering managers will not be alone in trying to figure out the proper design, installation and maintenance procedures surrounding a vegetative system. Manufacturers, distributors, grounds care personnel and possibly even outside contractors will work together when organizations decide to go the green roof route.

If plant selection and horticultural knowledge is a manager’s biggest concern, pre-planted modular trays are a viable – yet more expensive – option. Certain systems, typically those with less growing media and more basic vegetation, also call for less maintenance than systems with trees and shrubs showcased on rooftops. That means less weeding, fertilizing and watering.

So, taking on a vegetative roof may not be as difficult as it might seem.

The key thing to remember goes back to the most important element of any new project in commercial and institutional facilities: Get everyone involved. Designers, architects, the manufacturer, grounds managers and maintenance and operations folks need to form a unified front in designing, installing and maintaining the system.

Without that collaboration, something that seems like a small detail – irrigating the system twice a week instead of once in hot, dry conditions, for example – can lead to failure and more negative feelings toward vegetative systems altogether.