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Lazy living roof

micearguersmicearguers Posts: 646
edited March 2021 in Problem solving
Edit: accidentally posted in Problem solving rather than Plants, oh well.

This is an ongoing experiment. It's an onduline roof (of two overlappign sheets) that I seeded with slate pebbles and different sedum varieties. Moss is enthusiastically participating and the hummocks of moss and sedum are bulking up and spreading. I don't water it except for once or twice a spray with the hose during the very worst (months-long) droughts. Sometimes the blackbirds and thrushes wreak a bit of havoc. My main concern is whether at some point drainage will be impeded to such an extent that water backs up below the uppermost sheet and cause a leaking shed, but it will be easily fixable.









Posts

  • madpenguinmadpenguin Posts: 2,543
    I am trying something similar with my sloping tiled porch roof.
    It has moss and lichen growing on it naturally and I have been trying to establish some Sempervivums by tucking the tails under the tiles, to no avail as birds keep ripping them out before they establish!
    I will be trying again this year with superglue to hold them in place!!
    Maybe superglue some small pieces of slate in place as well  ;)
    “Every day is ordinary, until it isn't.” - Bernard Cornwell-Death of Kings
  • micearguersmicearguers Posts: 646
    @madpenguin I was inspired to try this by seeing a big lump of mossy sedums on a tiled roof and of course houseleeks on roofs have been a thing for probably centuries.
    The birds have had a go at it on several occasions, maybe it helps if it reaches a certain critical ma/oss. Touch wood before the blackbirds start a massive onslaught. When I started it I may have actually used some clay that I dug up to glue the sedums + slate in place. I have also put sedums back when they were thrown off by the birds, but that's likely harder to do for your tiled porch roof.
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    There's some inspiration here if you're interested.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • PianoplayerPianoplayer Posts: 624
    Looks really nice - good luck with it. I had a load of moss on my garage roof, and I came down one morning to find it all on my patio - the blackbirds had had a real party.
  • micearguersmicearguers Posts: 646
    @wild edges yes those types of roof always catch my eye as well, and is the type of look/result I'm aiming for. My shed roof is pretty exposed to sun during summer, so an envirionment that is quite harsh. The first one in your post looks a bit more lush, probably due to the dappled shade it gets. I may consider starting off a little patch of Sedum rupestre.
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    If it gets a lot of sun then you could try putting some logs or branches up there to provide some microclimates. Plant your cuttings so they get some shade from the logs and they'll establish faster.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
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