Green or vegetative roofs are often expected to be able to replicate a habitat for a number of plant species that are common to the local environment. Other common misconceptions about green roofs are that they can only be built and installed by specialized companies and that they are expensive and hard to maintain.
Let’s take a look at 3 of the most common green roof myths and get the truth.
Myth nr. 1
“Green Roofs can and should be exact copies of habitats found in the local environment."
We say: "Not true!"
Even though living roofs improve a city’s biodiversity while helping to clean the air and sae energy, they can never be an exact replica of a natural habitat.
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The majority of buildings cannot afford to have 50 cm of soil on top of the roof, as it can compromise structural stability. Consequently, plants with longer root systems are not able to grow or survive in these conditions.
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Extreme solar radiation bombards plant growth on roofs far more intensely and for longer periods than those on the ground. Consequently, plants used on roofs need to be far more heat and radiation tolerant and adaptive.
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In dry periods, plants on the roof, unlike their counterparts on the ground, cannot extend their roots deep into the ground to search for “last resort water reserves”.
Despite all of these simple and logical facts, that clearly demonstrate the fact that green roofs cannot directly replace ground-based habitats because they are simply not part of the ground level flora system, the demand for mirror-copies of the local environment can still sometimes be heard.
Mr. Mert Eksi, PhD, who is working on the Green Roof Research project at Istanbul University, Faculty of Forestry Landscape Architecture Department (
http://greenroofsistanbul.weebly.com) at this year’s World Green Roof Congress in Istanbul clearly said we all need to understand that
"Green Roofs are an artificial construct trying to resemble nature as closely as possible".
Myth nr. 2:
"Green roofs may cause structural problems and leakage and are hard to maintain.”
We say: "Not true!"
When Green Roof System Providers develop and deliver properly pre-designed green roof systems, anyone with some technical knowledge and basic practical skills should be able to install and maintain a green roof.
Green roof system providers are investing a lot of energy and resources to develop green roof systems that work. Serious system providers will employ:
- roofing specialists to understand how vegetative roofs should be placed on different types of roof constructions, considering types of insulation, waterproofing and slopes
- substrate / growing media specialists who will develop the most suitable combinations of growing media to be used with specific plants in specific climate zones
- plant professionals who have dedicated their core business to testing and selecting plants for the green roof industry
- nutrition and irrigation specialists who will develop clear yet simple maintenance protocols to provide for the long-term health of green roofs.
Despite a complex development phase, the end-result of serious Green Roof system providers should and must be an integral Green Roof Design that is so simple that anyone can install and maintain it.
Myth nr. 3:
"If it’s so simple, green roofs will be installed everywhere soon."
We say: "Hopefully, true!"
Some people in the business try to cultivate the idea that good green roofs are so complex they can only be designed led by those who have been in the Green Roofing industry for decades.
Well, let's be honest… If Henry Ford had thought like that, than the Ford Model T would never have been built, and the automotive industry would not have developed as it did in the early years of the 20th century.
Mr. Ford once said: "I will build a car for the great multitudes. It will be large enough for the family, but small enough for the individual to run and care for. It will be constructed of the best materials, by the best men to be hired, after the simplest designs that modern engineering can devise. But it will be so low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one – and enjoy with his family the blessing of hours of pleasure in God's great open spaces.”
So we say: "Let’s provide a Green Roof System that is developed by the best vegetation, substrate, nutrition and construction professionals and/or specialists, while ensuring the simplest possible design a modern green roof system provider can develop. And it needs to be so simple that anyone can install it….’’
Or as Leonardo Da Vinci, one of the greatest minds of all once said:
‘’Simplicity is the ultimate form of sophistication.’’
For a simple vegetative roof system check our website or download our Green Roof System Brochure.