Seed mixture spec' for green roof

 I get a lot of calls for green roof seeds, here's my recipe.

Product Name: Wild Flora for Stone Walls and Green Roofs.
This seed mixture is a speciality in the range. (EDEN Project Roof Garden Choice 2009 - 2010)

Sod Roof Gardens: DBN has supplied specialist mixtures for 'Green Roofs'' since our start up in 1990, indeed we have used the following species to cover roofs for The Office of Public Works on Heritage Centres at the New Grange Centre which is an example of one of our sod roof gardens
Growing flora on 'Green or Sod' roofs or on roof gardens is now becoming increasingly popular, we have supplied major protects world-wide and have a number of recent customer in Ireland who sow green roofs.
Stone Wall Flora Establishing a flora on a wall requires certain conditions, the best is a flat capped wall with limestone soil or peat. In addition a paste can be made of dried seaweed and manual, some use porridge to splatter across dry stone wall faces, where there is crevices between the stonework.


Species List: This species list shows species from which a mixture may be designed. Limited stock available unless grown to order.

Common Bent Grass
Burnet Saxifrage*
Century*
Wild Chamomile*
Corn Pansy*
Cowslip
Eyebright*
Lady's Bedstraw
Ox-eye Daisy
Red Bartsia*
Yellow Rattle*
Selfheal
Sheep's Bit Scabious
White Stonecrop
Blackstonia* 
Fairy Foxglove
Sea Campion
Ivy Leaved Toadflax
Quaking Grass
Wall Pennywort
Storksbill*
Thyme (Wild)
Sweet Violet
Dog Violet
Allium carinatum*
Harebell
Cat's Ear
Sand Spurry*
Corn Spurry*
Fairy Flax
Lesser Yellow Clover or  'shamrock'*
Wallflower*

Phone for quotation and advice: ++353 (0)56 4442526
Post for quotation or advice: Design By Nature (Ire) Crettyard, Carlow, Ireland.

Seed Mixture Specifications:
Origin: Native Irish Origin, Wildflower Seed Mixture. EC11
Suitable for soil type: All types of soil, Clay, Loam, Sand, Light Soil, preferably not heavy soil
Moisture Level: Dry, Normal, Moist, but not Wet
pH range: Best between 5.5 - 7.9
Aspect: Sunny or slightly shaded for part of the day.

Morphology:
Life Cycle: Annual / Biennial / Perennial.
Height Range: <2cm to >60cm
Flowering Period:  April to August.
Fertility Range: Avoid fertile soil.
Wintergreen: Yes, depends on situation and if sown with grass.
The main species which should persist in this mixture:
Common Bent Grass,  Cowslip, Lady's Bedstraw, Ox-eye Daisy, Ivy Leaved Toadflax, Selfheal, Sheep's Bit Scabious,  Lesser/Yellow Clover 'shamrock'.
Annual Species: Blackstonia, Century, Sand Spurry, Corn Spurry, Fairy Flax, Eyebright, Corn Pansy, Red Bartsia, Yellow Rattle.
Biennial Species: Storksbill,

   
Sowing Specification: As Normal, Splatter, hydra-sow or roll or rake into surface to keep out of reach from birds. Click here for more details

Soil Preparation: Walls and roofs will require specialist advice.

Ensure a totally weed free fine tilt or press the seed into clean soil.
Optimum Sowing Time: Early spring, early autumn, when the soil is warm.

Sowing Conditions: Normal, do not let the site dry out once sown, wall tops dry out in hours, 'sod roofs' suffer wind desiccation and this will kill emerging seedlings.
Sowing Method: 'By hand' is recommended, if using seed spreaders be careful to insure the small varieties of seed do not drop to the bottom of the seed spreader and get sown all in the one place. Can be Hydrasown. Click here for more details
Fertiliser: None, unless very poor fertility such as sand or limestone dry fill. Powdered or liquid seaweed will aid germination. Click here for more details

Seed Sowing Rates:
Normal sowing rate = 1.5 to 2 to 4 grams per metre.
Sowing rate with additional species of specialist grass seed: Add 1 gram per metre.

Grass seed or nurse crop requirement:

Nurse Crop: No nurse crop is required.
Grass Seed Requirement: n/a, use Bent and Creeping Fescue species
Sow with or without grasses: Either / With Grasses / without grasses
Sowing rate with grasses: Add 1 gram grass seed per metre.

If sown without grasses, this mixture: Will not require a nurse crop.

Seed Specification: 
Total number of seeds per gram: 7870
In normal conditions (mainly in early Autumn and Spring) this mix should germinate 6 weeks after sowing, from then on provided the sward is kept open and a 'Thatch' is not allowed develop, species will continue to germinate and emerge, through to the third year.
Up to 50% of all seed should germinate in the first year.
Up to 70% of all species should germinate in 12 months.
Up to 80% of all species should have flowered by the fourth year after sowing.

Performance: 
This seed mixture will be slow and difficult to establish

Persistence if unmanaged: Medium
Tolerance of Cutting: Medium
General Cutting Time: August. Cutting may be hazardous on roofs, no cutting should be required on walls, instead tidy the dead foliage and hand weed.
Specific Cutting Time: n/a

Management: Control grasses and weeds until well established.

Most species in this mixture are 'wind' resistant.