Investigation of plant growth and flower performance on a semi-extensive green roof

- Plant phenology was investigated over 1 year on a semi-extensive green roof.
- Flowering times of plants varied between 2 weeks and over 5 months.
- The growth characteristics were categorized into six patterns.
- High plant species diversity affect plant growth and flower performance.

Understanding of plant growth and flower performance is crucial for appropriate planting design. This study was aimed to understand characteristics of growth pattern and flower performance in green roof plants and how plant species diversity effect these characteristics. A semi-extensive green roof was installed in 2005 and 54 species plant species were planted in 10 cm and 20 cm of the substrate in Rotherham, UK. Thirty-two quadrats (50 cm × 50 cm) were set up through the combinations of plant species diversity (high and low), planting density (high and low). Percentage of coverage and height of each species were recorded at every month from February to November 2006 in these 32 quadrates. Flowering time of each species was studied every two weeks from February to November 2006. Flowering time was various from plants; some showed a very long flowering time, over five months whereas some finished flowering within two weeks. The growth characteristics of individual plant species over time were categorized into six patterns of coverage and vertical growth pattern. Spread of individual plants was larger in high diversity of plants than those in low diversity of plants. Number of flowering was higher and overall flowering term was longer in the quadrats of higher plant species diversity than those of lower plant diversity. However, these tendencies were affected strongly by the combination of species used. Therefore, it is important to be aware of individual plant growth characteristics such as plant size, growth pattern and flower performance for planting design.