Observations on the survival capacity of 118 plant taxa on a green roof in a semi-arid climate: 12 year update

Abstract

The Green Roof at Denver Botanic Gardens was built in the fall of 2007. Since installation, data on the green roof have been collected on 118 plant taxa 43 of which have survived for over 10 years. Plants were grouped based on their metabolic and growth type: succulents, creeping forbs, upright forbs, graminoid, and shrubs. Overall, shrubs and succulents have displayed the highest survival rates, showing the greatest potential for use on green roofs in semi-arid conditions. Graminoids survived about half the time and creeping and upright forbs had the lowest overall survival in semi-arid Colorado. Species survivability rates were calculated based on the number of plants of that species originally installed on the green roof.