Sedum is an evergreen, succulent plant, the natural properties of which make it extremely suitable for roof greening

Succulents are plants that store water in their leaves, and this is why Sedum is often referred to as a leaf succulent.

The metabolism of Sedum differs from other plants, in that, at night, carbon dioxide is absorbed through the stomata and converted into Malic acid. During the day, under the influence of sunlight, the Malic acid is decomposed and photosynthesis takes place. The stomata in the leaves are only open at night and during the hot and dry day, moisture loss is minimised.

Thanks to it’s natural properties, Sedum requires little maintenance when used for green roofs and generally only requires attention twice a year which includes removing weeds carried by the wind and applying fertiliser.

Unlike grass, there is no need to mow it, which makes it perfect for hard to access places such as roofs

Sempergreen Group was founded in 1996 with the mission of growing and supplying innovative Nature Based Solutions that make life in our urban areas, towns and Cities greener, cleaner, better for our Health and Wellbeing and increasingly important, Biodiverse…..now, and for generations to come.

Sempergreen is a Global Company with many nurseries and offices around the World and Sempergreen UK Ltd has recently been set up in response to the growing demand for great quality Green Roofs.

Sempergreen has a strong foundation of 27 years’ of experience developing and growing sedum blankets, which are grown in nurseries around the World. They work with Civil Engineers to test their sedum blankets extensively, which means they have been able to develop the best quality products on the market with the following benefits:

• Sempergreen products are of the highest quality-tried and tested over many years and in continual development.
• Upon delivery, your green roof will have a minimum sedum coverage of 95%, giving you an instant green roof.
• We stock the Sempergreen green roof systems and products you see on our web shop, at our UK nurseries, which means delivery times are short
• Our green roof products are produced completely free of pesticides and therefore make a positive contribution to the living environment of bees and butterflies

Web shops that carry the Sempergreen Certified Quality Mark, demonstrate that they are a certified seller of Sempergreen’s quality products for green roofs.

These retailers have been hand picked by Sempergreen, which means you can be confident that the web shop guarantees the best quality, reliability and service. 

Sempergreen’s green roof systems are tested by Independent Civil Engineers at Research & Development labs. There are many distinct benefits of choosing our lightweight systems including:

• Sustainability: made from sustainably sourced various rock mixtures.
• Great for plant roots: the lightweight open structure promotes extensive root distribution and plant growth.
• 8 x lighter than a traditional soil based green roof, meaning it can be installed on most building structures.
• High water absorption: up to 10 x better absorption and retention than a traditional green roof which means a better performance of storing rainwater run-off.
• Efficient and quick installation: 20 x less material needed than a traditional green roof meaning significantly less labour and time saved.
• High fire resistance: grown on a non-combustible medium that will not contribute to the spread of fire at any stage.
• High acoustic performance: reduces noise levels through surface absorption. 

The addition of a sedum green roof will protect your roof from extreme weather conditions such as heavy rain, ice and intense sunshine, and the addition of a green roof can increase the lifespan of your roof by up to 23 years.

A green roof also cools the roof below which in turn, reduces fluctuations in temperature and exposure to UV light, which can damage the waterproof layer over time.

Extensive Green Roofs are thin lightweight roof systems that typically have a planting media measuring 4 to 20 cm deep, with a saturated weight from 45kg/m2 to 150kg/m2 meaning this type of roof can be installed on a wide selection of roofs.

Intensive Green Roofs are much heavier and thicker as their growing media ranges from 20 cm to 100 cm weighing from 180kg/m2 and up to to 500 kg/m2 saturated;

Semi intensive green roofs, as their name states, are a combination of the other two types. They have a thinner planting media than an intensive roof but thicker than an extensive one, and the whole system ranges from 120 to 250 mm with a saturated weight from 120-200 kg/m2

An Extensive Green Roof offers a number of advantages over an intensive green roof:

• Lower costs
  The installation and maintenance costs of an Extensive green roof are relatively low compared to Intensive green roofs.
• Less load on the support structure
  An Intensive Green Roof is many times heavier than an Extensive Green Roof, as it’s comparable to a garden with shrubs and trees, but on your roof. The load for the roof construction is therefore much higher. Intensive roofs can therefore only be constructed on new buildings where the weight of the roof is known.
  Conversely, Extensive roofs can easily be installed on almost any kind of roof; flat or pitched. 
• Minimal maintenance
  An Extensive green roof requires minimal maintenance. It is enough to fertilise twice a year whereas, an Intensive green roof requires regular maintenance such as pruning and strimming/mowing to keep the plants in good condition, just as you would in an ordinary garden.