What is sedum?

Each of the five buildings within Birchway’s Eco-Community will have a ‘green roof’ often referred to as a sedum roof.

A sedum roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and soil planted over a waterproofing membrane.

Benefits of sedum roofs:

• Reduce heating (by adding mass and thermal resistance value) and cooling (by evaporative cooling) loads on a building

• Increase roof life span

• Reduce rainwater run off

• Filter pollutants and CO2 out of the air

• The soil and plants on green roofs help to insulate a building for sound; the soil helps to block lower frequencies and the plants block higher frequencies

• Filter pollutants and heavy metals out of rainwater Increase wildlife habitat in built-up areas

• Some people choose to grow fruits, vegetables, and flowers

Sedum itself is also known as stonecrop. The succulent-leaved plants have large flat flowerheads and their leaves often have a bluey-grey tint to them. Each flower has a papery case around it, giving an interesting texture to the flowerhead.