Home > Green Roof Research

Green Roof Research

Moss Acres has been conducting extensive green roof research over the past couple of years. Our aim is to provide landscape architects, green roofing companies and any green roof research enthusiasts with direction for how to easily establish intensive or extensive green roof systems using moss instead of sedum.

Our green roof research has established some very interesting facts about moss and how it lends itself to green roof systems:

1. Moss is very lightweight, and can absorb up to 10x it's weight in water making it ideal for storm water management.
2. Moss requires only 1½ - 2" of roofing medium aggregate to establish itself and can later withstand lengthy periods without rain.
3. The two varieties of moss we recommend for green roof systems (fern moss and rock cap moss) enjoy shade and partial shade, making them ideal for areas of building shadow where sedums have difficulty growing.
4. Moss grows rapidly on a green roof, typically establishing itself from 25% coverage at inoculation to near 100% in just 2-4 months depending on location, water amounts, and shade levels.
5. Ease of installation and cost savings are two other benefits associated with utilizing moss for green roof systems.

Moving forward, we believe moss will be a significant component of green roof systems. Many green roofs in Europe are comprised of high densities of various mosses, so moss has already proven itself to be a natural for green roofs.

Learn how to establish a living roof using moss.