Up in the Air Rooftop gardeners take heat and drought in stride. Here's what you can learn from them. By Marie Hofer and Susan Morgan, HGTV.com
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Some folks take container gardening to the next level—whether it's one story up or 20. As long as weight, water and light are taken into consideration, almost anything can grow above ground. Watch a rooftop gardener in action on Gardening by the Yard Saturday, Aug. 5, 11:30am e/p.
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It isn't enough that rooftop gardeners have to worry about the weight of potting soil and how many elevator trips it will take to schlep two bags of amendments, a flat of marigolds and a small crabapple tree. They also have heat, drought and drying winds to worry about. Whether you garden 12 stories up or on a backyard patio, their advice can help you cope:Make smart plant choices. "A rooftop garden is exposed. It's almost like a beach environment—hot, dry and windy," says Carmen DeVito, a landscape designer in Brooklyn, NY. "So I use a plant palette like I would at a beach house." In her rooftop designs, she uses bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica, a common coastal plant), roses (especially 'The Fairy'), herbs, grasses (Miscanthus sinensis 'Yakujima'), succulents, yarrow, pines (like Pinus mugo), dwarf junipers, cotoneaster and Russian olive.
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Figure A
--photo courtesy of GroundWorks Inc.
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Lots of rooftop gardeners grow tomatoes, coleus and other thirsty plants. If you know you're going to be able to water once or twice a day as necessary, go for it. If not, choose drought-tolerant plants like lantana, portulaca, euphorbia and grasses (figure A). Mediterranean-type plants, including herbs like rosemary, lavender and thyme, also withstand drought. Look especially for heat tolerance in your plant selections. Plants like Dahlberg daisy (Dyssodia tennuiloba), globe amaranth (Gomphrena globosa) and gazania (Gazania rigens) regularly make the "hot" list. Also seek plants that don't need to be deadheaded or that create a lot of litter. If you're gardening in a spot where a compost pile isn't possible, the less maintenance you have to do—and the less debris you have to get rid of—the better. Provide some shade if you can. The ambient temperature of an urban setting builds up as heat is absorbed and reflected from a jungle of hard, concrete surfaces. If you can, grow vines up a trellis, add a patio umbrella or even build a pergola to reduce the amount of sun shining on your garden floor. "Or you can construct shade with metal posts and sailcloth," says Joan Grabel, a landscape designer in Studio City, Calif. Provide for consistent water and good drainage. Install an irrigation system, especially drip irrigation, says DeVito. "Watering is the single most important gardening chore, and on a rooftop you may have to water up to twice a day." With an irrigation system, all you have to do is set a timer to water and check the system periodically.If you don't have an irrigation system, remember the rule of watering—water well whenever you water. It takes time for potting soil to fully absorb water, so water slowly or rewater about 30 minutes later. Account for drainage. Direct runoff away from the main area where people will gather.
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