| These
plants occur widely in full sun on rocky outcrops in the
Durban area
at an altitude of about 1500 feet where they grow in very shallow soils
and in cracks in the rocks mostly with
little or no competition from other plants.
Growth habit
These
plants are small to medium evergreen to deciduous herbaceous shrubs. They have the habit of
spreading as a result of branches that take root on touching the
ground. They
reproduce naturally mostly by means of seed
Decorative value
These
plants have small grey green leaves and a profusion of flowers in the
summer and Autumn, they can
become a little untidy with
age.
Drought resistance
In their
natural habitat they are able to withstand long dry periods due
to their semi-succulent nature and large succulent root system which is
quickly able to store
large
amounts of water.
From my
experience of growing these plants as pot plants I have found them to
be very
drought resistant.
Disease and pest resistance
The
flowers are frequently attacked by mealy bugs.
Suitability as Green Roof plants
These
plants are small to medium in size. They are probably best suited as
feature plants, but
could
possibly be planted en mass. These plants are best
established
from cuttings taken from mature plants.
Under our
test conditions where these plants have not been under competition from
more
vigorous growing plants they are showing good results.
Biodiversity value in the Green
Roof landscape
Their
flowers
attract large numbers of pollinating insects in particular solitary
bees and small butterflies.
Cautions and precautions in the
Green Roof
application
None that I
am aware of at the moment
|
