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Home > turf, artificial grass, sedum & lawn care > sedum matting > sedum matting - q&a >
Key Features and Benefits:
- Enviromat sedum matting is a living carpet for outdoor use
- One of the lowest maintenance garden products available in the UK
- Grown on to a special matting for strength, versatility and easy installation.
- Enviromat comes complete with mature plants already established in a life-times supply of growing medium.
- Enviromat includes a varied mix of flowering sedum plants for all year round colour and texture.
- No need for Mowing, weeding or deadheading
- Attracts Wildlife
- Suitable for numerous applications including:
- shed roofs,
- planters,
- pond surrounds,
- banks,
- borders
- Available in a range of sizes to suit every project and pocket
- Green plants can help to minimise the damage done to our environment by modern lifestyles.
- Enviromat brings all the benefits of green plants to places that might otherwise remain bare but it has hardly any impact on the way we live our lives.
- Attracts Wildlife
- A food source for butterflies, bees and many other insects
- A safe place for mini-beasts to live and to overwinter
- Birds feed on insects and seedheads
dead stalks/flower stems are used by birds as nesting material
helps to increase biodiversity
- Drought Tolerant - needs minimal watering. Containers etc can safely be left untended while you are on holiday
- Low Maintenance
- No need for mowing or dead-heading - saves time and mower fuel
- Feed only once a year - saves time and money, no excess nutrients to leach into water courses
- Absorbs Carbon Dioxide
- Helps reduce global warming
- Improves air quality by releasing oxygen
- Filters dust and pollutants from the air
Installation Guide:
The No.1 rule when installing Enviromat is to ensure that the geotextile mat has contact with the surface below it AT ALL TIMES
If there is any airspace below the matting, it will not retain water and the plants will die.
The following steps need to be taken to successfully install Enviromat . . .
- Calculate your requirements
- Prepare the Surface
- Cut Enviromat to size
- Lay it in place
- Anchor it if necessary
- Water in
Surface Preparation
OPTION 1: For a flat, or slightly sloping surface with poor or no soil:. eg a domestic flat roof. a patio, a driveway
- If you are constructing a domestic green roof, check first that it is waterproof as it is very difficult to repair leaks once the sedum matting is installed.
- A root barrier such as heavy-duty polyethylene is advisable on roofs to protect the waterproofing from root damage.
- Ensure that the surface is well drained and even. Enviromat will not tolerate sitting in a puddle for any length of time. If water does tend to accumulate anywhere, consider adding a drainage layer to prevent the Enviromat's roots becoming waterlogged.
- We recommend that either a layer of sand or gravel or a moisture retention mat be laid on the surface before your Enviromat is installed. Moisture retention mat is a relatively inexpensive fleece which ensures that the plants have the right amounts of air and water to stay healthy and vigorous. In the long run - it means less work for you!
- Trim the water retention fleece to the right size and shape with a sharp knife.
- Any joins should be butted up tight together so that there are no spaces between the pieces.
- Drench the water retention mat to the point of water run-off, this will give the sedum plants a good start.
- An application of slow release granular fertiliser at this stage will help your Enviromat to establish quickly. Be sure to follow the manufacturers instructions.
- Time to Install Your Enviromat.
Drainage matting
OPTION 2: On a slope with poor/no soil
- If you are constructing a domestic green roof, check waterproofing first as it is very difficult to repair leaks once the sedum matting is installed.
- A root barrier such as heavy-duty polyethene is advisable on roofing to protect the waterproofing from root-damage.
- It is unlikely that you'll have any standing water on a slope, however you will need to make sure that the plants have enough water to survive. (Sedum plants are drought tolerant but like all living things they do need a certain amount of water)
- Lay water retention matting on to the surface. We recommend using a water retention fleece.
- If you are laying Enviromat across a ridge eg on a domestic shed roof, an extra layer of moisture retention mat approximately 30cm either side of the ridge will benefit the plants at the very top where water would normally run-off quite rapidly.
- Drench the moisture retention mat to the point of run-off. This will give the sedum plants a good start.
- An application of slow release granular fertiliser at this stage will help your Enviromat establish quickly. Be sure to follow the manufacturers instructions.
- Time to Install your Enviromat
Retention matting
OPTION 3: On to Soil - including patio pots, window boxes and contains
- Remove weeds and debris from the area.
- Check the condition of your soil. If it is prone to waterlogging, spreading a 4-5cm layer of sharp sand or gravel on top will improve the growing conditions for your Enviromat.
- Ensure that you are happy with the levels and contours of the ground. Remember that Enviromat must be in contact with the ground below at all times. It will mould itself to gentle hills and hollows but it isn't flexible enough to cope with sudden dramatic changes in incline. If your design includes lots of changes of level, you might want to consider installing seperate pieces of Enviromat to ensure the best possible results.
- To make sure that no perennial weeds invade your Enviromat from below, BFP recommend laying a proprietary weed barrier (available from all good garden centres) before you put your Enviromat down. Simply follow the manufacturers' instructions. For pots and containers, a weed barrier is probably unneccessary.
- An application of slow-release granular fertiliser at this stage will help your Enviromat to establish quickly. Be sure to follow the manufacturers instructions.
- The soil should be quite moist (but not sodden) before installing your Enviromat.
- Time for Installation
Cutting Enviromat to Size:
- Trimming Enviromat to size couldn't be easier - simply use a sharp knife, or even a hacksaw, to cut through all of the layers.
- Always wear strong gloves, not only can the substrate be abrasive to skin, gloves offer extra protection to your hands should the knife slip.
- When covering large areas with Enviromat, it is far easier and safer to lay the product in place before trimming.
- A firm surface beneath the Enviromat will make cutting easier.
- Don't worry too much about damaging the plants - they will soon recover.
- Try not to "hack" at the product, a smooth cut will result in less substrate loss and tidier edges.
- A small amount of growing medium may be disturbed during cutting but this shouldn't be detrimental to the product in the long term.
Lay your Enviromat in Place:
- Handling tray sized pieces of Enviromat is not at all difficult, simply put the piece where you would like it to sit and adjust the position to make sure that the mat is in contact with the surface below at all times.
- Slabs and rolls of Enviromat are heavy so please be careful how you handle them. A 2 square metre roll can weigh up to 80Kg (12 Stones) - definitely a 2-person job.
- There are no set rules for laying Enviromat on a flat (or flattish) surface, but common sense dictates that it is best to start at a far corner of your area and work backwards - that way you will avoid trampling on the Enviromat you have already laid.
- Folded underneath each slab or roll of Enviromat is an extra flap of geotextile membrane. Once your Enviromat is in place, unfold this flap and lay it flat on the surface beside your sedum matting. The next piece of Enviromat will be laid on top of this to help anchorage.
- On a slope, start at the top of the slope and work down. Strips of Enviromat should run at 90 degrees to the top of the slope.
- If you are covering an apexed roof, by far the most effective way to lay Enviromat is to start at the eaves and take the sedum matting up, over the apex and back down the other side.
Sedum Aftercare:
Compared to bedding plants, hebaceous perennials, roses and many other popular garden occupants, Enviromat is remarkably easy to care for.
The propogation has laready been done, there is no need for daily watering or weekly feeding and it doesn't need mowing or trimming unless you are looking for a textured ground cover rather than a flowering one.
So what steps do you need to take in order to keep your Enviromat in good order for years to come?
Watering
In general, Enviromat is more likely to be damaged by too much water than too little. Sedum plants hate to have soggy roots. Having said that, Enviromat will tolerate heavy rainfall, as long as its growing medium is well drained.
Enviromat will survive for a month or so without being watered. In most cases therefore, the British weather will absolve you of all watering-can duties but, there are situations in which a little extra help is advisable.
Enviromat in containers is more susceptible to drying out, so keep an eye on the plants. If the foliage starts to take on a wrinkled or rubbery texture, then a good watering is in order.
Enviromat on sloping roofs will need extra attention in long periods of drought because water tends to drain away quite quickly when the roof is wetted. Laying a water-retentive fleece underneath the Enviromat will help the plants to survive in long periods of drought. If the roof slopes very steeply, it is advisable to consider installing an irrigation system.
Feeding
Sedum plants are very economical when it comes to fertilizer. A slow-release, low-nitrogen granular fertiliser applied once a year (preferably in spring) is really all that is needed.
Overfeeding is not only a waste of money, it allows plant nutrients to leach into water courses where they are a pollutant.
Weeding
The geotextile matting that Enviromat is grown on will stop some, but not all, perennial weeds growing up from underneath. We recommend that Enviromat be installed on to a weed resistant membrane to help keep weeds under control.
Enviromat has a very dense covering of plants that prevents the majority of weeds from germinating. However, there are always the occasional opportunists that do manage to grow. A thin layer of pebbles or gravel, spread over Enviromat won't damage the sedum plants but it will act as a deterrent to weeds and help to weigh the material down in windy weather
We have found, that in high summer, the sedum plants in Enviromat relish the hot dry conditions while any "imposters" soon languish and die. The few surviving weeds are quickly and easily removed by hand at the end of the summer.
Mowing
Most people grow Enviromat for its spectacular and long lasting floral display, in which case the plants will not need any sort of mowing or trimming at all.
Enviromat also has some wonderful textural qualities and can be used by the adventurous gardener for accentuating features such as waterfalls, rills, statuary or stone. Using a set of sharp garden shears, Enviromat can be trimmed down to as low as 2cm, in this way the workload is increased but some truly amazing patterns and textures are revealed.
Bare Patches
When Enviromat leaves the production fields, roughly 95% of the matting has a dense covering of plants. Occasionally though, small areas of the growing medium becomes visible. Over time, the plants will spread and fill in those patches. It is possible to speed up the process by breaking off little pieces of plant material from the more dense areas and sprinkling them on to the bare patches. Within weeks, the "sprouts" will have grown roots and established themselves.
Pests and Diseases
There are very few pests and diseases that affect Enviromat, in fact it is remarkably trouble-free. When Enviromat is grown outdoors the only 'pest' likely to invade is the aphid.
Aphids love the succulent leaves of sedums but they actually do very little harm to the plants, it's just that large clusters of aphids aren't particularly attractive to look at.
Insecticidal sprays that eradicate aphids are available from most garden centres, however MANY SPRAYS ARE NOT SUITABLE FOR USE ON SEDUMS, they burn and scar the leaves.
We believe that aphids are an important part of the food chain for a wide variety of creatures, including ladybirds, lacewings and many songbirds and that encouraging these so-called pests into the garden is ecologically quite sound. However, there are many who would not agree.
A useful and natural insecticide is an infusion (tea) made from the chopped green leaves of the herb tansy (Tanacetum vulgare). Alternatively, use a proprietary aphid spray that is suitable for use on blackcurrants (blackcurrants are closely related to sedums)
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All prices include VAT.
Delivery is FREE in most cases unless shown. Please see delivery terms
If you require assistance, please contact us on
01953 850802 |
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