Soil Amendments Reduce Roof Garden Weight and Influence the Growth Rate of Lantana

Four substrates were investigated for their efficacy as roof garden vegetative layers. The substrates comprised a sandy loam soil (S), sandy loam soil amended with urea formaldehyde resin foam (S:F) in a proportion of 60-40 v/v, sandy loam soil amended with peat and perlite (S:P:Per) in a proportion of 50-30-20 v/v and peat amended with urea formaldehyde resin foam (P:F) in a proportion of 60-40 v/v. The substrates were evaluated for their physical and chemical properties and their capacity to sustain growth of Lantana camara L. Physical and chemical evaluation included weight determination at saturation and at field capacity, bulk density determination, water retention, air filled porosity at 40 cm, pH and EC. When compared to the control (S) a weight reduction of 16.8%, 23.9% and 70.3% was obtained at field capacity with S:F, S:P:Per and P:F substrates respectively. Bulk density was reduced by 46%, 43% and 95%, in substrates S:F, S:P:Per and P:F, respectively, compared to the control substrate S. Air-filled porosity at 40 cm was slightly increased for substrate S:F while it was substantially increased for substrate P:F. The pH response between the initiation and the termination of the study was similar for the four substrates. EC decreased in substrates S and S:P:Per but increased in substrates S:F and P:F. Plant growth was monitored as shoot length, shoot number, main shoot diameter and the number of buds and flowers. Substrates S and S:F resulted in similar plant growth, while substrate S:F promoted flowering. Substrate S:P:Per induced slow plant growth during the first 6 months which subsequently increased resulting in a final growth that was satisfactory and comparable to the S and S:F substrates. Substrate P:F did not support sufficient plant growth and its use should be considered only in special cases where reduced weight of the roof garden is imperative.