The intent of the Florida Extensive Green Roof was to build an affordable, non-irrigated vegetated roof that was light in weight (<10 lbs per SF) and would survive the 5 H's of Florida - High Winds, Hard Freezes, Hurricanes, High Humidity and Heat. We wanted a vegetated roof that would treat & clean stormwater, provide wildlife habitat and offer a sense of place - landscaping amenity. The two greenroofs have been in place for three years this fall 2009, and have survived a tropical storm (see the video at www.metroverde.com) and long periods of drought as well as the Florida heat, humidity and winter freezes. We have never preformed maintenance on the roof and pioneer species will come and go. The roof always stays green and provides habitat for a significant and diverse population of wildlife. The tree frogs and anoles inhabiting the roof provide pest control of flies, termites and roaches. Butterflies, bees and other pollinating insects frequent the roof on a continual basis. The roof provides approximately 40 degrees F insulating qualities over adjacent non-vegetated roof sections. The vegetated roof was constructed in one day's time and installed over an existing asphalt shingle roof. A root/water barrier was spot attached to the shingles using a green/low-VOC adhesive. The mat was installed over the root barrier using the same low-VOC adhesive and then filled with an engineered soil containing perlite, vermiculite, trace amounts of peat and organic material, expanded clay and a variety of other ingredients. The engineered soil mixture drains/wicks away water quickly as the plants we selected do not like wet feet.The entire thickness of the vegetated roof averages approximately 2". The mat is monolithic across the roof with no dividing walls or barriers - this allow the plants to migrate over time to the best suited areas on the roof. A combination of Florida native plants, adapted natives and succulents were chosen to resist the harsh Florida climate. Installed costs totaled less than approximately $14 per sf.