Green Roofing: A Rooftop Vineyard

By Mary Jo Bruce
Published on May 1, 1980
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The full fruition of Dr. Stanford's green roofing scheme.
The full fruition of Dr. Stanford's green roofing scheme.
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A top-down view of the wood and wire mesh frame you'll use to
A top-down view of the wood and wire mesh frame you'll use to "train" and support your vines.

Keeping your home comfortable in the dead of summer can be a tough job . . . and an expensive one, especially if your power source happens to be electricity. But there is a way to “keep your cool” and at the same time declare your independence from energy-gobbling air conditioning devices. Dr. Geoffrey Stanford of the Greenhills Experiment Station near Dallas, Texas has developed a natural green roofing system that’s capable of keeping a house as much as 20° cooler than the outside temperature . . . without wasting a single watt of valuable electricity.

Instant (Well, Almost) Shade

Designed primarily to help out the owners of suburban dwellings with treeless yards (which seem to pop up like mushrooms in his part of the country), Dr. Stanford’s brainstorm consists of a simple rooftop covering of vines . . . which forms a living evaporative cooling layer over the house. Although such a vine canopy could start reducing your home’s utility costs within one year after planting, it will likely take three full growing seasons for the creepers to cover the roof completely. (Of course, even that delay beats the ten years required for an average shade tree to grow large enough to protect your house!)

If you live in a cooler climate, a vine “roof” could make it possible for you to turn off your air conditioning forever. . . and even if your home is in the scorching Southwest, where afternoon temperatures are likely to soar to 100°F in midsummer, the leafy network will maintain the inside air at a bearable 80°. (You could then temper your environment even further by using fans . . . and avoid having to depend on air conditioning for “survival.”)

Choosing a Vine

To establish the cooling canopy, first find out which types of vines will grow most rapidly where you live. The majority of such systems employ hardy, broad-leaved grapevines, but you might also try such perennials as Carolina jessamme, wisteria, or honeysuckle. Dr. Stanford recommends that folks living in his region use Mustang or Baco Black grapes. However, you should talk to your county agricultural agent before deciding which vine plant will grow best in your particular area. (Don’t depend on the advice of nursery employees, since such people are sometimes eager to sell only what they’re overstocked with!)

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