Why we need to maintain living walls
Living walls are glorious vertical gardens, and like gardens they need to be given some care and attention to ensure that they look great all year round.
When living walls first arrived in the UK there were some rather well documented living wall disasters! Notably this school living wall on Paradise Passage in London – ironic! This was definitely a project without a living wall maintenance schedule in place.
Famously the irrigation had been switched off over the school holidays, it was a great shame and for some time hindered the progress of the living wall market here in the UK.
Fortunately innovation and knowledge has ensured that by and large living walls are cared for correctly.
What do you need to ensure that your living wall looks great all year round?
- All living wall systems need to include irrigation – modular, textile and hydroponic systems all have irrigation integrated in varying ways, at approximately 1 metre zones across a living wall. This enables moisture to reach the root ball of plants. Your maintenance service will include ensuring that the irrigation is working correctly, that timer switches are set to deliver season appropriate moisture and that there are no leaks or blockages in the irrigation pipework.
- Check your planting plan. Installing a living wall with the correct plants for the aspect of the wall and to bring genuine benefits to biodiversity and air-quality is crucial. If the wrong plants are specified from the outset you will struggle to keep a wall looking good. For example if you planted shade loving ferns in full sunshine they would not thrive.
- Living walls, just like gardens love some nutrients! In a traditional garden setting, you would dig in compost or fertilizers to enrich the soil and improve plant health, in a living wall, nutrients are delivered in liquid form via the irrigation system, or can be applied manually should a wall be very small. Green Walls benefit from a bi-annual feed to keep plants healthy and root systems resilient.
- Similarly as it is with gardens occasionally a pest can try to take hold, and these need to be treated to allow plants to grow unhindered. We use eco friendly pest controls such as nematodes to keep pests at bay.
- Living wall maintenance schedules are recommended for all projects to ensure the benefits which living walls can deliver can be realised.
Contact Pritchard and Pritchard today for your Living Wall Maintenance: info@pritchardandpritchard.co.uk
What does a typical green wall maintenance schedule consist of?
We look after all types of living walls and the best formula is a twice monthly visit where our operatives will check irrigation and nutrients and will check plant health throughout, pruning as needs be.
Our staff are trained to operate specialist equipment should it be required to maintain their wall, such as scaffolding, cherry pickers or cradles to access large commercial living wall installations safely.
What should you do if your living wall has died?
If for any reason you have a living wall which has perished we can assist.
Our team can carry out remedial works to re-invigorate a dead or dying living wall with complete irrigation overhaul and replant and nurture it back to full health. We are familiar with all living wall systems on the UK market and can come to the rescue with fast and professional service to restore your green wall.
Get in touch here: info@pritchardandpritchard.co.uk