2016 Scotscape R&D department - Living Wall for mature planting. Shrubs and trees

The brief

To investigate the ability of the fytotextile to support mature planting including shrubs and trees

The driver behind this research being that if we are going to increase the amount of biodiversity we need to be planting and sustaining larger specimens which can provide cover and foraging for birds – a woodland on the side of a building.

The Process

We increased the pocket size of the fytotextile during the manufacture process and planted saplings and shrubs in 2016.

By doing so, we were able to accommodate the larger root-balls

The result

The trees are now over 4.0m tall (October 2022) and producing fruit and berries. Now that we have proved the concept, the trees will be coppiced to encourage more growth and prolong the life. The project is ongoing

Conclusion

As our fytotextile system allows for unlimited root spread throughout the entire area of the Living Wall, so we are able to support long term planting including trees and shrubs

This system is now principled and in use in conjunction with our standard pocket size system as viewed here at the Team London Bridge Living Wall. The foliage is projecting 1.5m