Rollable Drought-Resistant Groundcover Engineered for Fast Professional Installation
1000 ft² installed in ~1 hour
Roll-and-go format dramatically shortens project timelines.
Easily installed by 1 person
Ideal for reducing labor cost and mitigating crew shortages.
Designed for low-frequency irrigation
Engineered for water-restricted regions across the Southwest & West Coast.
2-3× lighter than sod rolls
Save on transport cost; easy manual handling.
Built for commercial installers, municipalities, landscape architects, and contractors who need predictable performance at scale.
What is the Rolled Groundcover System?
The Rolled Groundcover System is a lightweight, soil-free mat of drought-tolerant plants transported as a roll.
Each mat is root-integrated before shipping, allowing it to be installed similarly to grass sod while maintaining the low-water performance of succulent groundcovers.
Each roll combines:
A plant layer with mature roots that is ready for ground contact and rapid soil anchoring
A single lightweight fabric layer that:
Just unroll, trim, and water. The mats begin anchoring immediately and typically root into the soil within about 4 weeks
A Water-Eficient Groundcover That Installs Like Sod
Grass lawns have long been the default groundcover across American landscapes, but in drought-prone regions such as the Southwest and West Coast, high water demand and increasing compliance pressures have made traditional sod difficult to sustain.
As demand shifted toward drought-tolerant planting, conventional pot- or plug-based installation proved slow, labor-intensive, and difficult to scale.
The Rolled Groundcover system was developed to bridge this gap, delivering immediate, sod-style coverage using true drought-tolerant plants that establish reliably under reduced-irrigation schedules, combining the speed of sod with the long-term resilience required for modern Western landscapes.
|
|
Traditional Grass Sod |
Drought-Resistant Plants (Conventional Methods) |
Rolled Groundcover System |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water Efficiency |
❌ Very Poor |
✅ Goood |
✅ Excellent |
| Installation Speed |
✅ Fast |
❌ Slow - Small scale planting |
✅ Fastest |
| Transport Weight |
❌ Heavy, high freight cost |
✅ Lightweight |
✅ Ultra-light rolls - Easy to transport |
| Time to Full Coverage |
✅ Fast |
Slow - Requires grow-in period |
✅ Day-1 full coverage |
| Terrain Suitability |
Flat areas only |
Accommodates small or irregular areas |
Works on flat ground AND mild slopes |
For projects with tighter budgets or clients comfortable with a longer fill-in period, our Bagged Groundcover System offers a cost-effective alternative that still provides excellent drought performance and fast installation.
Browse current options or request detailed specifications for project planning.
Designed to help contractors meet drought-region requirements while improving installation speed and post-handoff reliability.
Regions with common turf restrictions & water limits
Water restrictions across the Western United States have made grass lawns difficult to maintain, yet many projects still require planted, green groundcover rather than rock or mulch alone.
Rolled Groundcover offers a premium, efficient alternative: true drought-tolerant coverage that installs far faster than conventional pot-by-pot planting and performs reliably where turf struggles.
Irrigation Needs vs. Grass Lawn
Traditional sod typically requires very frequent watering during establishment, which can be difficult for clients to maintain and may conflict with watering-day restrictions in many Western municipalities.
Rolled Groundcover establishes under much longer irrigation intervals, following a simple first-month schedule and then transitioning to watering every 7–15 days, reducing the risk of plant loss after handoff.
Lightweight rolled mat simplifies logistics
Rolled Groundcover ships in lightweight modular mats that installers can carry by hand, simplifying staging on tight-access residential sites, rooftops, courtyards, and hillsides.
Compared with sod or large volumes of pots, the mats are easier to unload, move, and position without heavy equipment.
The system can also be installed on slopes up to 1:1 grade (≈45°), provided irrigation and runoff are properly managed.
* For contractors in the Los Angeles area, the nursery can produce custom lengths to better match project layouts and reduce seams.
Prepare oil
Unroll mat
Water in
Traditional drought-tolerant planting requires placing and planting dozens (or hundreds) of individual pots or plugs. Because output depends on soil conditions, spacing adjustments, and repetitive planting, production can vary from job to job even with experienced crews.
Rolled Groundcover reduces many of these variables. Installers unroll mats across prepared soil, adjust placement, trim where needed, and water in. The process is straightforward and similar to installing sod, which enables teams of any size, from solo operators to multi-crew firms, to achieve consistent daily output.
In favorable conditions, experienced installers have reached production rates around 1,000 ft² per hour per person. This helps small teams to take on bigger jobs and larger firms to allocate labor more efficiently across multiple sites.
For project quotes, availability, or technical guidance, our team is available to assist contractors directly.
Applied as a groundcover foundation within fully designed landscapes.
Photos show real installations after placement and establishment.
Existing turf should be fully removed, including the root layer. Rolled Groundcover installs like sod in that it needs direct contact with prepared soil, not compacted grass roots. Standard practice is to strip the turf, loosen the topsoil, remove weeds, and grade before installation. In other words, treat site prep similarly to a quality sod install.
Light foot traffic is fine once the mats are laid and watered in, especially for access during installation. However, regular or repeated traffic should be minimized during the first few weeks while roots establish into the underlying soil. After establishment, traffic tolerance depends on species and watering habits. See specific product page for foot-traffic guidance.
Uneven rooting is usually tied to soil contact, irrigation coverage, or grade. First check that the mat is sitting flat with no air gaps, then confirm even watering. Thin areas can typically be corrected by improving irrigation coverage, top-dressing with soil at seams, or spot-reinforcing with additional cut sections. Full replacement is rarely necessary.
Yes, mixing is common and works well. Rolled sections provide the base coverage, while pots or plugs can be used for tight corners, curves, or accents. Because the mats are flexible and can be trimmed, transitions are usually clean. Visually, the planting blends as everything establishes.
Rolled Groundcover performs best with even, shallow coverage. Existing drip systems can work, but emitter spacing should be reviewed to avoid dry strips or overwatered zones. In some cases, adding inline drip, adjusting emitters, or supplementing with temporary overhead watering during establishment produces the most reliable results.
Most damage can be patched. Sections can be trimmed out and replaced with cut pieces, much like sod repair. Seams generally disappear as the plants establish. Full replacement is only needed if a large area is severely compromised.
Ideally, install within 24–48 hours of delivery. If staging is necessary, keep mats flat, shaded, and lightly moist. Avoid stacking too tightly, full sun exposure, or letting them dry out. Heat buildup and dehydration are the main risks during staging.
Yes. Like most groundcovers, Rolled Groundcover struggles in poorly drained, compacted, or anaerobic soils. Heavy clay without amendment and areas with standing water are problematic. Proper soil prep and drainage matter more than irrigation volume.
Pricing is typically closer to premium sod or specialty planting, not bulk pots. Install labor is often lower than pot-by-pot planting but material cost is higher. Most contractors treat this as a premium, efficiency-driven option and price accordingly, based on speed, reduced labor hours, and client expectations rather than per-plant comparisons.
Yes—color and growth habit vary by species and watering. Some varieties intensify in color under sun or drier conditions and grow taller with heavier irrigation. This should be framed as a natural, living characteristic rather than inconsistency. Setting expectations upfront avoids confusion and improves client satisfaction.
Whether you're planning a small residential installation or a large commercial site, our team can help with project-specific guidance, contractor pricing, and availability. If you’re ready to move forward, or simply want expert input, we’re here to support your workflow from planning to installation.
