How to Grow Bog Plants

Pickerel

If you have a pond, a natural boggy area or any other spot where the soil stays wet or there is shallow water, you can grow an assortment of beautiful plants. Here are some ideas on growing bog plants.

Instructions

1. 

   Most bog plants like high acid and a clay based soil. If you are planting yours in a naturally wet area, your soil is likely to be perfect just the way it is. If you are planting in a pot or an area with an artificial water source, you may want make sure your plants have clay at their feet.

2. 

   Bog plants usually like to stand in water. Some can take water a few inches over the waterline. None will do well if the soil dries out.

3. 

   If you are planting bog plants to put in a pond, you may want to use pots with no holes in the bottoms or plug the holes with a fine screen. Otherwise the soil is likely to leech out of the pot over time leaving bare roots and a soil build-up in the bottom of your pond.

4. 

   There are a number of wonderful bog plants that offer color and interesting leaf shapes. Here are just some. (I have scattered pictures throughout the article.) Try the tough Pickerel Weed with it's showy purple flowers. This plant handles warm and cold climates alike. Or in a warm climate consider the tropical-looking taros or canna lilies. There are a selection of grasses and rushes that offer long, graceful foliage, the best known being cattails. The Lobelia cardinalis offers dark red foliage and brilliant red flowers for warm bogs. And irises, especially the Louisiana Hybrids, offer outrageously flamboyant displays of color. For the most impressive of all, try the regal lotus. If you live where there are hard frosts, you can bring it inside in the winter and keep it in a pot filled with water.

5. 

   To design with bog plants, use groups of the same type plant in various areas. If you have a large area, you can use more types of plants. You can group different varieties of the same kind of plant for interesting effects, like mixed taros or irises. Another design idea is to use a variety of different plants, but to stick to a single flower color or a limited family of colors. Using an occasional tall plant can create interest and putting a group of especially showy plants together will create a focal point.

6. 

   Bog plants offer a whole world of interesting gardening. Have fun exploring all the possibilities in your area. Check with nearby water gardening retailers to find out what grows best in your locality.

Resources

• Gates & Croft Horticultual Design Info and Ideas
• How to grow pond plants
• How to grow a lotus
• How to grow canna lilies
• How to grow water lilies
• How to design a pond