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Building an outdoor bog...

Alright guy's, I'm building a huge outdoor bog. Everything is in place now I just need plants for it. Thats were I need help b/c I dont know what all would survive year round. I live in Texas where I can keep Sarra's, VFT's, and Cobra lily's outdoor year round through dormancy and everything. I have a few VFT's and Sarra's in there now. I want to add lots of sundews, pings, and blatterworts but I don't know what to buy. So I ask for your direction, help me out guys.

-Rail
 
sundews: capensis, rotundifolia, possibly tuberous(someone correct me)D. filiformis ssp. filiformis (Florida Giant) and maby some forked sundews

pings: any WARM TEMPERATE pings are best(P. lusitanica will be very weedy and P. primuliflora)

Utrics:U. sandesonii,U. livida,U. subulata,U. bisquamata, and U. dichotoma are all temperate terrestrials
good luck
 
What are your summer and winter temps (Highs/Lows/Days/Nights for both)?
 
Go for D. filiformis tracyi! The foliage is much nicer that filiformis filiformis. :) Try U. dichotoma first, too - they have nice purple/blue flowers that will contrast with the colors of the other genera you mentioned. If you get the other Utrics mentioned going in that space, I'm not sure U. dichotoma would hold it's own against the weedier species, based on my experience cultivating it. U. livida, bisquamata and sandersonii would be other good choices based on color. U. subulata is a nice plant but it has relatively ordinary yellow flowers; I don't think it'd stand out as well among the yellows and reds of Sarracenia and Darlingtonia flowers.
I'd recommend a Drosera binata of some sort, and maybe one of the climbing tuberous Drosera like D. macrantha. There's another one that grows into a little treelike shrub every year, but I don't have my copy of The Savage Garden handy so I can't look it up. Do you have S. psittacina? It's a particularly striking, and low growing - if you have space for Pings and Drosera an S. psittacina might be a good addition. Some interesting Pings would be the erect and elongate species like P. vallisnerfolia and longifolia. Have you considered a water feature? A pool of water supposedly works well for Darlingtonia and some Sarracenia and in addition you could grow aquatic Utrics, Aldrovanda, and possibly even mats of Sphagnum.
Best luck! You should post some pictures.
~Joe
 
Right now day temps are in the 50's-60's range and in the summer temp's will be in the 90-100+ range. I plan to put all of the plants together in this bog so should I be worried about any one plant taking over? I want a nice well rounded bog year after year. Thanks for all the help so far guys, I am using your suggestions to make my list.

-Rail
 
There are a few weedy species that could begin to dominate. D. capensis and U. subulata come to mind in particular. Utrics in general have a way of wandering, but U. subulata is supposedly particularly prolific. Likewise, you'll probably see the Drosera spreading, but D. capensis is one that's especially difficult to keep up with. If you're OK with rooting around in the bog digging weeds out, go ahead and put in whatever you want. Otherwise, the only things you really need to worry about are the plants that are known to be weedy.
Best luck,
~Joe
 
Also D. rotundifolia, in addition to binata and filiformis.
 
The following would do well in Texas:
D. brevifolia
D. intermedia
D. capillaris
P. caerulea
P. planifolia
P. primuliflora
P. lutea
P. pillosa
P. ionantha
S. alata
S. flava
S. leucophylla
S. minor
S. oreophila
S. psittacina
S. purpurea
S. rubra complex
DON'T do capensis. Yer askin' fer it! D. binata spreads through underground runners too. Could be a problem. D. rotundifolia and d. anglica are cooler growers, and may, if you add them, appreciate a shaded area during the hottest part of your Texas day. Utrics are your call, but terrestrials might do well.
 
I think D. binata would be worth the risk. It's so pretty! I mean, it couldn't be nearly as bad as capensis. Pulling a dozen runners up every year as opposed to several thousand seedlings every few months? Not a hard choice for me.
~Joe
 
  • #10
Joe, had d. binata in my circulating water bog. Crowded out the VFT's and rosetted 'dews. I HAD to tear them out, or lose plants. They ARE (unfortunately) risky with other species. and take over wet ground, PERIOD! You evidently haven't grown them outside of a pot, or you would sing another tune, but quick!
 
  • #11
I'll take your word for it, then. But I sure do love 'em! I'd just put them in a corner and enforce a strict D. binata segregation scheme. Cut 'em off with some ranks of rubra! And artillery! Fire! Burn them all! Ahahahaha!
~Joe
 
  • #12
Joe! Spectracide will work just fine. And kill absolutely everything.
 
  • #13
I live in Houston. You are in Dallas, right?

S. alata is native to Texas. It stands up better to some of the withering summer temps than the others.

S. leucophylla is good, too.

If you want decumbent species (psitticina and purpurea) make sure they are shaded by taller Sarracenia.

D. brevifolia and D. capillaris are native to Texas; they do well, and reseed like crazy. With reseeding, they will stand up to fairly vigorous live sphagnum growth.

D. filiformis ssp. tracyi is the best filiformis subspecies for our climate; ssp. filiformis really can't handle it.

Tropical and subtropical varietes of D. intermedia are nice, too.

In Dallas, you probably get a more reliable winter than we do in Texas, so you should try some VFTs. Make sure they are shaded by taller plants; they can't stand up to hot Texas Augusts and Septembers unless shaded.

I plan this year to try some P. primiliflora, shaded well, in my garden.
 
  • #14
U. subulata and U. livida will absolutely COVER the surface. They will crowd out small Drosera. I don't recommend it.

Also, the flowers of livida, while pretty, will drown out smaller plants, they are so prolific. Put them in a separate planter all by themselves.

I recommend drilling a 5-gallon plastic bucket with holes all over and sinking it in the center of your garden, as a well to see the water table. Then plant U. gibba in it. Controls mosquitos, provides copious yellow flowers, stays CONTAINED.

D. binata will become invasive. So will D. capensis.

Stick with north american species.
 
  • #15
Thanks for all the help guys. This bog is about 10'x7' large with a walking path through the middle. I went to Lowes and cleaned out their stock of LFS and peat moss. What I was planning to do was fill the bog with LFS then put all the peat moss in a line through the middle along with rocks as support for stepping stones.

This bog is going to be sunken into the ground an lined with a pond liner. Should I poke holes in the bottom of the liner or just let the bottom half of the substrate waterlog?

So far I have lots of dormant S. Alata, S. Flava, S. leucophylla, and the good old standby, scarlet bell. I also have tons of dormant VFT's ready and a few sundews in the mail. This bog is going to be awsome!

Now that I think about it I might shy away from useing Blatterworts in this bog. I have a few inside and I know what SarraceniaScott means about how invasive they are.

-Rail
 
  • #16
On a side note concerning construction:

One post I saw awhile back the lady said she placed LFS around the edge of the bog. That way when the bog started getting dry the dried up edges of lfs were a sure indicator.
 
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