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?? 4-season Container Bog

I have a project in mind for the spring and I wonder about how to set it up. We have a rather small yard with a good deal of shade, but we have a sunny patio area where I would like to situate a container bog. I intend to use a cedar planter box with a pond liner or maybe a plastic stock tank. Can I get good results with something like this as a semi-permanent bog planting? It gets very cold here (Zone 5) in the winter, so the whole thing will freeze solid through the winter months. I hope that the sand an peat substrate will lessen the amount of ice expansion and stess on the container. Does this sound right?

I have looked around a little already and most of the container bogs that I have seen have been set up as seasonal features. Most of the more permanent bog gardens have used a larger depression in the ground with pond liner. I hope I can make this work in a container.

Thanks for considering this.
 
How big? Really cool would be several large box-bogs on casters, that you can roll inside on certain nights, and arrange around patio for in-situ seating :)
 
Why would I want to roll it around? I am thinking of using a pretty good-sized cedar planter box probably about 48" long and 18" deep. It will be very heavy for moving.
 
Why would I want to roll it around?

I think farmertom means so you can move it inside a garage or shed in case thing get really cold outside. An idea not totally without merit depending what it is you wish to grow. Some very hardy Sarrs, sundews and pings might be ok but you will have to choose carefully and be prepared for some possible losses.
 
It will be too big and heavy to move and we don't have any other space to put it either. I am interested mainly in growing native bog plants. Many of these are hardy to Zone 3 or 2, so they can handle temperatures way below zero F.
 
In ground hardiness and hardiness in above grade containers are two entirely different things. I keep half barrels in zone 7A and can relate my experience. After a particularly cold winter (in 7A) my Dews were fine, as was my Sarracenia purpurea purpurea. Sarracenia leucophylla and rubra, along with a typical VFT were not happy, but survived and recovered over the course of the season. On the other hand there are Pinguicula that my climate is too warm for. They might do well for you.
 
If you are planting natives they should be fine with the temperatures, but as you suggest you will get a lot of frost heave from the cold, the plants will rise up but can be resettled or repositioned in spring. The plastic may be a better option as it may distend rather than crack as the content expand.

Cheers
Steve
 
If you are planting natives they should be fine with the temperatures, but as you suggest you will get a lot of frost heave from the cold, the plants will rise up but can be resettled or repositioned in spring. The plastic may be a better option as it may distend rather than crack as the content expand.

Cheers
Steve

I wonder if the sand, peat and live sphagnum might reduce the expansion somewhat(?). Water in a big tub freezing solid really heaves quite a lot. I suppose I could try a test.

So long as they don't dry out during the winter the plants should be hardy here. The ones I want to use grow far north of here.
 
That mix if not packed tight and left a bit 'airy' does tend to appear to expand less as the expansion goes into the spaces between the fragments of the mix, but you will always have a more compacted area at the bottom of your bog which is generally wetter, so will expand more and generally upwards as the pot constrains the sideways movement.

Cheers
Steve
 
  • #10
Water freezing and heaving in a 5-gallon pail can easily break the plastic bottom. I bet that a more shallow container will provide more space for expansion upward.

Here is a heavy-duty plastic trough that might work well...

75 Gallon Tank

I can build a pretty nice cedar box to go around that.

I will have to special order a container like that. We have similar plastic stock tanks easily available and pretty cheap in our area, but they have an oval-shaped rim that I don't like. The rectangular shape is better.



That mix if not packed tight and left a bit 'airy' does tend to appear to expand less as the expansion goes into the spaces between the fragments of the mix, but you will always have a more compacted area at the bottom of your bog which is generally wetter, so will expand more and generally upwards as the pot constrains the sideways movement.

Cheers
Steve
 
  • #11
I think that will be fine, I have used something similar over here for years (I know it's not as cold here but I have had it frozen solid on occasion and it's been fine) and the sides do give a bit somir will 'expand' when forced.
Cheers and good luck with it.
Steve
 
  • #12
I can build a pretty nice cedar box to go around that.

Now if you're going to put that inside a wooden construction, perhaps you should consider making that larger than you need and packing between the box and the tank with sand. That should provide good insulation.

Many gardeners over here use sand plunge beds to put pots of hardy plants in to overwinter. You could always cover the sand portion and use it as a seat.
 
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