I decided to start with pitcher plants in a container bog.
I'm using a heavyweight plastic pot 16 inches high with a 14 inch diameter at the top. (It tapers down to about 10 inches in diameter.) I used a 50/50 mix of peat and play sand, which I mixed, watered and let sit in the pot for about a week before planting.
I planted three potted pitcher plants - a hooded pitcher (S. minor purpurea v heterophylla), S. leucophylla 'red ruffles', and the drop dead gorgeous hybrid 'Judith Hindle'. The pot sits on my deck outside (I am in USDA gardening zone 7b), and gets full sun for about 8 hours per day. As we get into summer, the pot should get closer to 10 hours of sun per day.
All the plants are doing well, and I am seeing some new growth on all of them. If I place my hand on the surface of the soil, the palm of my hand is damp, but not wet, when I remove it.
How watery should this container bog be? Should there be standing water in it, and if so, how much? We've had our typical spring rains, and when we've had flooding rain, I moved the container out of the storm. (I also had my son drill a hole in the side of it about 2 inches below the soil line.)
Any advice is appreciated.
I'm using a heavyweight plastic pot 16 inches high with a 14 inch diameter at the top. (It tapers down to about 10 inches in diameter.) I used a 50/50 mix of peat and play sand, which I mixed, watered and let sit in the pot for about a week before planting.
I planted three potted pitcher plants - a hooded pitcher (S. minor purpurea v heterophylla), S. leucophylla 'red ruffles', and the drop dead gorgeous hybrid 'Judith Hindle'. The pot sits on my deck outside (I am in USDA gardening zone 7b), and gets full sun for about 8 hours per day. As we get into summer, the pot should get closer to 10 hours of sun per day.
All the plants are doing well, and I am seeing some new growth on all of them. If I place my hand on the surface of the soil, the palm of my hand is damp, but not wet, when I remove it.
How watery should this container bog be? Should there be standing water in it, and if so, how much? We've had our typical spring rains, and when we've had flooding rain, I moved the container out of the storm. (I also had my son drill a hole in the side of it about 2 inches below the soil line.)
Any advice is appreciated.