Bog clean out

[Lisak1]

I cleaned all the irises out of the bog this week, going from this (sorry about the small picture format on this one - still having some issues with the new HEIC formatting on my phone. All those irises in the top left corner - that's the bog. )

To this:

Here's what I pulled out:

Once I got started, I decided a clean sweep was the way to go. There was other stuff growing in amongst the irises, but they had pretty much taken over.

We've had conversations from time to time about how deep these roots can go in a bog. Here's an illustration:

The rhizomes move horizontally across the bog, get really thick, and put down lots of roots. This was a smallish rhizome, and these roots were 18 inches long.I had two clumps of iris in the bog - one produced a lot of blooms, the other only bloomed once or twice, and had only a few blossoms. But the leaves were dramatically large.

We've also discussed whether or not it's necessary to do a regular clean out on a bog filter. After digging deep in the gravel to get all these irises out, I can confidently report that the gravel was clean, nothing stinky or smelly or slimy - just good pond smell. I did stir up a good amount of dirt, but it was all surrounding the roots. The plant roots act like dirt magnets and form their own dirt ball in the gravel. It's pretty amazing. Our bog has been running since 2012 without ever being cleaned and is the only filtration on the pond.

I already have some plants ready to go back in the bog - today's project!

 

[bagsmom]

Thanks for posting this! Excellent information for me to know as I plan my bog! One question: I'm loving the log in the bog. The Bog Log! Is it driftwood? Something that was already dry when you put it in? Is any of it wet? Or is it above water?

 

[cas]

So you did not put any of the iris back in?

 

[Tula]

Wow, 18 inch roots, amazing !

 

[Lisak1]

Is it driftwood? Something that was already dry when you put it in? Is any of it wet? Or is it above water?

Thanks! That was one reason we wanted to re-think our bog planting, so we could see the log. That's a piece of driftwood that we brought home from Lake Michigan several years ago. There's a state park where they pile it on the beach in the spring and you are free to take whatever you want - or whatever you can get out of the pile! Most of it is just good for firewood, but this one was calling my name. It weighs a ton - the other end is basically a trunk. My girls and I drug it up the beach and then we went home and got one of my boys to help us get it in the car and bring it home. It sits behind the bog, so it's on dry land, which may not be a good thing. It's starting to rot.

So you did not put any of the iris back in?

Nope. Dumped it all. They were all leaves and very few blooms and just looked messy. And dealing with them every few years was getting to be a chore - they are fast growers! Our bog is relatively small (4X6) so I think smaller plants will be more in scale. I planted some arrow plant that I rescued from another spot in my pond and some watercress and a canna lily that will be pretty when it blooms. I'd like to get some more mini cattails - I think those look cool in the bog. Mine all got choked out by the big bully irises!

Wow, 18 inch roots, amazing !

Right? "Amazing" wasn't EXACTLY among the words I was saying as I was digging them out, but the roots are very impressive!

 

[cas]

I felt the same way about my yellow flag iris, but when I got rid of them, it took a couple of years for me to get the pond planted well enough to prevent the algae blooms. They do a good job of taking up the nutrients!

 

[Lisak1]

I have a HUGE stand of yellow flag on the pond edge. those are going to get cut down to size next. But they flower nicely for me in the spring and I love watching the leaves turn from yellow to green every year, so they can stay!

We are anticipating that we may see some algae as a result of pulling all those out. But we still have lots of plants in the pond itself, so hopefully it won't get out of control while we wait for the bog to catch up again.

 

[addy1]

I have a HUGE stand of yellow flag on the pond edge.

I have a good size strand of it in the bog, every now and then I yank out some tubers and toss them. I have kept it under control doing that. Since the large maple died off they bloom better, they get a lot more sun now.

 

[Lisak1]

I don't know why mine didn't bloom better. The bog is in full sun all day. I think they may have been planted a bit too deep.

 

[Jhn]

That piece of driftwood looks great, and located well, looks like that is where it fell over ages ago. I can see why you wouldn’t want that blocked by plants.

 

[Lisak1]

Here's a bit of an update of my now very orderly - and basically empty - bog.

In the past, I've actually plumbed that bowl so it had water flowing out of it - very cool, but this year decided to try a lotus in there. You can just barely see the bowl in the bottom there. I planted only one canna, as that was the last small one the nursery i was at had. They had some mammoth ones, but I wasn't in the frame of mind to struggle with them (or pay $30 a piece!) I'll find a couple more to join this one. We've done cannas in the bog before and they are so pretty when they start to bloom. Then when fall comes I just pull them out. I've saved the bulbs before, but it's a lot of work for a plant that cost me a few dollars to buy fully grown. I plant the cannas high like this because, while they do well IN the bog, they don't like to be underwater. The bog is a tad low in this photo - my husband is playing around with the variable flow on the pump which lowers the bog a bit.

You can just barely see the arrowhead plant I put in - it's hiding behind the fountain - and I tossed in some watercress which will probably fill the whole surface by next week. That stuff grows like wildfire!

 

[j.w]

Looks very nice and tidy now and love your dirftwood, rocks, concrete fountain and all your plants placed perfectly!
Is that a Colorado Blue Spruce tree in the lower corner? I love them but here they get a mite or weevil infestation that turns them brown on the top new growth. Think it's called a White Pine Weevil. This year I tried drowning them out w/the hose and it helped some but still have to cut off that stuff they kill. You get so cold in the Winter there which I hear helps kill those bugs. Here we don't get the cold long enough.

 

[cas]

I love seeing your bog from this angle. Have you planted rush in your bog before?

 

[Lisak1]

Is that a Colorado Blue Spruce tree

It's a dwarf variety of a globe blue spruce - grows very slowly and keeps a nice round shape. So pretty! I love blue spruces, but my husband is not a fan, so this was the compromise. He likes this one!

I love seeing your bog from this angle. Have you planted rush in your bog before?

We have. I ended up moving them to the side of the pond - they couldn't compete with the irises. Maybe I'll try them again! Any suggestions on type?

 

[cas]

Ha! I was going to ask you about them! I bought a blue rush last year and a dwarf horsetail rush this spring. The blue rush is in a pot in the pond, but was debating if the dwarf horsetail rush could be planted bare root in the rocks around the pond. I mean, I know that I can, the real question is, should I? I do not want to end up with another version of yellow flag iris take over.