Bog plant suggestions needed, zone 8 a/b

[Mmathis]

If you could only plant 4 or 5 (non-invasive) plants in your bog, what would you choose for zone 8a/b, in each category (give up to 4 choices for each category):

TALL

MEDIUM (height)

LOW

 

[Jhn]

Tall- cannas, taros, giant papyrus, redstemmed sagittaria

medium- Horsetail, dwarf umbrella palm, calla lily, iris

low- water forget me not(can be An aggressive Spreader but pulls out easily)red stemmed parrot feather, creeping Jenny, various species of moss

Hard to limit myself to 4 for each, I kind of go crazy planting then let the plants fight it out to determine who wins for space.

 

[Tula]

Tall- cannas, taros, giant papyrus, redstemmed sagittaria

medium- Horsetail, dwarf umbrella palm, calla lily, iris

low- water forget me not(can be An aggressive Spreader but pulls out easily)red stemmed parrot feather, creeping Jenny, various species of moss

Hard to limit myself to 4 for each, I kind of go crazy planting then let the plants fight it out to determine who wins for space.

I forget what I've ordered ( it's been so long ! ) but I'll keep this information in mind

 

[Jhn]

I forget what I've ordered ( it's been so long ! ) but I'll keep this information in mind

I forget what I order sometimes as well, usually because I order a lot of plants from various places Like I did this spring. A lot of these I have as annuals in 7b, like the cannas/taros don’t make it in the bog. They grow like mad once they take off though so they suck up a lot of nutrients And They just look cool to me so I keep planting them.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

I only have six or seven species in my bog total. The two that I'd highly recommend for you are:

Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica). Stalks grow to around 3' in my bog. Unlike most of my other bog plants, it's super easy to dig out of the gravel in comparison to the irises and rush I've had. They will definitely self-seed but I wouldn't call it an aggressive self-seeder in the bog. If your bog is like mine and has some water above the pea gravel, don't plant it in water, I'm not sure it would survive. I have mine maybe an inch above the water level. Hummingbirds love it.

A close relative is Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis). Everything I said about Great Blue Lobelia is the same for this, except that Cardinal Flower is red and grows about a foot taller than GBL.

 

[Tula]

I forget what I order sometimes as well, usually because I order a lot of plants from various places Like I did this spring. A lot of these I have as annuals in 7b, like the cannas/taros don’t make it in the bog. They grow like mad once they take off though so they suck up a lot of nutrients And They just look cool to me so I keep planting them.

We're in zone 6 a and ironically we have an area in one of our gardens where elephant ears come back every year ! I wasn't sure about this year, as we had a late frost....but saw two shoots poking through the dirt yesterday

 

[Tula]

I only have six or seven species in my bog total. The two that I'd highly recommend for you are:

Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica). Stalks grow to around 3' in my bog. Unlike most of my other bog plants, it's super easy to dig out of the gravel in comparison to the irises and rush I've had. They will definitely self-seed but I wouldn't call it an aggressive self-seeder in the bog. If your bog is like mine and has some water above the pea gravel, don't plant it in water, I'm not sure it would survive. I have mine maybe an inch above the water level. Hummingbirds love it.

View attachment 128869




A close relative is Cardinal Flower. Everything I said about Great Blue Lobelia is the same for this, except that Cardinal Flower is red and grows about a foot taller than GBL.
View attachment 128870

I KNOW I ordered a cardinal flower

 

[JBtheExplorer]

I KNOW I ordered a cardinal flower

I've been in a hummingbird phase the last couple years. I've been adding a ton of plants that hummingbirds love. It's been paying off so far!

 

[BKHpondcritters]

In zone 8, Butterfly Ginger would most likely overwinter & I absolutely love mine. So much so, that I pull them in fall & overwinter them in the house. Very vigorous root system, but also easy to pull & keep contained. Tall - in the 3' range, and the late summer - frost flowers are SUPER fragrant.

 

[Tula]

Me too ! I've got cardinal plants in several gardens. I also planted a couple Major Wheeler Honeysuckle Vines for an arbor. We've got two older ones planted on another arbor, one is pink and one in orange , and the hummingbirds love it.....so figured I'd give the red ones a try !

 

[BKHpondcritters]

Me too ! I've got cardinal plants in several gardens. I also planted a couple Major Wheeler Honeysuckle Vines for an arbor. We've got two older ones planted on another arbor, one is pink and one in orange , and the hummingbirds love it.....so figured I'd give the red ones a try !

I have a couple of honeysuckles, but by far Major Wheeler is the BEST!! It flowers early & heavy, then repeat blooms all summer long & right into fall. Last spring I had to cut it down to the ground due to the obelisk it was planted on collapsing during an ice storm over the previous winter (no other way to remove it & replace the structure) We lost the typical first wave of flowers, but it was up & blooming by early summer and had completely climbed up the new (VERY sturdy, 8' tall) obelisk before the growing season was over. LOVE that climber (as do the hummingbirds & butterflies!)

 

[Tula]

I planted the two I got, last fall. They survived the winter and are climbing the arbor....not sure if they'll bloom this year or not....I sure hope so !!

 

[BKHpondcritters]

I planted the two I got, last fall. They survived the winter and are climbing the arbor....not sure if they'll bloom this year or not....I sure hope so !!

I bet you get blooms out of them before the end of summer.

 

[Mmathis]

Gee, I hate to hijack my own thread, but....