Bog plants

[DerSchoeneBahnhof]

Hi,
I am in zone 9b, need about 20 plants for my bog filter (to be built soon).
Any suggestions or good online resource to gather a list of suitable plants?
Thanks,
CG

 

[Jhn]

Here is a list @addy1 created awhile back

Arrowhead Sagitaria (zone 4-6) Summer Bloomer. Bulbing root system stores(nitrogen, potassium & phosphorous)

Canna (zone 8-10) Summer Bloomer. A bog’s best friend. This plant is a biomass factory and has amazing beauty and structure. A heavy feeder on (nitrogen, potassium & phosphorous) from April through September.

Cattails (zone 3-5) Summer Bloomer. are vigorous growers and have deep roots.

Creeping Jenny (zone 5) Spring Bloomer.

Daylily - Spring through Summer Bloomer. Surprisingly, water is the best fertilizer for daylilies. They are an excellent nutrient feeder and grow well in the shallow areas of a bog garden. Daylily come in a variety of colors and blooming times for a long lasting color in your garden.

Eyed Grass (Yellow & Blue) (zones 5-7) Spring Bloomer.

Iris - (zones 4-6) Summer Bloomers.
Common water iris. (Louisiana Iris) Great variety in colors and styles. Plant habit is spreading and untidy appearance.
Japanese variegated water iris is a strong grower late spring through fall. Iris are good at removing both nitrogen and phosphorous.
Siberian Iris are preferred for their strong, clumping habit. Most growth spring and summer but use potassium and phosphorous in summer and fall for energy storage for next year’s bloom.

Kaffir Lily (zone 7) Fall Bloomer. A bulbing lily with watermelon red flowers. Grows in cooler temps of spring and fall. Small top growth controlled.

Lobelia Cardinalis (zones 5-7) Fall Bloomer. Beautiful late summer bloom. Nice color diversity. Heavy potassium user.

Marsh Marigold (zones 2-4) Spring Bloomer. A fast growing cool temperature plant. Begins growing very early in spring producing flowers by early March and continues through April, often re-blooms in the fall when weather cools. Medium root depth and actively feeds when most plants are dormant.

Pickerel Rush (zone 3-6) Summer Bloomer. Strong summer growth and bloom. A spreading habit with a shallow root system. A strong feeder on the total nutrient system. Blue Pickerel Rush is very hardy in our area, with a long bloom season.

Rain Lily (zone 6) Fall Bloomer. Late summer and fall grower. This bulb plant has a small controlled top growth but a dense vigorous root system with storage bulbs. Strong user of phosphorous and potassium.

Rush - Variegated Striped Rush (zone 5-6) Summer Bloomer. Evergreen and continues to grow almost year-round strongest growth in summer. Roots are shallow and need oxygen. Open habit allows for under story growth.but has a large vigorous root system feeding its bulbs. Very

Slough Sedge (zone 4) Very prolific, yet clumping. Grows to 5’ high in bogs. Deep rooting habit. Bio-mass. Strong user of potassium, sulfur, calcium and sodium. Somewhat salt resistant.

Society Garlic (zone 7) Summer Bloomer. Strong summer growth. Love phosphorous.

Star Grass (zone 7) Summer Bloomer. Very controlled, medium root depth, summer fall growth. Grasses are strong feeders of potassium and sulfur.

Thalia (zone 6) Summer Bloomer. Very deep rooted. Open stem structure allows for very diverse under story growth. Summer blooming. Large storage roots.

Water Forget-Me-Not (zone 3) Spring Bloomer. Vigorous low grower. Shallow rooted. Easily pruned. Blooms from March through October.

Yellow Monkey Flower (zone 6) Spring Bloomer. Early spring growth and bloom. Deep root system.



Here are some that are in my bog, we are 6b

black gamecock iris
dwarf golden sweetflag
dwarf cattails
Water Willow
green creeping Jenny
Marsh betony
obedient plant
mint
yellow flag iris
blue for get me not


I will add, you can think out of the box on bog plants like ferns, hostas, pitcher plants, bloody dock. Also, taros/elephant ears would be a perennial in your zone, which I love having those and cannas in my bog to give it a tropical feel.

 

[DerSchoeneBahnhof]

Thanks! these plants seem to be suitable for colder areas though? It can get really hot in the summer where I live (record is 43C or 109F so far) but freezing temps do occur occasionally in winter.

I started building my own list too...

Blue Flag Iris - zones 3 - 9
Lizard’s tail - zones 4 - 11
Zantedeschia aethiopica - zones 5 - 9
Lythrum salicaria - zones 4 - 9
Astilbe chinensis - zones 4 - 9
Cornus alba - zones 2 - 7
Calla Lilly - zones 8 - 10
Tropicanna Canna - zones 7 - 10
Cardinal flower - zones 2 - 9
Tiger lily - zones 3 - 9

So the question is, do I have to buy the plants and put them into the bog gravel all at once, or can I stagger planting? I don't know if I will find a nursery that stocks all the plants I am looking for on the same day... Or put the plants in a waiting area like a shallow plastic box and periodically replace the water?

 

[Jhn]

Just plant them as you get them, you don’t want to be constantly digging up and moving plants, other than thinning them out as neccessary. That being said I am constantly in my bog planting plants through out the growing season,

Most plants tolerate warmer temps are fine it is the cold that kills them, so if it is tolerant of zone 4 it will usually do fine in war,we climate. Temps where I am in 7B fluctuate from 110 in summer to below zero on occasion in the winter. My approach with plans is try them and if thegrow and live great if not, I either treat as an annual or just don’t get that plant again.

 

[poconojoe]

Online sellers can be great, but be prepared to pay big for shipping.
That's why I always suggest buying as much as you can from local nurseries or garden centers.

And remember, a lot of plants that sell as pond plants are just regular plants and can be found at lower cost when not labeled as such.

I have found that just about every plant I stuck in my bog has flourished.

All the hardy ones come back every year.
I'm in zone 6b, so the winters are cold here.
Any tropicals I do plant, get pulled out in the Fall. You don't want rotting roots in your bog. It's bad for the water chemistry and can clog the gravel.

 

[Jhn]

@poconojoe where are you ordering plants from that you pay a lot for shipping. I order plants all the time form various places that are hard to find locally and shipping ranges $10-20….just sayin

Also, wouldn’t plant anything that sends out a large root system in the bog as it will eventually clog it up.

 

[poconojoe]

@poconojoe where are you ordering plants from that you pay a lot for shipping. I order plants all the time form various places that are hard to find locally and shipping ranges $10-20….just sayin

Also, wouldn’t plant anything that sends out a large root system in the bog as it will eventually clog it up.

It just pains me to pay so much for shipping. Add that to the tax and it gets ridiculous.
And shipping prices have increased so much on everything lately.
I just try to source locally, if possible.

 

[Lisak1]

Shipping has gotten crazy - I was ordering an $8 item and the shipping was $30. Uh... no thanks!

 

[poconojoe]

Shipping has gotten crazy - I was ordering an $8 item and the shipping was $30. Uh... no thanks!

Yeah, that's ridiculous.
When the shipping is the same or more than the item, I say no thanks too!

 

[Mmathis]

My only advice is to not go overboard in the beginning — start small scale and plant far apart, especially for the more aggressive growers. It might take them a while (maybe even an entire growing season) to fill out, but once they do they can be become overwhelming. Not that overwhelming is a bad thing, but just a thought to keep things well-spaced and in proportion.

 

[SarahT]

Thanks! these plants seem to be suitable for colder areas though? It can get really hot in the summer where I live (record is 43C or 109F so far) but freezing temps do occur occasionally in winter.

I started building my own list too...

Blue Flag Iris - zones 3 - 9
Lizard’s tail - zones 4 - 11
Zantedeschia aethiopica - zones 5 - 9
Lythrum salicaria - zones 4 - 9
Astilbe chinensis - zones 4 - 9
Cornus alba - zones 2 - 7
Calla Lilly - zones 8 - 10
Tropicanna Canna - zones 7 - 10
Cardinal flower - zones 2 - 9
Tiger lily - zones 3 - 9

So the question is, do I have to buy the plants and put them into the bog gravel all at once, or can I stagger planting? I don't know if I will find a nursery that stocks all the plants I am looking for on the same day... Or put the plants in a waiting area like a shallow plastic box and periodically replace the water?

Hi, I'm on the edge of zone 9b/10a near Tampa, so a little different climate, but I've found most plants did well and stayed well over the winter (my first bog year was last year).
Tropical canna (FL native variety) wasn't as fun as I'd hoped, as it has a bloom season, spring, and died back.
dwarf papyrus doing well; I haven't checked its roots yet.
lysimachia. creeping jenny, doing well
Ipomoea batatas (ornamental sweet potato vine) is doing great; I bought the purple leafed to add foliage color.
we have a native "soft rush", too.

Have fun.

 

[Faebinder]

I got these in my bog in PA.

- Yellow Flag Iris (tempted to tell you not to get it, cause you gotta trim it annually)
- Creeping Jenny
- Hardy Hibiscus
- 3 types of Cardinal flowers including the purple one.
- yellow monkey flower (surprisingly strong)
- Mint, just regular mint. Amazing growth.
- Obedient plant
- Cranberry (I'm surprised its alive)
- North american pitcher plants
- large frog bits (they survive the winter with my trough heater and come back strong).

 

[DerSchoeneBahnhof]

All good info, thanks everyone.

I'll start with a few plants and add more as needed.

CG

 

[Rashad]

Thanks! these plants seem to be suitable for colder areas though? It can get really hot in the summer where I live (record is 43C or 109F so far) but freezing temps do occur occasionally in winter.

I started building my own list too...

Blue Flag Iris - zones 3 - 9
Lizard’s tail - zones 4 - 11
Zantedeschia aethiopica - zones 5 - 9
Lythrum salicaria - zones 4 - 9
Astilbe chinensis - zones 4 - 9
Cornus alba - zones 2 - 7
Calla Lilly - zones 8 - 10
Tropicanna Canna - zones 7 - 10
Cardinal flower - zones 2 - 9
Tiger lily - zones 3 - 9

So the question is, do I have to buy the plants and put them into the bog gravel all at once, or can I stagger planting? I don't know if I will find a nursery that stocks all the plants I am looking for on the same day... Or put the plants in a waiting area like a shallow plastic box and periodically replace the water?

Sounds like we're in a similar climate. I'm in 7a in Albuquerque. My absolute champion bog plant has been Yerba Mansa which is also called lizard tail, but is different than the other plant also sometimes called lizard tail. Anemopsis californica. It grows fast, it spreads, but it's easy to pull out if it goes somewhere you don't want it, the flowers are beautiful, and it stays green into mid fall before dying back.

 

[bagsmom]

@GBBUDD - I remember somewhere else you mentioned an online source you were happy with. Would you mind posting the name? Thank you!