Hello, I am located in Courtice Ontario and looking for information on bog plants for zone 5. Water 2 or 3 inches above pea gravel base in a 3' X 10' area. Pond water flows in bottom and returns to pond.
Courtice Ontario
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sissy
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Welcome and we are here and there are some from Canada that have great info .I live in VA and does not get cold here but seems colleen is from Canada and has great success with plants .There are other bog owners on here also
How deep is your gravel in the bog?
j.w
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sissy
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callingcolleen1
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Big welcome from me too! Been busy the last couple days working and stuff, got a small head cold, but it's going away now.
Your pond looks very nice and I love the bridge too!
So are you looking at building a bog that flows into the pond, or out of the pond, or just have a bog within the pond? Anything can be done to suit your needs and tastes. I just have my bogs within the pond, that way the babies can hide in the bog and still swim in and out. Although I was thinking of making a pea gravel or kittly litter bog that flows into or out of one of my ponds.... still pondering that .... ha ha he he.
You could also grow a floating soil-less bog in one of the corners too, I have a very large yellow flag marsh that grows over six feet tall and is naturally floating in three feet of water! A yellow flag is a water iris, and a small piece can be wedged into the side of pond and attached with twine to the side corner, roots dangling in water, and evently it will grow very large even with koi, and will attach itself to the edge and grow a large base that will not blow over after a couple years or so. My fish love to winter under the roots, and here is a picture of the big yellow flag that floats on the deep end of my middle pond. (Twine no longer required as it holds itself naturally now in place)
Addy has some nice pictures of a bog that flows into her pond. You all have to check out her thread.
Pictures are from early spring to late fall, and then present day. The first pictures their was several smaller clumps that I gave away last spring. You can see it blooms in spring.
Your pond looks very nice and I love the bridge too!
So are you looking at building a bog that flows into the pond, or out of the pond, or just have a bog within the pond? Anything can be done to suit your needs and tastes. I just have my bogs within the pond, that way the babies can hide in the bog and still swim in and out. Although I was thinking of making a pea gravel or kittly litter bog that flows into or out of one of my ponds.... still pondering that .... ha ha he he.
You could also grow a floating soil-less bog in one of the corners too, I have a very large yellow flag marsh that grows over six feet tall and is naturally floating in three feet of water! A yellow flag is a water iris, and a small piece can be wedged into the side of pond and attached with twine to the side corner, roots dangling in water, and evently it will grow very large even with koi, and will attach itself to the edge and grow a large base that will not blow over after a couple years or so. My fish love to winter under the roots, and here is a picture of the big yellow flag that floats on the deep end of my middle pond. (Twine no longer required as it holds itself naturally now in place)
Addy has some nice pictures of a bog that flows into her pond. You all have to check out her thread.
Pictures are from early spring to late fall, and then present day. The first pictures their was several smaller clumps that I gave away last spring. You can see it blooms in spring.
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Hey Colleen, look again, she already has the bog.
Cdn, your pond sure looks nice, and you can probably use pea gravel to create some small hammocks for bog plants that like their crowns to be above the water line.
callingcolleen1
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Yes, I seen that after I posted the pictures! Duh Me!! He he, I must be getting old!
There are lots of hardy plants that can be planted in your bog, looks for yellow flags (may get aggressive), aquatic mint, any types cat-tails, maybe miniature so it does take over too quick, rushes are nice too. The list of possiblites are endless. I do also like yellow monkey flower ( mimulus ), as it will flower all summer and self seed nice too. It can be easy to remove if it gets too big because the roots are small and shallow and pulls out nice too if you need to get rid of some.
Cat-tails, rushes, grasses, and irises are all sedges. They can be hard to remove if they get too big, but they clean the pond better than any other plant out there. Sedges are very powerful cleaners and are best for photosynthesis filtration, but the down side is that they need to be divided or thined out every few years or they take over quickly. In spite of the downside, I would rather deal with removing them every few years and giving chucks away, than deal with mass amounts of algae each summer. Thanks to my big overgrown sedges, I get no algae when they are big in the summer, cause they starve out the algae very well.
What you could do, is start some small clumps of yellow flag iris in your bog, then remove them in a year or two once you have a decent clump, and then rinse out the gravel and have the sedges inside your pond floating on the corners. This would give the fish a nice place to winter, and a place for the small babies to run and hide in.
I would then just keep the bog for plants that don't root too deep and then it won't be a struggle to dig out and divide.
There are lots of hardy plants that can be planted in your bog, looks for yellow flags (may get aggressive), aquatic mint, any types cat-tails, maybe miniature so it does take over too quick, rushes are nice too. The list of possiblites are endless. I do also like yellow monkey flower ( mimulus ), as it will flower all summer and self seed nice too. It can be easy to remove if it gets too big because the roots are small and shallow and pulls out nice too if you need to get rid of some.
Cat-tails, rushes, grasses, and irises are all sedges. They can be hard to remove if they get too big, but they clean the pond better than any other plant out there. Sedges are very powerful cleaners and are best for photosynthesis filtration, but the down side is that they need to be divided or thined out every few years or they take over quickly. In spite of the downside, I would rather deal with removing them every few years and giving chucks away, than deal with mass amounts of algae each summer. Thanks to my big overgrown sedges, I get no algae when they are big in the summer, cause they starve out the algae very well.
What you could do, is start some small clumps of yellow flag iris in your bog, then remove them in a year or two once you have a decent clump, and then rinse out the gravel and have the sedges inside your pond floating on the corners. This would give the fish a nice place to winter, and a place for the small babies to run and hide in.
I would then just keep the bog for plants that don't root too deep and then it won't be a struggle to dig out and divide.
Would any of the above plants last year to year if the bog is drained each winter ? The bog is bottom fed from the skimmer circuit and I turn it off each winter and lower pond water. I could cover the bog area with plastic but it would still be dry.
" Addy has some nice pictures of a bog that flows into her pond. You all have to check out her thread."
How do I locate this Addy's thread?
How do I locate this Addy's thread?
callingcolleen1
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The plants listed above do not need to be replanted each year, they can freeze hard in the bog during the winter and come back each year. Look for water plants that are zoned for your area or colder. I would also recommend the following plants for your bog:
Marsh Marigold, hardy to zone 2, very very hardy and blooms very early in spring, then dies back like a panzy in summer, but gives you nice flowers for Easter.
Gray Sedge, if you can find one, hardy from zone 3 to 7, this plant resembles an umbrella palm but offers hardiness of tropical appearance for northern climates. Still keeping my eye out for one....
You might get away with a water bamboo, hardy from zone 6 to 11, would be nice to try and see! Water bamboo not really a member of the Bamboo family, but looks like bamboo and may work for you in zone 5. Could be risky, may not survive very hard winter.
Cotton grass is zoned 6 to 11, but I have had one for 20 years now, and I am in zone 2/3 and it comes back each year, although my pond does not freeze solid with the heater. I think it work for you too and it is easy to find in any greenhouse usually.
Rose mallow or swamp hibiscus, zone 5 to 11, should work nice and give you nice red flowers most of the summer. Grows 4 to 8 feet. Seeds may also be sown in late spring in shallow area of bog.
Water pennywort, zone 5 to 11, could also be nice, these plants are rapid growers that move quickly across the bog and are easy to remove is you get too much. This charming plant has worked well for me in the past, but I now longer have it as I think I got tired of it 12 years ago....
Water clover is zoned 6 to 11, never had this one, but one day I think I am going to try it lucky 4 clover charms! It likes shallow water, and does not root deep so it can be easy to thin out. May not surive hard winter.
Bog Bean, never tired, but zoned 5 to 11 and have heard good things about this scrambling plant, could be slow to establish though....
Pickerel weed will work good for you, leave and freeze zone 4 to 11. Grows to up to 24 inches, have had it years ago, very hardy, nice purple flower too.
Woolgrass bull rush, not a rush, it is a grass. Zone 3 to 11 and very very hardy, will come back each year, leave and freeze. Grows in clumps up to 3 feet with wooly spikes on top.
The list of possiblities are endless, you will just have to search your local greenhouses in the spring to see what is available, Like I said too, any cat-tails will be hardy, and there are many types to choose from these days. Rushes are also very very hardy as is my very favorite sedge, the Yellow Flag Iris, should see them growing naturally in some areas of Ontario too, you could just dig out a clump if you see some, free plants are always great!
Hope this was of some help, feel free to ask me lots of questions too!
Marsh Marigold, hardy to zone 2, very very hardy and blooms very early in spring, then dies back like a panzy in summer, but gives you nice flowers for Easter.
Gray Sedge, if you can find one, hardy from zone 3 to 7, this plant resembles an umbrella palm but offers hardiness of tropical appearance for northern climates. Still keeping my eye out for one....
You might get away with a water bamboo, hardy from zone 6 to 11, would be nice to try and see! Water bamboo not really a member of the Bamboo family, but looks like bamboo and may work for you in zone 5. Could be risky, may not survive very hard winter.
Cotton grass is zoned 6 to 11, but I have had one for 20 years now, and I am in zone 2/3 and it comes back each year, although my pond does not freeze solid with the heater. I think it work for you too and it is easy to find in any greenhouse usually.
Rose mallow or swamp hibiscus, zone 5 to 11, should work nice and give you nice red flowers most of the summer. Grows 4 to 8 feet. Seeds may also be sown in late spring in shallow area of bog.
Water pennywort, zone 5 to 11, could also be nice, these plants are rapid growers that move quickly across the bog and are easy to remove is you get too much. This charming plant has worked well for me in the past, but I now longer have it as I think I got tired of it 12 years ago....
Water clover is zoned 6 to 11, never had this one, but one day I think I am going to try it lucky 4 clover charms! It likes shallow water, and does not root deep so it can be easy to thin out. May not surive hard winter.
Bog Bean, never tired, but zoned 5 to 11 and have heard good things about this scrambling plant, could be slow to establish though....
Pickerel weed will work good for you, leave and freeze zone 4 to 11. Grows to up to 24 inches, have had it years ago, very hardy, nice purple flower too.
Woolgrass bull rush, not a rush, it is a grass. Zone 3 to 11 and very very hardy, will come back each year, leave and freeze. Grows in clumps up to 3 feet with wooly spikes on top.
The list of possiblities are endless, you will just have to search your local greenhouses in the spring to see what is available, Like I said too, any cat-tails will be hardy, and there are many types to choose from these days. Rushes are also very very hardy as is my very favorite sedge, the Yellow Flag Iris, should see them growing naturally in some areas of Ontario too, you could just dig out a clump if you see some, free plants are always great!
Hope this was of some help, feel free to ask me lots of questions too!
sissy
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yep colleen should know since she lives in Canada and my grases made it through the winter ,but not as cold here .
callingcolleen1
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Addy can be found under "garden pond photography" with thread Pond in Frederick, MD, 2012.
Some of the plants will still work for you, but I got to go now and will type later ......
Some of the plants will still work for you, but I got to go now and will type later ......