Pitcher plants in a water bog

[csdude55]

Someone gave me several pitcher plants last year. I have them in individual pots and have 1" trays underneath each pot for water. They're just now coming back this year, so I'm about to find out how many of them survived the winter :-O

Next up on my list is to build a water bog as a filter for my pond(s). This is a totally new monster for me, so please forgive my ignorance!

I've seen people with pitcher plants in their water bog, like so:

Honored and Proud to have been chosen Aquascapes DIY pond of the year for 2023. 12,000 Gallon Koi Pond, Full Build

Large KOI pond with a Wetland filter, Negative edge and an intake bay. Start to finish, Building, Maintaining and expanding / seaming . https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=watch_permalink&v=687652723148180

www.gardenpondforum.com

The question is: how?

If my bog is 12" deep with pea gravel, how do I plant the pitchers in it so that their "feet are wet but their knees are dry"? I thought about putting them in prettier pots and just sitting them on top of the bog, but they're obviously not like that in the wild. And @GBBUDD's pics appear to be completely planted in his bog.

And just in general, does one put the bare root of their plant in the gravel, or is potting soil involved in some way?

 

[Hound Heaven]

Looking forward to the responses you get, as I too have some potted pitchers that I will be planting in or near my bog. So far they're waking up nicely and I hope they stay that way. This will be my first attempt with them - I'm in E. TN.

 

[seandelevan]

Mine are just stuffed into some gravel…some are just wedged in between rocks…at the edge of my bog which is about 6-7 inches deep. They’ve been that way for 5 or 6 years now and had no problems.…and this is in zone 7a like you.

 

[BKHpondcritters]

Mine are planted directly in pea gravel in a couple of locations where the surface of the gravel is just slightly above the water line so their crowns are dry. Several flower buds up now, but not quite blooming yet.

 

[csdude55]

So to clarify, @seandelevan and @BKHpondcritters: you have roughly half of the root in the pea gravel and submerged in the water, with the other half above the water line and exposed?

@Hound Heaven , my first ones died, and I suspect it's because the soil stayed too wet. Last year someone offered to give me some of their excess, so I bought pitcher plant soil from Amazon, put them in 4x4 and 6x6 pots, then sat the pots in 1" trays from Lowes after someone here suggested them.

They did much better last year, and I see growth on about half of them right now. So let's just say that I'm cautiously optimistic :-O

 

[Hound Heaven]

Thanks for sharing your experiences. Good to hear that there's room for optimism! I've been researching them online and found several informative sites and vids. For example I just found this out: "North Carolina designated the Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) as the official state carnivorous plant in 2005." https://statesymbolsusa.org/symbol-official-item/north-carolina/state-plant/venus-flytrap

This is my first time raising any carnivorous plants so I expect I may have a fatality or two along the way. These guys are so interesting - and to think that they are indigenous to a lot of N. America is pretty cool. The varieties are so fascinating -- https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/awesome-8/article/carnivorous-plants.

 

[combatwombat]

You can build up gravel areas within your bog so that there isn’t standing water.

 

[GBBUDD]

Someone gave me several pitcher plants last year. I have them in individual pots and have 1" trays underneath each pot for water. They're just now coming back this year, so I'm about to find out how many of them survived the winter :-O

Next up on my list is to build a water bog as a filter for my pond(s). This is a totally new monster for me, so please forgive my ignorance!

I've seen people with pitcher plants in their water bog, like so:

Honored and Proud to have been chosen Aquascapes DIY pond of the year for 2023. 12,000 Gallon Koi Pond, Full Build

Large KOI pond with a Wetland filter, Negative edge and an intake bay. Start to finish, Building, Maintaining and expanding / seaming . https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=watch_permalink&v=687652723148180

www.gardenpondforum.com

The question is: how?

If my bog is 12" deep with pea gravel, how do I plant the pitchers in it so that their "feet are wet but their knees are dry"? I thought about putting them in prettier pots and just sitting them on top of the bog, but they're obviously not like that in the wild. And @GBBUDD's pics appear to be completely planted in his bog.

And just in general, does one put the bare root of their plant in the gravel, or is potting soil involved in some way?

tHE pitchers are in there own " area" i call a bog but by this site it is not a upflow wetland filter or
"{BOG}" The area is nothing more than a low area where the water seeps into the soil . there's no flow. I HAVE A MIX OF 3/4 river rock and sand and peat moss on the bottom with just sand and peat toward the surface. the whole area is no more than 6 inches thick and 2 of it is above the water line.

"feet are wet but their knees are dry"

like i said they are in soil 2 inches above the water level but the soil is sopping wet completely saturated. That and the area is covered in mosses some live sphagnum.
"

 

[BKHpondcritters]

OK, here are pictures from last year.

As you can see, the crown of each plant is high & dry in the gravel, while the roots are in an area of total saturation.

What I will also say is this - pitcher plants are one of those that, when placed in an area/location that suits them *perfectly*, will thrive/grow/bloom no matter what you do around them. However, if they're not totally happy with their location... nothing you can do will fix the problem & they will linger along & eventually die. My recommendation is this: do your best to situate them in a nice, boggy area with decent water flow & keep their crowns above the waterline & then....... hope for the best. Just don't take offence if they decide to defy you & refuse to grow (or die), no matter how hard you try to please them. On the flip side - rejoice if they decide to grace you with their presence.

 

[seandelevan]

So to clarify, @seandelevan and @BKHpondcritters: you have roughly half of the root in the pea gravel and submerged in the water, with the other half above the water line and exposed?

@Hound Heaven , my first ones died, and I suspect it's because the soil stayed too wet. Last year someone offered to give me some of their excess, so I bought pitcher plant soil from Amazon, put them in 4x4 and 6x6 pots, then sat the pots in 1" trays from Lowes after someone here suggested them.

They did much better last year, and I see growth on about half of them right now. So let's just say that I'm cautiously optimistic :-O

mine literally sit in shallow water…no soil…no gravel. I started with one small plant 5 years ago and you can see how many I got from divisions ever since.

 

[Lisak1]

Wow! @seandelevan you've inspired me!

 

[Hound Heaven]

mine literally sit in shallow water…no soil…no gravel. I started with one small plant 5 years ago and you can see how many I got from divisions ever since.

That's impressive!

 

[combatwombat]

mine literally sit in shallow water…no soil…no gravel. I started with one small plant 5 years ago and you can see how many I got from divisions ever since.

Whoa!

 

[csdude55]

"Whoa" is right! I'm going to have to try that with one of my survivors and see how it fares...

 

[Faebinder]

Mine are in a floating island in the pond.