Dragonfly Aquatics Blog » bog plant

Finally Flowers

dragonfly — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 01:28:49 +0000

This is the Cardinal Flower I brought home from the greenhouse this spring and wondered at the time if it would straighten up. The Cardinal Flowers were all nice plants this year but some were growing slanted in their containers. The one I had planted a couple years ago didn’t survive. Now I know we say “Don’t Drown those bog plants” so I should know better. But too much water did it in, so I tried another. This year I’m glad to report it bloomed and flourished. It didn’t straighten up until it started to bloom. I transplanted it after several weeks from its pot directly into my bog area and hoped that it wasn’t too late to prevent it from blooming. I had wanted to give it some time to adjust to the water depth before I planted it directly in the pond but then I just got too busy to plant it. Look how gorgeous the flowers are. I think its a winner!

Not only did it get one flower but I have several more getting ready to bloom. Now that its established it will spread to even a healthlier plant by next year. At least that’s my hope.

Lemon Bopaca

dragonfly — Thu, 13 May 2010 11:51:34 +0000

This versatile little plant is one of our new favorites. Lemon Bacopa is a great bog plant for trailing over edges, cascading down a waterfall, bogs or submerged. It has succulent leaves of lemon when crushed and is an edible herb used for seasoning. Tiny five pedal blue flowers will bloom all summer long. Needs to be planted in a medium container in moist soil or just by keeping its tiny roots wet. It can easily be cultivated by cuttings from the stems. Although it is only hardy in zones 9-11 it can easily be wintered over by taking a cutting and keeping it inside in a small container with alittle water. It will continue to grow more tiny little roots and you can replant it in your pond in the spring.

Variegated Cattail

dragonfly — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 19:22:56 +0000

Variegated cattail, Typha latifolia ‘Variegata’ is an attractive bog plant for any pond. The variegation in this cattail is bold forming bright green and white longitudinal stripes. The Variegated Cattail will grow to 5 feet tall in sun to part shade. It requires moist soil or water to 12 inches deep. It does well in Zones 4-11. The Variegated Cattail doesn’t grow as readily as the other cattails and doesn’t like to be transplanted.

The Variegated Cattail is a nice addition to any pond and provides a taller backdrop for smaller plants around your pond. In addition, it also is a great pond plant that will attract dragonflies and other wildlife to your water garden.

Graceful Cattails

dragonfly — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 14:00:32 +0000

Graceful Cattails, Typha angustifolia are similar to your regular Common Cattail other than its leaves. They are more narrow leafed than the standard and the foliage arches and sways gracefully in the breeze. An elegant bog pond plant and is suitable for any pond or large container water garden. They will grow 4-6 feet tall and their catkins are very thin. The foliage makes an attractive cutting for any floral arrangement.

Graceful Cattails grow in sun to part shade in moist soil to water 12 inches deep and do well in Zones 3-11. They don’t mind having water above their crown even during winter months and tolerate freezing temperatures well. Again Graceful Cattails are the same as other cattails and will propagate quickly from division of the rhizomes or easily grown by seed.

Bog Bean

dragonfly — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 21:27:20 +0000

I planted this bog bean last summer and it really has taken hold in the bog. It provides a nice dense area for the frogs to hid in. (See if you can find him) It does best in 1-3 inches of water but will grow out from the margin and float over the pond. I didn’t plant mine. I just anchored it underwater with the rocks around the edge of the bog and it grew from there. I already had flowers but didn’t get the picture….busy time of the year. They were pink clusters that opened up to white, star-shaped blooms. They were about 5 inches taller that the leaves. They are suppose to be 2-6 inches above the leaves which gives the plant an overall height of 6-9 inches.

Bog bean has a highly fragrant scent and will bloom late May through July but the flowers don’t last long. It needs full sun to partial shade and is hardy is Zones 2-7. It can freeze solid in the winter as long as you leave it in the water and will come back early the next spring. You can divide it after it has flowered by cutting off the rootstock.

Its a nice plant for your shallow water along the edge of the pond.

You can purchase bog bean, buck bean, Menyanthes trifoliata here.

Blue Bells ‘Ruellia brittoniana’

dragonfly — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 11:43:34 +0000

Water bluebells are one of the easiest water plants to grow. They are constantly covered with small, trumpet shaped 2 inch lavender-blue flowers with dark purple-green foliage throughout the growing season. They take sun to part shade and moist soil or water over the crown up to 6 inches deep. They reach 2 – 4 feet and about 24 inches wide. The foliage will turn a burgundy color in the autumn when the temperatures turn cooler.

I normally will plant my bluebells at the pond’s edge near the bog butterfly or water hibiscus to create a bushy colorful area. This is another water plant that will attract butterflies and hummingbirds in your garden.

Buy bluebells, Ruellia brittoniana here.

Pennywort ‘Hydrocotyle verticillata’

dragonfly — Wed, 20 May 2009 11:33:33 +0000

This plant is an excellent water plant for stream beds, bogs or edges of your pond. It grows to about 6″-12″ high out of the water and is a fast grower. It leaves are usually shiny and can be anywheres from 3 inches to only 1/2 inch in diameter. This plant is useful in the water garden because of its quick ability to create shade over the pond and grows running stems that will float out over the water surface. It creates a soft edge between water and taller plants such as the cattails, iris or sweet flags.

It will grow well in sun to part shade and is hardy in Zones 5-11. It grows best in moist soil to water no more than 4 inches deep.

Bluebells ‘Ruellia brittoniana’

dragonfly — Tue, 05 May 2009 01:10:12 +0000

The Bluebell is a favorite amoung most water gardeners. It is a very easy water plant to grow and will bloom throughout the summer. Attractive dark blue-purple flowers that are 1-2 inches on rich dark green foliage. It grows in sun to part shade and moist soil or water up to 6 inches deep. They will reach 2 to 4 feet high and about 12 inches wide and sometimes gets higher and wider in the southern states.

Bluebells can be potted, or the roots can be tucked into the rocks of a streambed or waterfall. You can add this plant as an accent to the edge of your pond in front of sweetflag or hibiscus for an outstanding combination.

They are Hardy in zones 8 or higher but can be taken out of the pond and stored in moist peat over the winter in zones less than 8. I have heard of them wintering over in zones 7 but it would depend of the type of winter.

This is another water plant that attracts butterflies, hummingbirds and birds.

Purchase Bluebells, bog plant here.

Mosaic Plant

dragonfly — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 01:10:09 +0000

Mosaic plant is one of the most unusual floating plants you can add to your pond. It is both a marginal plant and a floating plant and grows best if planted along the edge of the pond in 12-18 inches of warm water. It has a running spread that will usually cover 24 inches in a single season, each rosette spreading to 4 inches. The leaves are green with red edges and grow from a central radius and the foliage forms a mosaic-like circle. It prefers warm and sunny to partly shady conditions, and will not tolerate water temperatures below 60 degrees, or water with a pH of 8 and above. Mosaic is hardy in Zones 8-11. In cooler climates, it needs to be brought indoors and kept in a warm aquarium of at least 65 degrees with supplemental lighting.

Buy mosaic plant,tropical bog plant here.

Bog Bean (Menyanthes trifoliata)

dragonfly — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 11:55:26 +0000

Bog Bean is a great addition to your pond. Its hardy in zones 2-7 which makes it a popular pond plant for pond owners. The leaves are fairly large, three-lobed that are markedly veined. Flower buds are pink clusters that open to a white, star-shaped bloom that is highly fragrant. It will stand high above the leaves, some 2-6 inches taller, giving the height of the plant 6-9 inches tall and can grow out 5 feet over the water surface. Whats nice about the bog plant is even when its not flowering, the leaves will remain green and attractive in your pond. It will bloom late May through July.

Plant it in full sun to part shade in 1-3 inches of water amd it will spread over the water surface. It can freeze solid in the winter as long as you keep it in the water. You would want to divide the plant by dividing the rootstock in the summer once it is done flowering. Its a great plant to plant close to edges of your pond, against rocks or waterfall, as it grows high enough to hid edges of your pond.

Buy bog bean,hardy pond plant,flowering bog plant, here.