Bog Plants

What is a bog plant? It is a plant whose roots grow
in wet soil, with foliage that floats on water or stands upright above the
water. These plants are suited to any pond, water garden, or shallow water area
where the soil remains wet. When specific water depths are listed for growing
bog plants, they refer to the distance from the top of the plant container to
the top of the water line. This distance varies from plant to plant and should
be considered when placing bog plants in pond arrangements. Use rocks and bricks
to raise the height of the plant container in the water to the appropriate
level. While some bog plants (Iris, Floating Heart) have large, brilliant
blossoms, others (Water Clover, Parrot's Feather) have unnoticeable or no
blossoms at all. Some trailing, non-blossoming bog plants, like Parrot's Feather
are used in water gardens solely for accent. Upright bog plants can serve as
screens and vertical accents against smaller plants and walls.

Most bog plants require full sun to partial shade; however, Water Clover,
Floating Heart, and Water Hawthorn require less light and are ideal for
moderately shaded ponds. The size of most bog plants may be controlled by the
size of container used to plant them in the water. Use smaller containers for as
long as possible and trim invasive trailing plants if size is of concern. Bog
plants may need to be divided over time. Fertilize at the beginning of the
blossom period or once per season for non-bloomers. Place fertilizer tablets
directly into the soil of the container.

Hardy bog plants are all cold tolerant and will thrive in winter as long as
they are lowered at least 18" below the water surface. As with all hardy water
plants, the only danger of freezing roots comes in shallow water (less than 18"
deep) or deep water that has frozen solid. Tropical bog plants will not survive
winter conditions and are therefore treated as annuals by most gardeners. A pond
in a warm, greenhouse environment with full sun is necessary to keep tropical
bog plants through the winter.

A list follows of the hardy and tropical bog plants that Merrifield Garden
Center carries on a regular basis. If you are looking for a specific bog plant
that is not listed here, please feel free to ask one of our professional staff
members about placing a special order.

Bog Plants Chart