Hearty Bog Plants in NW Ohio (zone 6)

[rjrivero]

I’m building a Bog Garden/Filter for my “recreational pond.” We do have fish, including grass carp and koi which decimate all the vegetation.

I’ve finished digging the bog. The liner comes on Tuesday. The stone will be here Thursday. Then the plants will need purchased. What are the sure fire hearty bog plants I should include in my new to me Bog? I’d like to have most that would survive the winter in NW Ohio. Thanks in advance.

 

[addy1]

Welcome to our forum of pond lovers!


Nice hole and nice tractor!

Here is a list I made off info from the net, years ago

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

 

[Lisak1]

Wow! What a pond! And what a beautiful bog you will have!

@addy1 covered the plant question for you quite thoroughly! Please share photos in progress - this will be fun to watch come together!

 

[addy1]

Suggestion, make the back edge taller than you think it needs to be, as the gravel or whatever you use settles and fills with roots, the water will creep higher. I had to raise my back (away from the pond) edge by around 2 inches, about 2ish years after starting it up.

I put large walking stones in the bog, one for me to walk on, two to keep a path open for water flow, less plant growth.

 

[rjrivero]

Welcome to our forum of pond lovers!


Nice hole and nice tractor!

Here is a list I made off info from the net...”

Thank you! I appreciate the very thorough list and explanation!

I love your avatar. Here is a treefrog in the hostas in our front yard.

 

[rjrivero]

Wow! What a pond! And what a beautiful bog you will have!

@addy1 covered the plant question for you quite thoroughly! Please share photos in progress - this will be fun to watch come together!

I’ll be happy to post updates on this project! Thank you for your kind words.

 

[rjrivero]

Suggestion, make the back edge taller than you think it needs to be, as the gravel or whatever you use settles and fills with roots, the water will creep higher. I had to raise my back (away from the pond) edge by around 2 inches, about 2ish years after starting it up.

I put large walking stones in the bog, one for me to walk on, two to keep a path open for water flow, less plant growth.

Excellent advice. I took about 1,000 cubic feet of sandy soil out of this hole. I’m sure I can spare some for building up the back side!

 

[j.w]

@rjrivero
Great build going on and that bog will really keep that pond sparkling clean!

 

[addy1]

I love tree frogs. They are so cute!

Excellent advice. I took about 1,000 cubic feet of sandy soil out of this hole. I’m sure I can spare some for building up the back side!

I used around 38000 lbs of pea gravel to fill my bog with a bit left over. It is always overgrown but sure takes care of the pond. Now and then I go in and yank plants.

 

[rjrivero]

I love tree frogs. They are so cute!

I used around 38000 lbs of pea gravel to fill my bog with a bit left over. It is always overgrown but sure takes care of the pond. Now and then I go in and yank plants.

I calculated 50 ton for this one. The one end had to be a bit higher so I’ll probably need more than that. When all is said and done. Plus the stonescaping in the spill side.

View attachment 123258@rjrivero
Great build going on and that bog will really keep that pond sparkling clean!

Many thanks! I we bought this house the pond was kicking my butt. The muck was thick, the cat tails were more than 50% of the pond and the algae was ridiculous.

Some advice from the locals, we put some grass carp in. Along with some Koi. They took care of all the vegetation but now we have some green water issues.

A friend in the know suggested I look into a bog. And here we are.

It’s a rather daunting project and no one around me has done them to this scale.

It’s a bigger project than I thought it was going to be, but I think it will be worth the result!

 

[addy1]

It’s a bigger project than I thought it was going to be, but I think it will be worth the result!

Well worth it!

 

[JBtheExplorer]

Great Blue Lobelia does great in my bog. It's great for pollinators, including Hummingbirds.

 

[Lisak1]

@JBtheExplorer - does that get tall like the red variety?

 

[JBtheExplorer]

@JBtheExplorer - does that get tall like the red variety?

In general, roughly the same height. Maybe a little shorter. Though it seems to like my bog better than Cardinal Flower. Cardinal Flower isn't great in my bog this year. it's there, and it'll be flowering soon, but not quite as healthy as GBL

 

[Lisak1]

We bought three cardinal flowers, but I have a feeling one of them is actually a Great Blue... time will tell!