FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

This is something I've never done, but have always wanted to. I've found a few online how-to's, but I still have questions to which I couldn't find answers -

1. Does it still need to have drainage holes (I assume so)? One how-to said yes, another said no...

2. I know you can plant Sarrs, flytraps, drosera, etc. in the same bog, but does this tend to cause more problems for one species or another? E.g. Keeping it wet enough for the Sarr but not too wet for the flytrap...

3. Lastly, if you have a deep mini bog (or a deep pot for that matter), how do you unpot the plants later to add new soil, without ripping their roots to shreds in the process? The only thing I can think of off the top of my head is turning the thing over and dumping it, or digging them out with a spade (destroys half the roots), both of which sound far from ideal.

Veronis wrote:1. Does it still need to have drainage holes (I assume so)? One how-to said yes, another said no...

Yes Drainage holes is a yes because it will allow water to drain an not cause algea

Veronis wrote:2. I know you can plant Sarrs, flytraps, drosera, etc. in the same bog, but does this tend to cause more problems for one species or another? E.g. Keeping it wet enough for the Sarr but not too wet for the flytrap...

I Say a to let them have their own kind in its own bog because the pitcher plants will get the most light and its not fair for the smaller ones to get nothing

(3. Lastly, if you have a deep mini bog (or a deep pot for that matter), how do you unpot the plants later to add new soil, without ripping their roots to shreds in the process? The only thing I can think of off the top of my head is turning the thing over and dumping it, or digging them out with a spade (destroys half the roots), both of which sound far from ideal.This is something I've never done, but have always wanted to. I've found a few online how-to's, but I still have questions to which I couldn't find answers -)

I Would say planting them in their own put covered my peat moss to disguise it so when its repotting time just pul the pot and put it back their

I guess it depends on whether you are thinking about an above or in-ground bog.

From some of the sites I have looked at it seems like the in-ground bog has some major advantages such as more room for root spread, more stable temps, etc..Personally my soil has so much clay I could probably never dig a big enough pit to start with.

If you are thinking about the in-ground, the sites I have seen have liners for both water retention and pest control and look to involve stones for the drainage question you mentioned at the bottom.

Since you would have a somewhat controlled environment the watering would be done mainly by rainfall and I guess if big enough should disperse pretty evenly between different types of plants.

As for digging, I guess you would be looking at this as a somewhat permanent structure unless you carefully dug a large diameter away from the main rhizome area, but you are probably right in that you will lose some roots here and there. I guess that would be part of the beauty of it, in that it is "natural"!!
Peace!

for an inground bog you could try making a few drainage holes in the sides of the liner, two-three inches below the soil surface to help prevent plants from becoming permanently waterlogged after heavy rains. i made a minibog in a large plastic trough planter- the bottom doesn't have holes, but i did drill a few through the sides. you could even mound up the soil in one part of it for cp's that like more drainage. And, obviously if your putting plants of different sizes in the same bog, a liitle thought on the placement of the plants is needed, such as putting the taller species at the back and the shorter ones at the front,

oh and when its raining put them under a patio