FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I've got a lot of bricks and tile. They're not limestone, but I'm worried since they're red bricks they might add minerals into the bog I plan on building outside. I also think it's going to settle, since it's so rainy there right next to a rainspout. I'm using bricks because I have a bunch of them. The inside cavity is 14 inches deep, 33 inches long, and 20 inches wide. I have leftover bricks.

It's going by a rainspout that floods when it rains and stays wet for a while. It's near a concrete porch, too. It's a sunny area with 6+ hours of direct sunlight, but it faces east/northeast. I'm going to fill it with some soil mix I can find online. My hardiness zone is 7a. The soil around here is typically moist clay.

The carnivorous plants I'm thinking about planting are Drosera filiformis filiformis and Sarracenia purpurea purpurea. My mom insists on planting Venus Flytraps. I'd get King Henry flytraps because I read they're hardy. I'm worried about the pitcherplant because I read their flowers can smell somewhat miasmic. My conclusion so far is that they smell different to everyone because some have said "Cat Urine," but others say "Citrus-like." I've also read: Mild flower-y smell, no smell, cherry scented (rubra), mint scented (leucophylla), bog scented, fruit punch scented, and the citrus or catty smell of flava. I haven't found anything on purple pitcher flowers smelling bad (They look nice, though).

If something goes wrong, at least I'd have some very pretty sphagnum moss. I may just plant orchids, cranberries, and other flowers if things fall through. Whatever likes being there.

Perhaps you can line the brick construction with rubber pond liner (if you want a bog) or a few layers of weed cloth (if you want drainage). That might minimize contact between your peat medium and the bricks.

Thanks! But I think I'll save the bricks for something else, the more I think about it.

The nearby concrete porch could also add unwanted minerals. I'll go with a fabric pond liner and some hardware cloth to try and attempt to stop whatever rodents are lurking around. There's been voles before, and while I love having more variety of nature I think this bog creation needs some assistance to stay around.

I wonder what I can do with the rainspout though? I've seen pictures with tubes attached to gutters that I'm guessing go under the bog and assist with watering. I can probably do the same. I've collected water from the spout before. It doesn't look much different from bottled water or distilled water besides a very subtle color. I don't know if I should worry, but rainwater is my easiest choice.