FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I posted a little less than a year ago about trying to grow a VFT outdoors 30 miles north of Washington DC in Maryland (USDA zone 7). I found that most said I could but only in a bog garden. I started reading up on bog gardens and am hoping one of the ideas I researched will work. It was to place a tarp or pond liner about in a hole about 1 too 2 feet deep. Then place the correct mixture (peat moss, silica sand, ect) into the tarp/pond liner and then water until it becomes "bogged" in water. The tarp would hamper drainage to keep the soil moist and keep minerals from leaching into the VFT's soil. Do you think this will work. I would put this garden in partial to full sun. In the winter I would place burlap and pine-needles to protect the plant.

Thanks for any advice!
TJ

This is a picture of what I want to base my Garden on.

i think its a great idea, finish the edge with more ornamental rocks to hide the plastic, and i think you'll have an awesome little bog going on there.

the only thing i'd be worried about is with no drainage you might need to be vigilant it doesnt get too wet and root rot your plants, since any heavy winter rains will fill er up.

is there any reason why you couldnt poke some very small holes in the liner to allow a bit of drainage? by using a satay stick or something?

Okay thanks for the reassurance! I'm so glad this will work. I can poke holes. I just did not want the bog to dry out since it will be in full sun. How wet can it be in the winter? If the bog freezes will that kill any plants or are the pine-needles supposed to keep it from freezing.
Thanks
TJ

This is what the finished product should look similar too.

it really depends on how much rainfall you get.. and if you get a lot of rain and an excess of water laying in the bottom and you suffer from ice/snow, you could essentially freeze your plants.

during dormancy you want your soil to stay on the dryer side of moist, rather than being wet and boggy.

well, how are the plants today

Very nice!!!

The only thing i don't like is that ok, minerals from the sorrounding soil will not be able to get in, but how about the solids, minerals, other things that land in the bog? the solids will stay in the bottom, killing the plant if the plant roots reach to the bottom. And what Oblivion said, it needs to be more dry during the winter, you might want to make holes in the bottom, and perhaps use pine needle mulch in the bottom, then put the peat, silica sand mixture, and pine needle on top but very little, close the area with wood, so that it is less likely that squirrels will eat the plants.
And lastly put some nice rocks with a few non CP plants, and then put the CP plants! You might want to take 4FT of the soil to make the hole, and the sides cover it up with plastic as well as the bottom, but makes holes in the bottom. Get a nice spot where they get 5-6 hours of sunlight, and i think that's all you need!

Good luck!

Well done! I just hope that the area theuy're in gets full sun conditions.