Hardy Marginal and Bog Plants

Text Box: Depending on where you live hardy pond plants are read to be planted as early as March. Keep in mind that it is best if the outside temperatures and water temperatures are 50 degrees and above. Remember, sometimes the weather can be unpredictable in the spring, many an anxious water gardener has regretted planting to early in the spring. The plants that are already established in the pond will start coming out of dormancy as soon as the water warms up and stays warm. Bog plants usually prefer very muddy soil and marginal plants usually need at least 2 to 6 inches of water over the roots. If you are not sure if you have a water plant that prefers bog conditions or water over the roots, feel free to ask us and we will be happy to help you find out which is best. You can also watch your plants to see how they are doing, if they don’t look happy put them in shallower water or perhaps place them a little deeper until you find what is good for that particular plant. The best planting media is always soil, you can use soil from your yard, don’t use potting soil meant for houseplants it can contain humus or vermiculite or perlite in the soil and these could float to the top or rot in your pond. If you don’t have soil in your yard, there are quite a few aquatic soils to chose from if you use this type of planting media or if you plan on using kitty litter be sure to fertilize more often, since these types of media usually don’t have any nutrients. The nutrients will have difficulty remaining in the pot this also applies to those of you that are thinking of using sand as your planting media. There is no special way to plant most marginal and bog plants, just get the soil very wet, you can soak the pot in the pond or in a larger container of water, when you can push your fingers easily in the soil, you are ready to plant. Plant in the center of the pot, don’t plant them to deep, being careful not to cover to much of the plant, just bury the roots. Then place them in the appropriate part of the pond. There are some marginal plants such as iris that should be planted butted up against the side of the pot. (see page 21) We suggest using an aquatic pot with no holes in it, these pots are generally less expensive and they hold the soil and the roots better than containers that have holes where the water goes through and carries away the nutrients, not to mention the soil may leach into the pond. If you chose to fertilize your marginal and bog plants, use a time release fertilizer tab made for water plants, there are some meant specifically for marginal and bog plants. Be sure it is a water plant fertilizer and that is safe for your fish if you have any in your pond. We carry a marginal and bog fertilizer tab, which you can purchase on our website. Be sure your plants have gone dormant for the winter before you put any of your water plants in the deepest part of the pond for winter. Depending on where you live you may not have to put the plants in deep water, as long as the pond does not freeze where the roots of the plants are, they will be fine. Be sure to remove any dead leaves and stems before putting them in the deeper water for the winter. Then in spring when the water starts to warm up, put the pots back in shallow water again.