4 replies to this topic

[9darlingcalvi]

I was thinking about making a container pond with all native plants, I don't know what would be cool to put in the pond. I was thinking horsetail for the bog plant. I live in mn


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[swampfish]

Container ponds allow a lot of flexibility because you have so much control over the water and fish.

 

In central Illinois we have a 160 gallon preformed plastic pond with the lower half in the ground and the upper half sitting in a raised bed. It is filled with rain water from our rain barrel catching roof runoff once the roof has been washed off by 1/8-1/4 inch of rainfall. With a pH of 5.0-5.5, we are able to grow SE US pitcher and other carnivorous plants that we purchase from reputable dealers that primarily use tissue culture for propagation. They go into our lean-to greenhouse for the winter. we do the same with the upper Midwest hardy Sarracaena purpurea purpurea.

 

We also have an in-ground pond with a liner that is mostly 6-12 inches deep except for a 24 inch deep area in the center to house a water lily and provide cooler water for fish to escape into. Over the years, we have grown blue flag iris, red iris, pickerel weed, sedges, arrowhead, and eelgrass (Vallisneria americana) in it and our other in-ground pond. Unless you have a very large pond, avoid the native water lily as a single plant easily covers a six to eight foot diameter surface area. We grow medium and dwarf temperate water lilies, but they are not native. 

 

We also maintain 9-12 polyethylene stock tanks that are only set up for the summer primarily for fish. We place a water lily in the center of each one and use stem plants such as hornwort, elodea, and najas to float in the water and keep down algae. Having drains, they are easily emptied of all fish in the fall.

 

Phil Nixon

.

[9darlingcalvi]

Yeah, I think that I will repaint the pot today and make the seal better on the bottom


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[9darlingcalvi]

Well painted and sealed the pot, next up is fitting the air line tubing and maybe do some hardscape


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[asukawashere]

What are the dimensions of that pot? It doesn't look that big. If it's small like it seems to be, consider sticking to the smallest bog plants. Pitchers (genus Sarracenia) and sphagnum moss would be a good choice if you're into acid bogs. On the less-specialized side, something like Caltha palustris (marsh marigold) or Myosotis/forget-me-not. (M. scorpioides is easier to obtain via commercial sources, but it's an introduced species. M. laxa is the native counterpart. Visually, they're virtually indistinguishable.) Sagittaria latifolia, maybe, if you want something with a bit more verticality to it.

If Equisetum is really your cup of tea (I've never favored it for small containers by itself b/c visually I think it works better as a textural contrast element against more lush foliage, but that's personal taste), E. scirpoides is one of the more readily available dwarf species. Be sure which one you're getting, though, some members of the genus get pretty big.