I disagree on some point with your opinion (but first, know that I respect your opinion
). Growing cp in a well built bog is way better than inside in my opinion. Unfortunatly, most of my plants can't stand to grow in a bog all year long (I'm in Quebec). Nevertheless, the ones growing there are marvelous! Over the last 5 years, I have more self-sowing D.rotundifolia that I would like to have in my collection indoor, and if i don't harvest the seeds, they aren't lost in a tray of water indoor, they continue their natural cycle without me, until I need them. This way, I was able to keep such species as D.rotundifolia, intermedia, anglica that would take some space indoor or in the fridge indoor which my roomates wouldn't appreciated for sure.
Sarracenia are incredibles too outdoor, if you can get them protected from strong winds. Aphids can hardly harm them outside since 'natural control' is there to help you on this side.
Ponds can be easily vreated too, and aquatics Utricularia are a really nice add to a bog, and if you lucky, you'll be able to going to sleep with the singing of some frogs which come into your pond!
For forgetting to water and fear that your plants dry up, I disagree too, bogs are the (almost) perfect fool proof on this side. If you use a deep enough volume of peat, this huge natural sponge can prevent the disaster of a shallow water tray in front of a sunny window during a hot (let say) wednesday. I feel my plants much safer in an homemade bog when I ask to someone else to take care of them, relatively to watering, than if they are in pots (and this summer's internship in New-Brunswick proove it to me once again).
Last thing: homemade bogs don't have to be expensive. Take a ride in your car around your neighbourhood (i'm not sure of the spelling, sorry) to check for old kid swimming pool (you know, the turtle ones
). Often, they are still good, the kids only grew up... So burry it up in your yard, fill it with peat (putting a liner at the bottom can be useful though), put some rocks/bricks around to cover the border, and Taddaaaa! A brand new cheap bog. Ok, you don't have a foutain in it, but 'true bogs' don't have one either
. Everything can be done with a little wangling (?) and imagination.
In fact, the hardest part with an outdoor bog , for me,is to keep plants over winter (Sarracenia), and to wait to make a 'real one' (if we don't count the one I built in my mother's yard few years ago), since , as a student, I move almost every 1-2 years...
You shouldn't fear to try it. It is sure, when you only have few plants and wait some times before you were able to get them, they are the most precious things in the world, and it is hard to try something new, with the risk (even if it is as small as that ".") to loose them. I know it, trust me. But by making some 'spare' plants, or with a huge courage (AND a progressive exposition of your plants to new conditions aka harsh sun, winds, rainfalls), there's should not have major arms to them. In seven years, i almost never lost a plant outside (The only lost were seedlings, and overwintering Sarracenia in a too wet substrate). Every summer it is the same thing for most of my sundews and Sarracenia: I am not patient enough to acclimatize them, so i put all my trays on the pic-nic table outside the house. Few days later, you can see some burns, but nothing major, and all sundews have lost their dews. 2 weeks later, the sundews are producing very red new leaves, with a rich coloration , and tons of dews (ever see Drosera outside, when the sun is rising through them and there is still morning dew? Ahhhh I'm drooling!
). All plants, as a living thing as us, can acclimte to a new environment, yu just have to let them the time to do it. All my plants kept outside are 99% of the time way bigger, colorful and healthier than my others. I feel a little ashamed of my growing conditions when I'm in competition with Mother Nature
.
Note that it is not all plant which can stand the full sun, and this consideration should prime on my story. You should always ask before putting any plant at full sun if you never did before... But most (if not all) Sarracenia will thrive, all sundews (exepted perhaps by the 3 queensland sisters: D.adelae, schizandra and prolifera, I never tried any of them outside, and for the others genus, I have a little lack of experience about trying them outside (Exempted for Dionaea which a summer outside really transform them into hungry monsters).
My neighbours have tons of cats (on farms) and none even harms once my plants, and there is no squirrels around. The only animal messing in my bogs are merlo which stole me spagnum, but unlike in potted Sarracenia leaving bareroot on the patio by these birds, there was never any harm in the bog.
Water cost can be a problem, but I always use tap water without major problem (yes, i know, i'm lucky). But outdoor, you can benefit of the freeness of the rain, plus you can place a big pot under your gutters to collect it for dryer days.
I just love bogs
, there is nothing to me better than plants at their optimum growth in their (almost) natural habitat. But note that most part of this text can be different by your location in the world (desert vs forest , north vs south, town vs city ), but there is always some way to adapt yourself to new conditions.
It was my 2 cents
.
just a idea for a bog for someone.
