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Post by kchace1 on Jan 28, 2008 23:50:56 GMT
Hello, I'm newbie here and starting a peat bog in Nebraska. Anyone else from SE Nebraska or NE Kansas out there? I will finish filling my bog this spring. Meaning more sand to wash... Looking forward to reading other's experiences and get some ideas. Outside of planting carnivorous plants, I'm not sure which ones yet. Doing research on that yet.
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Post by ICPS-bob on Jan 29, 2008 0:29:34 GMT
If you are a member of ICPS, you can search the membership directory. It shows 7 members from Nebraska and 4 from Kansas. icps.clubexpress.com/
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Post by kchace1 on Jan 29, 2008 22:53:04 GMT
Thank you, I did see that, gave thought to looking them up, but didn't want to be rude. Was hoping I might get a response this way. If I don't, will probably send a letter. Been reading and looking to make my plant list. I'm more of a hands on person, where I need to see things, feeling simple minded and insecure about it all! Have been learning a lot though. Thanks again!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2008 3:11:35 GMT
you may want to see if there is a local carnivorous plant group in your area they would be able to help you.
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Post by kchace1 on Jun 13, 2008 13:54:22 GMT
I have found some one who grows carnivorous plants. Most grow them in side. I have made my outside bog. Need to figure out how to post a picture. It's not the best, and we're leaving for a few days. So sometime I will get that done. Thank you for your suggestion.
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Post by cmm889 on Jul 29, 2008 21:12:00 GMT
I'm a Kansas grower from Overland Park. so thats pretty North East KS
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Post by kchace1 on Oct 17, 2008 21:29:11 GMT
First season of growth in Nebraska bog. (I tried to re size this in photobucket, but it still looks bigger than other pictures).
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Post by pinglover on Oct 28, 2008 3:51:32 GMT
Interesting design. Not a combination I've ever seen before. Strikingly beautiful. Love the petrified rocks. Where ever did you get so many of those? They look absolutely gorgeous in that seeting and they really draw out the reds in your plants magnificently while the focus remains on the plants.
If you've not done so already, you might want to consider polar fleece and/or a thick layer of white pine needles to insulate those plants over the winter. They've got a decent chance of surviving if they are well protected.
You have great design sense and that's definitely not the work product of someone who is simple minded. You've got the entire area arranged as eye candy right down to your choice of the color coordinated hex stepping stones and the gravel. Wonderful color balance. Can't wait to see this bog mature.
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Post by kchace1 on Oct 31, 2008 23:13:55 GMT
Pinglover, thank you for your kind compliments! I feel more than fortunate to have the petrified rock. Somebody knew somebody who had money, brought them to Nebraska, didn't need or want them any more, and pretty much abandoned them. I may be luckier yet get some more. The whole area in this picture is under renovation. Didn't get near as far as I had hoped. Too many other things poped up this summer. I have been collecting pine needles, no white pines around here tho. Have loads of bur oak leaves. Was going to put the pine needles down, then burlap, and alternate needles and leaves. I'm wondering, should I spray a fungicide on the bog first? Another person told me of the polar fleece also, will have to get some.
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Post by pinglover on Nov 1, 2008 0:47:17 GMT
Alternating layers of pine needles and oak leaves should be fine. If you have a decent layer of the organic material, you shouldn't need to pay money for polar fleece. I wouldn't use the burlap at all as that might encourage some rodent activity over the course of the winter. I wouldn't spray any type of a fungicide. No need. Wouldn't it be neat to be able to edge the entire bog in petrified wood over time? I know how incredibly expensive it is so here's hoping you score more for free. I particularly love that chunk in the middle of the three directly behind the bog. Do you have a 4" pvc pipe in there anywhere for getting water to the lower levels? If you don't, that might be something to check into. They can be camouflaged easily enough. A 2' length going down should be easy enough to install and it would provide you with a great way to water from the bottom up. This is how I water my bogs in winters when there isn't a lot of snow. Nothing worse than a winter drought on these types of plants. We also pile up snow on our plants. We direct the snow blower over to where the plants are and heap it on. Snow is a phenomenal insulator. Renovation, the story of my life
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Post by kchace1 on Nov 1, 2008 1:52:50 GMT
I don't have a very good camera, but here's a couple more pictures with the rocks. What zone do you live in, and how long have you had your bog? I'm in 5a.
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Post by kchace1 on Nov 1, 2008 1:57:02 GMT
I don't have much experience posting photos. Others have their pictures going down. It's hard to see in this one, but there is a grand daddy long leg in the shadow.
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Post by kchace1 on Nov 1, 2008 2:02:45 GMT
This picture does show my low spot. We just had a good rain, so it's full of water, in a couple of days it seeps down. The bog is about 2 1/2 feet deep. I did put a pvc pipe in. It only goes down about eight inches, but then I have it horizontally the length of the bog, with holes drilled in it. That's how I watered it this summer, the top never did feel dry.
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Post by pinglover on Nov 1, 2008 3:40:27 GMT
Your camera is fine. This is actually preferable. Good you did that before you planted. It would have been difficult to do this now. Sarracenia psittacina would work nicely in the low spot however I doubt you would be able to overwinter them in that bog even with a heavy layer of mulch. You would need to overwinter them somewhere else as in your refrigerator or an attached unheated garage or possibly even in a very deep window well under leaves. You wouldn't want to keep your bog even close to as wet as what I'm seeing in that photo over winter. Good rule of thumb for me has been to keep it damp not moist. If the upper portions of the bog dry out the plants generally die and if they freeze solid from standing water the plants generally die. To add insult to injury, if the plants are exposed to rapid freeze/thaw cycling they heave and generally die. It's a tough balance to maintain but I have confidence you'll have plants standing next spring. I have drain holes around the perimeter of my bog several inches from the top so I don't have to worry about standing water freezing my pitcher plants into plantsicles other than in depressions that were intentionally created. Those areas can freeze solid because I remove my psittacinas in fall. You might want to look into adding some temperate Drosera. Possibly rotundifolia, intermedia, or maybe even linearis. You might be a tad bit too far south for linearis and that's a hard one to purchase anyway. I only saw it available once several years ago and I snapped up 3 plants right away. I'm pretty sure I bought my original plants from Equilibrio. Helpful man who lists out his seed sources. Try to find a northern source for any rotundifolia or intermedia you might add. Another plant you might have a good shot at growing might be Pinguicula vulgaris. P. villosa is a possibility but again I think you might be too far south for that species. I removed all of mine in late summer and tossed them in the frig and they did fine the next year but I lost them the year after. I'm too far south too. I am in a similar USDA zone to you. I don't particularly care for the USDA's zone hardiness zones because they're too limiting. I prefer ecoregions if that makes any sense to you but sunset zones are probably easiest for everyone to be able to stay on the same page and do take into consideration some climatic differences from one area to another- www.sunset.com/sunset/garden/article/1,20633,845218,00.html And yes, I see the outline of the Daddy Longlegs!
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Post by kchace1 on Nov 3, 2008 1:01:37 GMT
I don't know what this plant is, it volunteered. I'm going to presume it's hardy. The following is a list of what I started with. Drosera- filiformis, intermedia and a tropical spatulata (I brought it in and is looking good). Dionaea- red dragon, which I'm not expecting to make it, dentate and plain green ones. Sarracenias- dixie lace, rubra, judith hindle, flava ornata, leucophylla, tarnock and a purpurea. I was also sent a little fern and an orange milkwort. We have had such a beautiful fall, my area has only had a couple of light freezes, so the plants still have some good color. In your opinion, should I go ahead and cut them down to three inches, then start mulching, or just wait till they freeze off? Thanks for any advice... I see how a person could have a better understanding of regions with the sunset zones. A lot of numbers, but interesting.
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