How to Grow Venus Fly Traps, Pitcher Plants (Sarracenia), Sundews, Bog Orchids, and Cranberry in a Zone 5 Outdoor Carnivorous Plant Bog Garden in Massachusetts
Amazingly, even Venus Flytraps over-wintered in our Zone 5 conditions!
We started this project as an experiment a few years ago. As it turned out, it was very easy and very successful!
Follow our progress....
July 23, 2006
Constructing your own bog garden is simple!
Just dig a hole in a sunny location, place your pre-formed water garden container into it, fill most of the way with peat moss, arrange and transplant the plants, fill in with live or sphagnum moss at the surface. Fill with water and watch it mature!
July 23, 2006
February, 2007
June 2007
June 2007
(Note last season's evergreen color not affected by our winter conditions...also, notice new growth and size of traps this season!
June 2007
Just Amazing!
Venus Flytraps that are native to North and South Carolina exhibit perrenial growth without even being mulched over our cold New England winter.
July 2007
Drosera filiformis happily arrives for another season.
June 2007
Rewarded with beautiful blooming pitcher plants.
June 2007
June 2007
Many forms of Sarracenia including hybrids, and sundews return for another growing season!
June 2007
June 2007
Updated on 7/5/2009
Everything is still alive and well after 3 cold New England Winters. We are continually amazed to see that even the Venus Fly Traps come back year after year! See this garden for yourself at our retail store in Western Massachusetts or have a look here...
This cold hardy sundew (Drosera filliformis) glistens in the sunlight.
North American Pitcher plant flower buds appear in late May and early June.
Flowers arrive before most of the foliage in June.
A beautiful array of color!
Deep blood red...could it be from its carnivore nature? (probably not)
Cranberry plant with lots of potential for fruit.
Rose Pagonia -This terrestrial orchid makes another great bog companion.
Notice the plastic boarder has disappeared.
Here comes the traps! Now that flowering is almost over, the traps arrive in force.
As the petals fall from the flower, we wait to see if polination has taken place and hope fruit is set.
More and larger traps will continue to grow throughout summer as the hunt really begins...
More photo and text updates to come...check back again!