1. South Carolina Mini-Bogs
September 19
2008
Mike Creel, Lexington, South Carolina

2. Credits and Biography
This program on bog gardening in South Carolina was prepared by Mike Creel of Lexington, South Carolina, and presented in a workshop format as part of the program during "Off the Beaten Path," a symposium of the South Carolina Native Plant Society held Saturday October 17, 2009, at Poinsett State Park near Wedgefield, South Carolina.
Bog Gardening with Mike Creel was presented as a 1-5 p.m. concurrent workshop among other activities. Participants learned how to plan and prepare a bog garden. Mike narrate this PowerPoint presentation on the how-to of bog building, siting, planting and maintenance. Some small established container bogs can be viewed and one mini-bog will be planted. Handouts included lists of plants to use, plants to avoid and plant sources. Mike included a brief demonstration of CreelWay propagation, showing how to stick cuttings and plant seeds outdoors in homemade mini-greenhouses made from recycled materials.
Mike Creel, a journalist by trade, worked more than 35 years for South Carolina’s natural resources agencies. He has written many articles about native plants for South Carolina Wildlife magazine. In the early 1980s he began to realize that nurseries were not propagating many of the best natives, so he invented simple new methods called CreelWay propagation, which used recycled materials and worked outdoors with no greenhouse. He discovered an entirely new native azalea (Rhododendron eastmanii published as species in 1999) and has a growing list of new native varieties to his credit. He conducted highly popular propagation workshops at Cullowhee in 2004, and For the past few years he and his wife Dena have extended their interests to growing bog plants and making both container “minibogs” and one large in-ground bog.

3. Plan Your Mini-Bog Study books, articles, websites
Find a suitable container & sunny site
Find media - pine mini-nuggets, coarse sand
Find sources of bog plant species
Avoid invasive plants, like cattails and horsetail
Check nurseries for carnivorous plants, etc.
Get container, media & plants before planting

4. It started with a Bird Bath January 27, 2006

5. Mini-Bog Begins April 4, 2007

6. Mini-Bog’s First Two flowers May 15, 2007

7. Minibog shining June 28,2007

8. Mini-Bog Growing Stronger August 13, 2007

9. Sarracenia Minor October 1, 2007

10. Mini-Bog Joins a Community October 3, 2007

11. Mini-bog Spiranthes Show October 27, 2007

12. Stokesia Mary Gregory Debuts June 7, 2009

13. Hymenocallis Show July 5, 2008

14. First Autumn Sept. 19, 2008

15. Mini-Bog Year 3 Bog Buttons May 27, 2009

16. Another Autumn Show September 25, 2009

17. Slowing down for Winter October 6, 2009

18. Planting Your Mini-Bog
In full sun for best growth or forested edge
Container " deep filled to brim, drain plugged
Mix 3 to 4 parts of pine bark pieces (2.5” or less) with one part of coarse, washed sand
Wet mini-bog thoroughly, let settle several days
Place plants shallow, near the surface, water in
A community of pitcherplant, sundews, butterworts, bog buttons and small orchids is attractive
Use long fiber sphagnum (wetted) for ground cover
Shade Mudflower (Micranthemum umbrosum) is also a good ground cover
Plant well before frost so plants adjust outdoors

19. Choosing a Container Shallow and wide needed
Depth 3 to 5 inches maximum
Any drain hole plugged
Media filled to top, just over
Wet, soak several days

20. Choosing and Mixing Media
Seek local sources of bark and sand
Bark varies in size, wood fiber, compost
Bark 1.5 to 2.5” with little wood fiber
Sand must be clean, coarse, washed
Three parts bark to one part sand
A little mushroom compost in mix is OK
Wetted media must soak, settle a few days before planting

21. Pine Bark Mini-nuggets VARY
Natures Choice Mini-Nuggets
Evergreen Mini-Nuggets
Sims Bark Pine Mulch
Coarse washed builders sand

22. Plant Selection for Mini-bogs
Avoid woody, invasive or large-growing ones
Choose ones that clump, expand slowly, stay low
For most pitcherplants one is enough
Buy plants from reputable sources
Don’t poach from wild bogs and wetlands
Gather seeds or small plants with permission
Share the offspring of your bog, don’t hoard
Learn all you can and teach others
Plant only those hardy for your growing zone
Learn to effectively propagate

23. Most Pitcherplants are hardy here
Sarracenia minor
Dwarf Pitcherplant

24. A meat-eater with no close relatives
Venus Flytrap
Dionaea miscipula

25. A bug catcher with super glue
Midleaf Sundew
Drosera intermedia

26. Try Stokes Asters for multi-color array
Stokesia laevis

27. Marsh Pinks clump and seed
Sabbatia species

28. Nurseries need Sun Bonnets
Chaptalia tomentosa

29. Barbara’s Buttons - Marshallia

30. Orange Milkwort, Threadleaf Sundew

31. Rose Pogonia Orchid

32. Grass Pink Orchid – Calapogon

33. Savannah Sneezeweed- Helenium vernale

34. Pipewort forms clumps
Eriocaulon deangulare, compressum

35. Spiderlily - Hymenocallis

36. Cardinal Flower
Lobelia cardinalis

37. Macbridea caroliniana

38. Smooth Meadow Beauty
Rhexia alifanus

39. South Carolina’s Wild Bogs
Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge in Chesterfield County has beautiful bog areas e.g. Oxpen Meadow
Shealey Pond Heritage Preserve in Lexington County harbors three pitcherplants species and more
Lynchburg Savannah in Lee County has wetlands with dwarf pitcherplants and many bog species
State heritage preserves from mountains to sea are described in the South Carolina Nature Viewing Guide
Many protected state, federal and other areas across SC are open to visitors for observation
Such places are great for education and photography

40. Shealey’s Pond Heritage Preserve

41. Sarracenia purpurea at Shealey Pond

42. Lynchburg Savannah Preserve

43. Sandhills National Wildlife Reserve

44. Sarracenia flava at Sandhills NWR

45. South Carolina’s Nature Viewing Guide
Call SCDNR’s Wildlife Shop
WILD
(9453) - it's $15
South Carolina’s Nature Viewing Guide

46. Other Folks Container Bogs
My first - now immovable - container bog started in early 2007 was a failed concrete bird bath.
Since then I have made more “mini-bogs” for myself and for others like my son Allen, my friend Ellen Blundy and my sister-in-law Barbara Crosby. Each one is unique, no two alike, and all have been successful with minimal care. Plants were the offspring of earlier bog efforts.
I included photos of effective container bogs that I did not make, like the extensive ones of Steffan Ploszak near Charlotte and a shallow birdbath bog at my friend Stanley Goff’s home on Black Creek in Lexington County who has many in-ground bogs.

47. Backyard of Steffan Ploszak near Charlotte

48. Mini-Bogs at my son’s Patio Home

49. Ellen Blundy’s First Mini-Bog

50. My sister-in-law’s fountain garden

51. A shallow birdbath pitcherplant bog

52. My smaller mini-bogs

53. Keeping Up Container Bogs
You are now gardening on a NEW planet
Typical EARTH gardening is not allowed
Potting soils, fertilizers, chemicals not allowed
The planting media and container are priority
Once weekly clean water or rain is needed
Overly-chlorinated water can be harmful
Regularly rout out weedy plants
Learn to recognize good seedlings, runners
Divide & share over-crowded plants
Study native bogs, read and think

54. Bog upkeep, weeding, propagation
Add clean water once a week if no rain
Learn to recognize weeds & rout them out
Learn to recognize babies, seedlings, runners
Divide plants grown too large, share them
Let desirable plants drop seed
Collect good seeds too & share them
Do not introduce pests like violets, irises
Let biennials like Orange Milkwort drop seeds
Observe and photograph regularly
Invite and guide visitors to your bog

55. Butterwort and Babies
Pinguicula primufolia

56. A closer view of Butterwort baby

57. Seed pod of Rose Pogonia Orchid

58. Spiranthes cernua flower & seeds

59. Living Sphagnum Moss

60. Shade Mudflower – Micranthemum umbrosum

61. Mudflower and Sphagnum

62. Bog Critters Will Find It!
Bogs large and small attract a variety of wildlife
Flying insects like dragonflies are most obvious in the air and perched seeking prey and mates
Amphibians like frogs, toads and salamanders come to eat and reproduce
All sorts of critters breed and reproduce there
Birds visit to collect bugs and nest materials

63. Dragonflies abound

64. Dragonfly takes risky perch

65. Bumblebee rests on Stokes Aster

66. Cricket Frog uses camouflage

67. Our Large In-Ground Bog
When my increasingly large collection of bog plants in floating pots got too large for the family garden pond to accommodate, we had to do something, so my wife and I converted a barren area behind the pond to a rubber lined artificial bog which has now become a joy to watch, maintain, photograph and add things too.
In February 2007 my wife and I started digging and leveling 12 inch deep hole as well as raising the sloping area around the bog area to make it level with the garden pond. The concluding several slide in this program illustrate the building project and the early maturing of the plants moved to the new large bog.

68. Poor Ground behind Pond
April 25,2007

69. Crowded Pond Prior to Bog
September 16, 2007

70. Guardian Crane Seems Crowded
February 15, 2008

71. Site Readied for New Bog
March 6, 2009

72. Flagstones anchor rubber liner
March 6, 2009

73. Now to add Media and Water
March 6, 2009

74. Pond and Bog A Perfect Fit
April 13, 2009

75. Walk borders Bog and Pond
April 17, 2009

76. Guardian Crane has room now
May 5, 2009

77. Growth shows in bog residents
August 6, 2009

78. Low view of Pond and Bog
August 19, 2009

79. Rain brings temporary flood
September 14, 2009

80. Floating Plant Buoys Buy Great Stuff for large cracks spray insulation
Drill extra 3/4 inch holes in rimmed rigid plastic pot
Turn pot upside-down on wax paper on a flat, level surface
Spray a ring of foam below pot rim building a collar couple of inches (or more) deep and wide
Do several pots at one time to use up all foam in the can. It is difficult to get the spray to work the second time. .
Wear safety glasses, use gloves and wear old clothes, because the foam is very sticky
Let foam dry overnight on the paper. Once dry it can be shaped to a more uniform size (underside mostly) if needed. Foam cures to a golden color in the sun.

81. Buoys for floating Mini-Bogs

82. Plant Buoys in the Garden Pond

83. A Visit to the Nursery for bog plants
Some nurseries carry bog & carnivorous plants.
Most can order such plants at buyer request
Pitcherplants (Sarracenias) are the most popular
Some plants offered have pest potential
Some plants offered are greenhouse only, not hardy
Buy smaller plants to save money
Buy pots containing multiple plants, divide later
Look for new cultivars of species & hybrids
Ask if plants are already outdoor conditioned or if they came directly from a greenhouse

84. Pitcherplants at Woodley’s Nursery
Columbia, South Carolina
Pitcherplants at Woodley’s Nursery

85. Judith Hindle Sarracenia Hybrid

86. Sarracenia purpurea montana

87. Venus Flytraps at Woodley’s

88. Tropical Sundew - greenhouse only

89. Nepenthes is greenhouse only

90. Carnivores at Woodley’s Nursey

91. Flytrap catches bug

92. Now Let’s Build a Mini-bog!
I brought along a few established mini-bogs from my yard, including one I could hardly lift.
Now let’s build a mini-bog here, and the winner of a drawing will take the finished bog home.
The six pages at the end of this program are workshop notes (for printing out).
I added a few photos taken during the workshop by a participant.

93. Powerpoint Remarks

94. A CreelWay Domepot for Cuttings

95. Planting Container Bog – plants ready

96. Planting a Container Bog The Crowd Gets an Education

97. Now the Venus Flytrap & Butterwort

98. Final Touch – Adding Live Sphagnum

99. PLANTS FOR CONTAINER BOGS
Even the best native plant nurseries have a limited selection of plants for container bogs. But you can find native wetland and bog plants in big box stores. All varieties of native Stokes Aster (Stokesia laevis) are good bog plants. When seeking residents for your bog don't disturb wild bogs. Sometimes seeds may be collected with permission. Plant rescues are an acceptable opportunity for acquiring material.
No woody plants are recommended though many shrubs and trees will thrive in bog situations and become too large for a community mini-bog unless grown alone. Spirea tomentosa is one example of a woody shrub that should have its own pot, which attracts seeds from smaller nearby bog plants. Avoid wetland iris species, cattails, violets, horsetail (Equisetum), Pickerelweed (Pontederia) and other aquatics. Dichromena latifolia (White Star Grass) is terrible. Most Rhexia species (Meadow Beauty) are too spreading in container bogs. I am testing Golden Clubs.
Carnivorous plants hardy in the S.C. outdoors include all species of native pitcherplant (Sarracenia), Sundews (Drosera), Butterwort (Pinquicula) named varieties of Venus Flytrap. Reputable nurseries sell plants grown from tissue culture. A blue-flowered butterwort named Pinquicula primulifora is often found at the big box stores like Lowes. At nurseries select congested pots, which are easy to divide
The next page is just a beginning list of the South Carolina native plants that can be grown and propagated in container bogs. I keep discovering new ones and testing them for their peskiness, show and longevity

100. Species for Container Bogs In South Carolina
Venus Flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) varieties
Pitcherplants (Sarracenia)
Yellow pitcher plant (Sarracenia flava)
Purple pitcher plant (Sarracenia purpurea)
Red pitcherplant (Sarracenia rubra)
Dwarf Pitcherplant (Sarracenia minor)
White-top PItcherplant (S. leucophylla)
Parrot Pitcherplant (Sarracenia psittacina)
Hybrid Sarracenias (varieties increasing)
Sundew (Drosera intermedia, filiformis, etc.)
Butterwort (Pinguicula primufolia, caerulea, lutea, pumila, others)
Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis)
Blue lobelia (Lobelia sylphitica and others)
Barbara's Buttons (Marshallia graminifolia, grandiflora)
Bog Buttons or Hat Pins (Eriocaulon deangulare, compressum)
Savannah Sneezeweed (Helenium vernale)
MacBride's Mint, (Macbridea caroliniana)
White Birds In The Nest (Macbridea alba)
Shade Mudflower (Micranthemum umbrosum) good groundcover
Orange Milkwort (Polygala lutea, biennial)
Marsh pink (Sabbatical species)
Bog Ironweed (Vernonia acaulis)
Smooth Meadow Beauty (Rhexia alifanus)
Yellow Meadow Beauty (Rhexia lutea))
MOST RHEXIAS ARE TOO STOLONIFEROUS
Colic root (Aletris lutea) Yellow summer flowers
Yellow candyroot (Polygala lutea)
Honeycomb Head (Balduina uniflora)
Carolina Grass of Parnassus (Parnassia Caroliniana)
Native Orchids
White-fringed Orchid (Platanthera blephariglottis)
Orange-fringed Orchid (Platanthera. ciliaris)
Club-spur Orchid - P. clavellata)
Grass Pink Orchid - Calopogon tuberosus
Rose Pogonia - Pogonia ophioglossoides
Pink Lady's Slipper - Cypripedium acaule
DO NOT USE ENDANGERED ORCHIDS

101. Container Bog Calendar
Planning
Study books, articles, websites about bog gardening, carnivorous plants
Find a suitable container or site - shallow pansy planter, bird bath top, etc.
Find local source of media components - pine bark mini nuggets, coarse washed sand
Find sources of carnivorous and bog plant species that are not invasive, Make a list
Avoid woody plants, cattails and horsetail (Equisetum) species
Check for carnivorous and wetland plants with local nurseries, local hobby clubs
Acquire container, media and plants shortly before planting
Planting
Time your planting well before frost to allow plants time to acclimate outdoors
Site in fullest sun outdoor for best growth, edge of forest suitable
Container should be " deep filled to brim, any drain hole plugged
Mix 3 to 4 parts of pine bark pieces (2" or less) with one part of coarse, washed sand
Some bog gardens are 50 percent coarse sand mixed with 50 percent peat moss
Wet mini-bog thoroughly, let set for several days for bark to fully absorb water
Place plants in shallow holes, perched near the surface of media, water in
A community of pitcherplant, sundews, butterworts, bog buttons. is attractive
Long fiber sphagnum moss (wetted) is good for a ground cover,
Shade Mudflower (Micranthemum umbrosum) is also a good ground cover
Upkeep
Water bog once weekly if there has been no rain, No fertilizer is needed
Inspect regularly for disturbance by animals and repair
Check for invasive pest species, pull up without disturbing plan
Check for seedlings and offshoots of desirable plants, use or share
Trim off fully dead stems, collect seed heads or allow to drop
Take photos through the seasons, look for insect, amphibian visitors
Look for seeds, seedlings and natural offshoots of plants from your bog
Share new plants & seeds with others, plant more bogs
Join societies for gardening with carnivorous plants and wetland species
Bog creatures a bonus, Backyard bogs restore lost diversity

102. GOOD READING & ORGANIZATIONS
Sample articles from the Carnivorous Plant Newsletter <
Making A Bog Garden <
Making a Bog Garden © 2000 Rob Sacilotto <
Building a Sphagnum Bog Garden by Roberta and Fred Case<
Build a simple bog garden <
Chapter 8: A Bog Garden by by C. Colston Burrell from The Natural Water Garden, sold by Brooklyn Botanical Garden
Carnivorous Plants Photo finder <
From the Backyard Gardener Site <
The Curious World Carnivorous Plants: A comprehensive Guide to Their Biology and Cultivation by Wilhelm Barthlott, Stefan Porembski, Rudiger Seine and Inge Theisen, Timber Press, 2007
Pitcher Plants of the Americas by Stewart McPherson, 2006
The Savage Garden: Cultivating carnivorous plants by Peter D’Amato, Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, CA, 1998
Carnivorous Plants of the United States and Canada by Donald E. Schnell, Timber Press, Portland, OR, 2002
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, carnivorous and bog plants, Dr. Larry Mellichamp
<
Creating a Bog Garden - Sustainable Landscapes, Mississippi State University Extension service
<
Building a Pitcher Plant Bog by The Georgia Endangered Plant Stewardship Network , Georgia Botanical Garden <
Best Carnivorous Plants Photo gallery, Czechoslovakia, many American species <
Carnivorous Plants Database <
International Carnivorous Plant Society Fact Pages <
Carnivorous Plant Newsletter, official publication of the International Carnivorous Plant Society - the largest carnivorous plant society in the world. Annually 130 pages of original information for the public. <

103. Nursery Sources available to South Carolina
Niche Gardens, 1111 Dawson Road, Chapel Hill, NC Phone: || fax:
University of North Carolina Charlotte Botanical Gardens have plants for sale at their build-a-bog-dish-garden workshops and spring plant sale <
Carolina Carnivorous Gardens, Charlotte, NC, David Crump at has nice Sarracenias – species and hybrids, sundews and Venus’-flytraps.
Carnivorous Plant Connection <
Plant Delights Nursery, Inc., 9241 Sauls Road, Raleigh, NC Phone:(919) Fax:(919) < Sarracenia 12, Venus Flytrap
Kyle's Carnivorous Plants - Kyle Rollins, Greer, South Carolina < (864) Noe Rd, Greer, SC 29651
Aquascapes Unlimited, Inc., P.O. Box 364 • Pipersville, PA 18947, Phone: , Fax: <
Flytrap Farm in Supply, NC VFT-FARM <
Woodley's Garden Center, Two Notch Rd., Columbia, SC (803) <
Botanique nursery: Rob Sacilotto, 387 Pitcher Plant Ln., Stanardsville, VA Please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope if you want a reply. Retail orders under $200 no longer accepted. website <
Live Sphagnum Moss- Carolina Biological Supply Company is a good source. You can reach them at 2700 York Road, Burlington, N.C ; (800)
Meadowview Biological Research Station in Woodford, Virginia, is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and restoring pitcher plant bogs in Maryland and Virginia. A beginner’s package of one pitcher plant, a Venus flytrap, and a sundew is available for $15 from its Web site < (840)
California Carnivores, Sebastopol, CA. (707) < (No catalog)

104. PLANTING A CONTAINER BOG
Select an all-weather pot or container that is wide non-draining, shallow non-draining and 3 to 5 inches deep. I have successfully used pansy planters (with the drain hole plugged), birdbaths (with or without the pedestal). The single drain hole in shallow wide terracotta pots can be plugged using a rubber chair leg foot. If a drain hole in a plastic pot is too small to easily plug I enlarge the hole with a 7/8 inch diameter cylindrical hole saw, which is perfect for the smallest rubber chair foot.
When choosing plants think scale, rate of growth and spreading nature (avoid long running plants, except for orchids) when planting as you do not want one plant to dominate the container in height or width. Many bog plants are rather miniature, particularly sundews and butterworts. Clumping plants like Sarracenias (pitcherplants), Eriocaulon (Bog Buttons), Marshallia (Barbara's Buttons) and Lobelia (Cardinal Flowers and Blue Lobelias) should be regularly divided in late fall or winter. Greatly avoid native Horsetail (Equisetum) also called Scouring Rush.
Using a large hand trowel mix your media in a separate container. My personal successful recipe for bog soil is three parts pine bark mini-nuggets with one part clean, coarse, washed sand, often called builders sand. Do not use beach sand or sandbox sand. I bought coarse sand from a local mine near Lexington, hauling it in my pickup. When building our large in-ground bog in Spring 2009 I could not find the bark product I wanted, so I used three parts pine bark mulch from Walmart, mixed with the coarse sand. The bark mulch contained very little sapwood and had small enough pieces. It too has worked perfectly. I think the acidity in enhanced by the decomposition of the pine bark pieces.
Bog gardening expert Dr. Larry Mellichamp at the University of North Carolina Charlotte recommends a bog media mix of 50 to 60 percent Canadian Peat, moistened, to 40 to 60 percent clean sharp sand. He used pool filter sand in 50 pound bags from Home Depot. He recommends adding some compost or organic material for fertility. He fertilizes a little at a much reduced rate of 2 teaspoons Miracid (which is acidic) to one gallon of water once a month. Keep the plants very moist - not saturated - but wet.
Fill the non-draining container to the brim, slightly overfilling, and insert plants high, removing most of the original potting soil so roots are exposed. Put tallest growing plants in the center or back side so shorter ones are visible. Water the plants in. Add a groundcover around plants of well-wetted long-fiber sphagnum moss, sold in a small bale (Mosser-Lee one brand), not Canadian peat. In time the moss will regenerate. Native shade mudflower (Micranthemum umbrosum) also works well as a prostrate ground cover. If you can collect your own live sphagnum, take it in small clumps and plant shallow at the media surface on sand where the sphagnum will fill in gradually.

105. UPKEEP OF CONTAINER BOGS
My several container bogs and large in-ground bog receive regular watering from both rain and our 100 foot well, which has acidic water. But the two container bogs at my son's patio home just get rain and lawn irrigation from a commercial source, containing chlorine. A tiered fountain bog at my sister-in-law's home also received a combination of rain and treated drinking water. Bogs in all three yards thrive with little care. Look out for violets and St. Johns Worts (Hypericum). Watch Yellow-eyed grass (Xyris tortifolia), sedges and grasses as they tend to take over.
Divide and share both plants and seeds as needed to keep your mini-bog from becoming overcrowded. Learn to identify and remove undesirable weedy plants, shrubs and trees. Pull out obviously spreading or whelming grasses and the attractive round-leaved Marsh Pennywort (Hydrocotyle umbellata). Learn to recognize pesty perennials like the sedges and seedling trees. Remove them when small. Centella asiatica is also a significant pest.
Learn to recognize the "new gold" in your mini-bog, the seedlings and offshoots of highly-desirable species, like pitcherplants, sundews, even Venus Flytraps. Let your Polygala lutea drop seed as the big plant will die, being biennial. Move new plants to a new bog and share them with your friends