# plants for bog filters?



## reidi (9 Jul 2022)

What easy grow plants can i grow in the bog filter?  Was thinking may be houttuynia,  flag iris, marsh marigold.  What ever i go with it should zapp nitrates as it will be part of the filter ,  i see no reason for it not to look nice.   Any flowering alternative with different coloured flowers( dont want all yellw flowers if i can avoid it) or folage would be welcome.  Will be stripping some flag iris from my other pond and will go in bog filter for now but dont want them to have them all the same plants.
cheeres Andy


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## tigertim (9 Jul 2022)

Watercress would be a good one to add, also watermint is a tough strong growing plant with plenty of roots to take up the nitrate.


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## The Miniaturist (9 Jul 2022)

How about Veronica beccabunga, vigorous low grower with tiny blue flowers.


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## mort (9 Jul 2022)

Hi Andy, I guess the answer depends a little on what you need the bog filter to do. Normally you would whack the fastest growing plants you could in there to suck up as many nutrients as possible and have your more decorative plants in the pond. The plants you list will certainly work but the iris and houttynia are really invasive thugs, which is great for a bog filter but less so if you want diversity in there. I'd decide if it's to look pretty and do a bit of a job or to be a bit more monstrous and do a brilliant job. If it's the later then I would use the iris and some water cress, maybe some lesser water parsnip but if you want a diversity of flowers then I'd go completely differently and mix some of the smaller iris, the marigolds (there are white as well as yellow), maybe some ragid robbin, variagated water dropwort and eupatorium cannabium or other nice flowering plants that will give you colour from spring to the autumn.


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## dw1305 (10 Jul 2022)

Hi all,
Have a look at <"Water meadow gardening">.


reidi said:


> What easy grow plants can i grow in the bog filter?


<"Greater Spearwort (_Ranunculus lingua_)"> is a good one (along as it is contained), but it does have a yellow flower.


tigertim said:


> ....so watermint is a tough strong growing plant with plenty of roots to take up the nitrate





The Miniaturist said:


> Veronica beccabunga, vigorous low grower with tiny blue flowers.


I like those as suggestions and they aren't yellow. Purple Loosestrife (_Lythrum salicaria_)?  All these suggestions are UK natives, if you want a Sedge _Carex pseudocyperus_  or _C. elata _are good ones.

A non-native one I like is _Juncus ensifolius_ ("Flying Hedgehogs"), it is a small plant <"so might get lost">.

cheers Darrel


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## reidi (10 Jul 2022)

Thanks for your replies i will have a look at the links and suggestions


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## not called Bob (16 Jul 2022)

bit late for this year, but tomatoes do very well with their roots in the bog filter.

I tend to chuck some water cress in from a salad bag in early spring and use that as a fast growing and also kitchen friendly nutrient mop


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## reidi (4 Aug 2022)

Got lots of tomatoes will grow some in the bog filter next year.


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## reidi (6 Aug 2022)

So planted the filter with four plants so far.
Yellow Iris (which i already hadfrom other pond)
Creeping Jenny
parrots feather
unknown plant iris type leaves but tiny blue flower with 4 blue petals.
A solar panel runs the pump via a charge controler and battery.  This turns off periodically  to charge the battery i may need a larger panel and additional batterys to keep the filter running come winter.   Whilst the fish have been spawning i have not seen many fry. I have however removed to other pond what i belive to be  a stickle back fry and possibly a small black goldfish.
These have probably been transfered with oxygenating plants as eggs.


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## reidi (8 Aug 2022)

Another three fry have appeared these appear to be silver but again I'm thinking goldfish.


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