An EE doesn't need to be in a bog but they can do very well in one. You can just put the EE in a pot or inground. I have some in pots that go really dry between waterings and they are fine.

The tag & davesgarden says "Requires consistently moist soil; do not let dry out between waterings Very high moisture needs; suitable for bogs and water gardens"

Colocasia esculenta Black Magic

Ide hate to have it die from lack of water, but I dont want to hand water all the time either. Do you have or know about this ee I have?
ty
tim

Tim,

I grow a number of EE's all in pots. The Colocasias do like wet feet, but that can easily be accommodated by placing the pot in an oversized saucer (at least a few inches deep and several inches wider than the base of the pot) and keeping the saucer full of water. The plant uses the water in the saucer as needed. You should check it frequently, especially in hot weather when the plant is growing actively.
I've grown a monster out of a $1.49 Colocasia 'Heart of the Jungle' this year using this method.
Happy Growing!

-Ann

Sinking a pot is a great idea.. Alot of work but wouldn't cut the bottom out of it .. You can actually grow them in a reg pot full of gravel with like an oil catch pan to set it in like when you change your oil and just keep it full of water.. I have grown lots of dif taro's alocasia. and Colocasia. and have always just planted them in the ground the only problem was a lot of them are runners and come up everywhere.. moist means water frequently..

Kylie

Last year I had my Colocasia, just a plain greeny, I cant remember the name, in a half barrel with no drainage in full sun, it did well.
This year I have one in a washtub..no drainage..heres mine this year in mostly shade, the most recent pic I ccould find was from August..
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Lotsa of folks put them straight in the ground, no bog necessary. I think it's easier in a drainage free container, that way as I never have to even pay attention to it, and it does fine. I think I only had to add water, maybe 2x over the summer.

Right now its in a 1 gal pot in a bucket with couple inches of water & growing good. But that was just to hold it before I put it in the ground. I have never grown anything it pots, buts you guys have me thinking maybe I should start..?. Hm, it would be more protected from cold in the ground. I dont bring in any plants to over winter, they must live outside. That ee looks great daniellalell & you only watered it TWICE?! Thats amazing. Maybe I will have to make a trip to the garden center & find a cheap pot. How do you fertilize something that has no drainage?

Thank you daniellalell, Kylie, karyn & Ann!
tim

Throw in a couple of mosquito fish if you have a bucket of standing water.. they can fin for them selves..
This is from a couple of yrs ago with regular watering.....I let the grands cut them to use as umbrellas.. This bed is now a Brug Bed..
Kylie

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Tim, I really didnt fert. I thew in maybe 2 liters of half strength miracle grow one of the times I watered, lol. That was it. When I did my washtub, and the barrel last year, I put a mix of household compost and bagged composted manure in the bottom, then I mixed up garden soil and reg MG potting soil 50/50, and put that on top of the cmoposted & composted manure. That was it. I wanted to sink the washtub into the ground, but all those stupid mulberry trees, it's just too many roots to fight with. I went out and looked at mine after I posted before, I didnt realize how much it grew since I took that pic.

OMg Kylie, I finally found out for myself why they say mosquito fish are invasive, lol. I have about a bajillion in my ponds right now. and they started out as 4 in each a couple months ago..they multiple faster than rabbits, lol.
I love that pic!!

Tim, If I were you, I would sink a big ol pot or something. In my experience, wider is better than deeper. The roots tend to go outwards more than down. When I took mine out of the 1/2 barrel last fall, I was amazed to see the roots were only at like the top 8" or so of the soil in the barrel. And the roots just continue to want to go sideways, last year and this year they are practically jumping the sides of the containers..

OMG Kylie!! Those are HUGE! The way my brug year has gone I think I would rather have ee, or anything else. I would love to have ee like yours! Oh, & I was going to use the bottom of the bucket, I wasn't going to cut off the bottom & use the top, lol. I cant/didn't explain very well.

daniellalell, I like the idea of sinking a pot. I suppose a 5 gal bucket cut in half wouldn't be big/wide enough?

Tim

Tim, unless you are going to do a smaller variety, I would not use a 5 gallon bucket. What would be perf I think..and I am keeping my eye out for one..is a used preform pond, ya know, one of the smaller ones, like 3x5. I am keeping my eyes open for one on a curb somewhere, lol.
Then I will sink it & do my EE's in that next year. The way their roots are, I don't think you should use anything smaller than a good size washtub or half whiskey barrel. I wouldn't.

Yikes, dont give up on brugs! Next year will be better!

I can't find mosquito fish for sale around here so I get Rosy Reds. I haven't had a problem with them reproducing. What I didn't realize is how many baby goldfish I have in the pond. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them.

Karyn, you cant buy them around here either, I was trying last year. You can't buy them because they are so invasive, the parks depts use them for mosquito control. But supposedly they cant live through our winters? Or so I had read. Who knows. But I know they use them around here, I saw it all over the news in the spring and early summer, how they were using them in drainage ditches, etc..
DD caught them in a local lake. I didn't know what they were at first and it took me awhile to figure it out. Had to scoop some out and examine them, lol.
We'll see if they make it through the winter in the big pond, I doubt it. I'm sure they wont in the smaller ponds.
But if they do survive, and if you're ever up this way next spring, you're welcome to some..I dont think they'd ship well..and my luck, I'd get busted, lol.

Put your babies on CG, sell em or give em away free. Aw come on, wouldn't Kyle like a couple goldfish for his room?? O hey..doesnt Jake have a snake? Or am I wrong? If he does..snake food! LOL!

I just bought 2 Goldfish yesterday for one of the Rain Barrels !! I figure when it gets cold I will just haul them to one of the Tanks and toss them in.. a New Tank in progress.. WOO HOO!!âº

flyin fish, lol..what a mental Image I just had of you on the quad, drivin by and literally tossin them in without even stopping, lol.

3x5', I just dont have the room for that. I may be able to get a 55 gal drum & cut that in half, that should be 2x2 or not too much bigger.
tim

The elephant ear plants are maginficant. We also planted a lot of taros (edible types) and they add much tropical feels to our garden.

Hope you and your plants remain safe enjoy the rain.
Happy gardening

Changsong

Tim, size wise I think that would be OK..but I wouldn't use metal, besides the edges being sharp, it will get rusty fast. Aaah, well just for 'thahalibut' how about an old plastic recycling can or garbage can? They'd be easier to cut in half, lol.

Tim, I would either just plant the EE in the ground, or use the 5 gal. pot if you don't have room for something larger, and sink that. When the EE outgrows the pot, it will just bust it and continue growing in the ground. I have a couple in smaller pots, and they do just fine even if I don't get around to watering them all the time.

I just had another thought...if you want it to be in a bog like setting, but like you said, just for the EE, not the plants around it..instead of using a container why not dig your hole, like 2x2, 12-18" deep, line it with pond liner..or even a plastic shower curtain liner if you want, line the bottom and sides, fill it back up with the soil you dig out. That will keep it moist, though the roots may grow through the liner, EE's have strong roots, but still, I think it would work?
You could trim the excess off, or just fold it under, and bury it. They have plastic shower curtain liners at the dollar stores.
Actually the more I think about it, I would get 2 & double up, so it is kinda double strength against the roots, tho I dont think it would matter..but if there is a little hole, or slight tear, that second layer would help out retaining the water.
Just a thought..heck..I think thats what I am gonna do next spring if I cant find another preform!!

I am going to build a bog garden. I recently moved and need some place for my EE and bog plants that I brought from the old house. This year I kept them in pots but I am going to build a garden and went in search of how to build one. This may help you. Some of the ingredients I am going to ignore such as the destiled water. LOL

Creating an artificial bog garden
Strange as it may sound the first step to building a bog garden, dig a hole! The area can be whatever shape you like about 18 Â 24 inches deep and slightly raised from the surrounding bed area to keep runoff from entering the bog (this is explained shortly). Locate the bog garden where it will get full sun at least half the day, preferably afternoon sun.
The worst part is done! Now line the hole with rubber pond liner. DonÂt worry if there are sharp roots etc. that could puncture the liner. A few leaks do not matter.
Begin filling the bog with the following combination: add 1 bale (4cuft) of sphagnum peat, mix in 100lbs of silica sand and a big mess of conifer needles (white pine is my favorite). Add rain, distilled, or dehumidifier water till saturated. This is the second hardest job because peat is extremely hydrophobic. Repeat above until the bog is full and fully saturated. Sculpt the "dirt" such that it is low in the center and higher around the edges. Because it is saturated and all the air is worked out, it will not settle.
If you wish to plant a Fen type garden (ph neutral and slightly more nutrient rich) add 50 Â 100 lbs of calcium rich lime in place of the conifer needles. Most species of Cypripedium will prefer this to the bog garden. I made the mistake of using crushed oyster shell, it added too much saltÂso donÂt use this for calcium!
Time to plant! Place plants that like more water near the center of the bog where it is low and plants that like less water around the edges. This works well because the edges dry out far faster than the center. Be patient! A bog garden takes at least 2 years to become well established as a mini ecosystem. DonÂt pull any weeds that you are not sure are weeds! Some really good stuff can come to your garden from peat bales. But keep seed heads of sedges and other more aggressive plants trimmed so more tender plants will have a better chance of survival.
The cardinal rule! NEVER EVER EVER WATER WITH ANYTHING OTHER THAN RAIN, DISTILLED, OR DEHUMIDIFIER WATER! TAP WATER WILL KILL A BOG GARDEN IN A SEASON AS WILL ANY SORT OF FERTILIZER!
Plants suitable for bog gardens and sources

Aren't rubbermaid dish pans about 2x2?? there only a couple of bucks and you could place your EE's in a couple of diff spots for the desired effect and they would be easy to move if you wanted to change things up..

Kylie

If I used a 55 gal drum it would be plastic. Lots of farmers around here get their chemicals/pesticides, etc sometimes in big plastic containers. Never thought of a rubber trash can, we have one too, sure would hate to cut it up, but that would work. Pond liner, shower curtain & rubbermaid dish pans are good ideas too. Know I just need to decide what to do... May take a few weeks but If I remember to take pics I will post how it all goes.

Thank to everyone that helped!! You guys/gals Rock!! :-)

Tim

Why don't you post where it is going..I would love to see the area you are working with..
They sell rain barrels (plastic 55gal) here for $10/15.. OR you could just swing by and snag one of the 35 gal mineral buckets we use for cattle.. LOL If there is a cattle ranch anywhere around you I bet they would be more happy to give them to you.. I give loads away!!

Kylie

I have colocasia black magic, and i grow it in wet conditions, it seems to love it

I would love to see a pic of you plant siam.

Kylie, well dont laugh at my spot, I stick things where I can. An orange tree was here 3 months ago & I just planted the other things in the pic a week ago. Brug charles girmaldi been there a while, gets fried by the sun there :-(. This spot faces east & I hope the Japanese maple can take the heat & make shade for the other plants in the coming years. Big green spot is for the EE.

{{gwi:549952}}

Tim, if I were you I'd move it over to the right & forward more. I think it will shade out your elder berry, and the echinaceas too. They won't bloom if they dont get enough sun.
OK heres what I would do... Pu the EE where the dahlia w/purple writing is.
Surround the front half of the bog spot with the echinaceas. That spot is def too close to the maple.
The dahlia with purple writing would have to be moved obviously, I cant read the name.. I'd put it with the other dahlias, in front of, but in the middle of them. So it's kinds like a triangle. I dont know where I'd put the elder berry.
This EE is gonna get big, and they dont exactly stay straight up, the stems and the leaves, bend outwards. Even in the middle where I suggested, I think it's going to brush on your brug and the jap maple a bit.

just my opinion..

daniellalell, you want to work dont ya. I cant do all that, mainly because in front of the dahlias is so many irrigation wires, drip line (3), sprinkler lines. Ive already broke too many water lines this year & this spot has the most in our entire yard. This spot in front of the dahlias is also a path to walk, any more plants in front & I would have no room for a wheelbarrow, etc. If it wont fit in my green spot I dont know where to put it....