Hi, Liz.
I don't have a 'real bog' conditions in my garden, but have two areas where in spring or after a heavy rain water could stand still for 5-7 days and stay moist on its own even in a very dry periods of August. To make matter worse, when I need to reduce level of the water in my pool after heavy rains, I damp it all there. It's almost full shade in a summer, but have a decent amount of sun in a spring.
In no particular order, variegated Solomon seal, ligularia stenocephala przhewalskii and Rocket, large/giant size hostas (all small/medium size failed), Ostrich and Royal ferns, dicentra spectabiles, tricyrtis latifolia. Once upon a time there was one of the cultivars of astilbe chinensis, but it become too agressive there and didn't produced enough blooms to justify space it was taken, so it was removed.
From the shrubs dept, Clethra species and Kerrias (will bloom only once, in a spring) are fairly comfortable there and bloom OK while hydrangeas never produced anything meaningfull in terms of bloom (too shady) and were moved into still wet, but more sunny position.

Chelone,

Have you tried the Hibiscus moscheutos in the lower part? I have a Disco Belle Hibiscus in my bog and it loves the conditions, and from what I've read it might take some shade. Mine is in full sun, though. And...ummm....have you tried Chelone? It likes bog conditions. Hehe.

Also, you might try your question in the pond forum. Most of those ponders also have bogs, and that forum is usually hopping.

Hi Liz,
avoid the petasites! I've got the plain green in an area that is pretty dry and sunny, it has covered 64 square feet in 2 years. I'm going to be removing it this summer, I can't imagine how much it would have spread in ideal conditions!

BTW, any and all tricyrtis formosana (stolonifera) and some T.hirta will do good there.

Umm... yeah, I've not tried the suggestions BECAUSE there isn't enough sun to satisfy them!

I've been struggling with this site for nearly 3 yrs. now. I've tried a number of things that "like wet feet", but none of them have liked it nearly as wet as it's been!

SO, that's why I'm asking about BOG conditions. I thought I had them, but I underestimated HOW wet the "dry" time was

Need help...

Well, there's always skunk cabbage - native, early spring flowers, likes bogs and is supposedly shade tolerant.

It does have a distinctive odor ....

Claire

Here is a link that might be useful: Symplocarpus foetidus

From description in Lazy S'S Farm site (scroll down to very bottom of the page):

"In summer, they look like a huge hosta. "

Claire

Here is a link that might be useful: Skunk Cabbage for sale

I don't think that what you have is technically a bog, but probably just a marshy piece of property. Haven't seen your property, but have you thought of doing some things to it like adding soil to raise the area up, adding walls, etc. where the water is coming from.... Where is all the water coming from anyway?

I live on a pond and things that do well in wet and shady conditions on my place are hostas,solomon seal and ferns. This is just what is there from when I moved in...i haven't had a chance to garden down there yet.

But if you think you really have "bog" conditions, why not visit a bog and see what's there that you might repeat? Maybe you can hit a goldmine by growing rare orchids :)
here's a link to a MA bog that I haven't visited but it does look interesting...
http://www.nescb.org/epublications/summer2002/bogsandfens1.html
good luck and let us know how it all goes once things get established in August
kathy

A 'bog' is not only wet, but also very acidic, and lacking in plant nutrition. It's a very specialized habitat. A 'fen' is a 'bog' with much higher pH. Technically, I have a fen, not a bog, though I usually call it a swamp. Bog plants won't usually grow in a fen, and fen plants are usually even more intolerant of bog conditions.

Potted plants can be very difficult to establish, even if they are species that would naturally like the conditions because they have not been raised to develop the root systems needed. I've been told planting them bareroot can help, but I haven't done much with perennials. Skunk cabbage and cinnamon fern grow naturally in the shady parts. I've put lindera benzoin and winterberry starts down there also and they've survived. Various shrubby dogwoods are also just down there.

It's a very difficult area to control. Normal soil improvement is impossible. Weeding is horrible. For the most part, I throw things down there and ignore them. At least they aren't suffering from lack of water.

You might try Pondscapes in Cataumet (Bourne) if you'e ever on the Cape. They have lots of water plants - ones that are sitting in trays of water at all times - for sun and shade. Some of them look quite stunning - they tempt me although I don't have any damp areas at all.

Thanks for the clarification on "bog" and "fen". I didn't realize they were two distinct sites. The site is very low; rather like walking on a sponge for most of the year unless it has been very droughty. The "pond" (I call it the wallow or the muckhole) is not more 24" deep and is representative of the ground water level. it presently supports some cattails and some of the purple water iris and is ringed with Osmunda cinnamomea.

It's the shade aspect of the low side that has me stumped. I have contemplated adding more soil to bring up the level, but that will involve adding to the stone barrier that keeps the soil out of the water and I'm not sure I have the time for that at present. We all know how that sort of thing goes. ;) (though that suggestion appeals most to my aesthetic sensibilities).

I have, however, decided on how to address the wet, low, shadey corner of the lawn. I will simply kill off the remaining grass and introduce the rescued ferns (garage project), divisions of Polygonatum commutatum, and a few choice Hostas.

I am also interested to learn about the difficulty of getting nursery raised plants to adapt to a moister environment after the drier conditions. I never gave that a thought, but naturally, it makes perfect sense upon reflection!

Thanks, I'll keep you posted as things progress.