Marsh tubs (3)

How do I make a marsh tub for the garden?

Carnivorous plantsare of course beautiful in their own right, but creating abeautiful marshin the garden - really brings out the carnivorous plants. Carnivorous plants are generally low-maintenance and many species are even hardy. This means that the plants can stay outside all year round, even with frost.

It is important to know that carnivorous plants grow onnutrient-poor soiland not in ordinary potting soil. At carnivory.eu, in addition to hardy plants and swamp boxes, we also offer nutrient-poor soil and perlite - so you can get started with a swamp box yourself.

When creating a bog trough, you need to decide whether you want one or several plants and which trough goes with it. Different types of carnivorous plants can be in a container together, creating abeautiful and colourful planterwhile reducing insects in the garden. Let's create a beautiful swamp planter together through this guide.

We have, recently, made our own Swamp Tubs - which we sell as a DIY kit to our customers. That way, you have a perfect container, the most beautiful plants, the right soil and the how-to!

Which plants can go in a marsh tub?

At Carnivory.eu, we have a wide range of carnivorous plants for you. But which plants best suit your style and requirements? Luckily, we have the perfect selection for you:

• The Venus flytrap(all colours/sizes);
• Trumpet cup plant(all species and hybrids).

These are not only the most beautiful plants, but also the easiest to care for. These plants are found in a swath of North America and Canada - where you can also get freezing temperatures in winter.

Hardy carnivorous plants for the marsh tubs

As we mentioned above, we have a nice selection of hardy carnivorous plants. We would like to introduce you to the different species. These carnivorous plants are easy to look after.

Dionaea Muscipula (Venus Flytrap)

The Dionaea Muscipula, also known as the "Venus flytrap" is a species that most are familiar with. Because this species is so iconic and widely used in Hollywood - it is by far the most popular
species.

Although the Venus flytrap is often labelled as gigantic in films, this fleshy plant does not get thatbig and they look quite harmless. The Venus flytrap is the only plant in the world that can count to20. Thus, the carnivore activates its trap when an insect touches its feeler hairs twice within 20seconds. That way, the plant does not use the trap too often, as it requires a lot of energy. Want to know more about carnivorous plants?

The trap:

The Venus flycatcher uses a closing trap to catch its prey. The closing trap consists of two leaf halves that resemble a mouth altogether. These leaf halves are created so that the halves closequickly to catch an insect. The smell and colour (red) of the leaf halves lures the insects onto the leaf.

Inside the leaf are three to nine feeler hairs, which act as a kind of sensor. On touching two feeler hairs within twenty seconds, the Venus fly trap's 'mouth' makes it close. The more the insect then moves; the tighter the leaf halves pull together.

After a successful capture, the mouth is filled with a digestive fluid to digest the insect. The insect is digestedwithin two to 10 days. If the Venus fly trap closes without catching anything, the leaves reopen after a day.

Provenance:

The Venus flytrap is native to North America and Canada. Here, the carnivorous plant grows on nitrogen-poor soil. How does a plant survive on this soil? Dionaea Muscipula gets wart nutritionfrom the soil, but is forced to obtain the nutrients by other means. The plant does this by catchinginsects. Want to know more aboutwhere our carnivorous plants come from? Then read our blogs.

Features:

Venus fly traps grow up to 10 centimetres tall. So they are plants that grow relatively low. In addition, the Venus flytrap loves the sun immensely, so make sure that while making the bog, theVenus flytrap always has access to the sun. By the way, did you know that Venus flycatchers turn a beautiful red colour when the sun shines on their mouths?

The Sarracenia

The Trumpet pitcher plant (Sarracenia) gets its name from the plant's beautiful appearance. The Trumpet Cup Plant possesses a cup-shaped leaf with which the plant attracts insects.

The trap:

Sarracenia has abeautiful-looking cup trap. The pitcher trap has a smooth edge at the top that has grooves that run vertically. When the insect walks on these grooves, the insect loses its grip andfalls into the cup. The sturdy hairs inside the cups prevent the insect from climbing out of the cup again.

At the bottom of the cup is a watery secretion which the insects digest. The aqueous liquid actually ends up having two functions:

1. The first is digesting the prey through enzymes.
2. The second function is that the liquid gives off a sweetish smell that lures the insects.

So the traps end up being quite complex but that also makes the plant incredibly interesting. Besides, it is your greatest friend for an insect-free summer.

Origin

Where does the Sarracenia actually come from? Sarracenia is native to North America and parts of Canada. You find the plant there mainly on the coastal side, large lakes and southeastern Canada.

Sarracenia properties:

The Sarracenia has some nice characteristics that make it even more interesting. The Sarracenia can grow up to30 to 40 centimetresand have different colours such as green, purple, red, orange andyellow. It is also extremely important to keep the Sarracenia well-humid with plenty of sunlight (among other things to promote its beautiful colours). After all, it is a marsh plant.

When is the best time to make a marsh tub?

We recommend starting in late winter or early spring. This way, the carnivorous plants have all the time they need to take root and grow in the new tank.Moreover, this is how they prepare for winter dormancy. Always provide a place with plenty of daylight and sun.

AtCarnivory.eu,we are ready to help you realise your dream garden full of carnivorous plants. That's why we are happy to share our expertise on what you need to get started:

1. The right plants: Make sure you have all your chosen carnivorous plants in the house and ready for their new adventure.
2. The perfect bog box: We have recently added some DIY kits as bog boxes to our range. These bog tubs, soil and plants are perfect for starting your own bog trough (bog garden). With an integrated drainage system without holes, so you can easily drain excess water.
3. Low nutrient soil: Our carnivorous plant soil consists ofblond peat, with the right nutrients to boost your carnivorous plant. We have special carnivorous plant soil for Venus flytrapsand Trumpet cup plants (it is specially developed for these species). or your carnivorous plants. Optionally, you can also addperlitefor extra drainage.

Now let's get to work and turn your garden into a veritable paradise for carnivorous plants!

The beginning of a beautiful creation

At Carnivory.eu, we understand how important it is to give your plantsa nice spot! Nowthat you have your favourite carnivorous plants, the potting soil and the perfect container, it's time to get started.

Feel free to stack the plants from small to large or just follow your own creative insight. Just be sure that each plant has adequate access to sunlight.

Keep in mind that carnivorous plants need a minimum of 15 -25 centimetres to fully root in orderto flourish and grow. Let your imagination run wild and create a beautiful marsh tub for your carnivorous plants!

A marsh tub for the garden

At the bottom of the deep tanks we offer, you can place (non-water soluble) gravel or stones for an optimal water drainage system / water reservoir. You can also use inverted pots or filter mats tocreate such a double bottom. This will prevent excess water from standing on the roots and increase the health of your carnivorous plants.

Please note:we recommend, especially in winter, to allow excess water to drain away (as much as possible). To do this, it is advisable to drill holes at about 5 - 10 cm height, so that the water candrain away at this level. There are also tanks (including our'Charles' marsh tub) that have a plug oralready have holes in them.In summer, it is precisely important to retain the water- so seal theplug then or put the pot with holes on a large bowl of water. By taking this step, we guarantee optimal conditions for your beautiful carnivorous plants.

What soil should go into a marsh tub?

Now it's time to fill the container with a special mixture of blond peat and perlite! Note, make sure the blond peat isunfertilised, or use our special carnivorous planting soil. It is important for the toplayer to consist of blond peat only, as perlite can float to the top due to rain and therefore does not produce the desired results. Press the soil well to prevent it from sinking.

The carnivorous plants as the final touch

The time has now come to move yourbeautiful carnivorous plantsto their new home. Make holes in the blond peat and perlite mixture provided in the container so that the plants fit perfectlyin these holes. Carefully place each plant with itsentire root ballin the holes and press the wholething down. After this step, you will have aunique marsh tub troughwhere your carnivorous plants will flourish.

It is best to use only rainwater or distilled water to water your plants - but should there not be enough water, give the plants tap water. Should you use a lot of tap water, make sure you change the soil/soil in the container in its entirety once every two years.

Additional tips for your marsh tub

The easy-to-maintain carnivorous plants in your bog tank require only a few minor points of attention. During spring, summer and early autumn, make sure the tank is at least one-third filledwith water. In winter, drain the water easily via the built-in drainage. To preserve the appearanceof your plants, it is wise to remove the brown leaves as much as possible to prevent mould andpromote growth. This will allow the plant to grow fresh again. Would you like to know which
carnivorous plants are our favourites? Then take a look at ourtop 20 carnivorous plants. Do you have any questions about your own swamp box or our swamp boxes? Then please contact usvia [email protected].