Copy of: Help with CP Bog in Denver

Sean Mallory (smallory@ouray.cudenver.edu)
Thu, 28 Mar 1996 10:43:24 -0700

I've been lurking on the list here for a while (one year? two?) and
this description of denver growing conditions looks like it needed a
bit of expantion. It gets cold here, but many non-native, non-alpine
plants outside don't survive because we have *dry* winters. -15 F
(-25 C) is alright when you have snow cover, but we tend to have light
snow, and it blows away when it is that cold, leaving plants exposed
to winter conditions of around -5 F (-20 C) (the ground is warmer
generally - lots of sun) and 10-15% humidity. Locally there are
ultrics. Other CP's generally don't get quite the humidty protection
they'd like....

Another item that may be of generaly interest, and of particular use
here, is looking at information available from aquaria groups. Many
of them are into aquatic and emergent plants, and many cp's seem to do
best treated as emergents (at least that has been my experience with
the ones that i have had here). They also have *lots* of information
on water quality, chemistry, and purification -- as well as lighting
information. And they might well be interested in some of our
information as well, as I recall it has been noted that daphnia and
similar species do well around the ultrics. Thus the ultrics may
be a very good addition to breeding tanks, providing both food and
shelter to small fry.

I would be interested myself in knowing what grows well in constant
temperatures around 50-70 F, with water temperatures of 50-65 F. I
have a stream like growing area, mostly about 3in deep, but also with
pools to 2 feet, that has some small fish, and many sundry emergent
plants, moisture loving bromeliads, and some orchids (they appreciate
the higher humidty it seems). The pH stays around 7.5 to 8 in most of
the water, but i suspect it is lower in such places as the moss bed
(yea, i like a variety of plants...) that I am growing, and in the
pots that i set in the water with higher levels of peat and other
organics. It is in the basement under lights to help maintain
humidity levels, with some natural sun during the winter (small, low
angle window). In particular I was wondering about some of the high
altitude tropicals -- when I started this system what I wanted to set
up was cloud forest conditions. But i have since found that it also
works well for less sensitive plants from Florida, and low-light
plants from the area of the Olympic peninsula (temperate rain forest).

Sean Mallory smallory@ouray.cudenver.edu
Denver, CO, USA http://ouray.cudenver.edu/~smallory/

-- You cannot walk on water, you can only run. -- A basilisk instinct.

A reply to:
Date: Thu, 28 Mar 1996 07:26:58 -0800
From: Paula Waite <102563.3530@compuserve.com>

Hi All!

I have been in contact with some people at the Denver Botanic Gardens
who are trying to create a carnivorous plant bog. I am hoping that
some of you can give me advice on creating such a bog, and stocking it
with "winter hardy" CP's. It would be my guess that we will want to
stock the bog with Sarracenias and some species of Utricularia. If
any of you know of plants which can withstand the type of winters we
have here in Denver, Colorado - temps getting as low as -15 degrees F
(sometimes lower but not generally), I would be very appreciative.

Please reply directly to me - Paula Waite at 102563.3530@compuserv.com
to avoid clogging the listserver with responses.

Thank you in advance for your assistance.