Nice bog. It looks natural and there's great representation of plants. The cranberries look great too. I have an alpine cranberry but it's new and hasn't produced fruit yet.

can you tell me if cranberry can be grown in non-acidic pond water?

are you sure thats POISON sumac, not smooth- or staghorn sumac?

I've been to many places where cranberries grow wild, including along lake Superior, and ponds on Block Island RI and they are not as touchy about acidity as other bog plants are. I'm certain they would do OK with pond water, depending on the quality of that water.

I collected the seed from a Poison sumac tree in a local fen. fortunately the plant I have is a male but it is definitely Toxicodendron vernix. Drooping clusters of white seeds like it's close relative poison Ivy, not like the other Sumacs which have upright clusters of red fruit.

Fred;

Great looking bog! Where did you get your cranberries? I miss really fresh berries since we left Cape Cod.

How big is your bog and do you alter the water level any?

Cheers.
Jim

Jim

I put a pond liner in to hold the water when it rains but other than that I do nothing water wise except to water (rain water)when we have a very dry spell.

My cranberries came from cuttings of local plants, as well as plants from Minnesota, Block Island RI, and Upper MI. I did get my original plants from Mellingers but I recently heard they were going out of business. Many companies that sell fruit trees carry cranberries, just be sure to get at least 2 different varieties for a crop to develop. By the way it does take 3-4 years for the plants to establish enough to get a harvest.

Fred

Thanks for the info.

I've been looking at 'Ben Lear' and 'Early Black' varieties since that's what most of the growers nearby in the Jersey Pine Barrens grow. Might try to swing out that way and con a handful of cuttings if I find a bog where they're pruning or planting. I just don't think I could handle buying a ton of cuttings or a couple truck loads of rooted starts (grin).

I'm familiar with growing them from my CC days. Do you prune your runners and sand? I'm guessing not.

Judging from your bog pics, it looks like you've let your berries spread and become the ground cover for your whole bog? Bye-the-bye, how big is your bog?

Thanks again.
Cheers.
Jim

Jim

the bog is oval in shape and about 6 ft X 4 ft.

Seems I have the Ben lear and Stevens varieties from Mellingers. I don't sand, and I only prune the runners that really run wild. If the weather here was as wet as the last two seasons I'd just plant cranberries as my lawn! I'm hoping for a warmer, less wet 2005.

If you're still looking for rooted cuttings in March/April, let me know I have plenty that could use some thinning!

Can you grow them from the seeds in the ripened berries?

ga

I've seen on some websites a miniature, slow growing variety called Hamilton. Any thoughts on the need to go with a smaller variety of cranberry? It looks cute, and some say it is more of an ornamental, which is fine by me. Bob

Ga,
I suppose you could grow them from seed but they propagate so easily from rooted cuttings that I've never tried.

Bob,
Cranberries are already miniature in my opinion. The leaves are barely 1/2 an inch long and they grow barely 6 inches tall...they do tend to trial all across the area they're planted in though. Here in Ohio there are 2 native cranberries, the large cranberry V. macrocarpon and the small cranberry (much rarer in this state) V. oxycoccos. I have both but the smaller is much more finnicky about conditions.

Hello - I'm so excited to find there are other folks with garden cranberry bogs! We urgently need cranberry advice. We moved into a house three years ago with nice little filled-in pond that houses only cranberry plants. Our first fall we had scads of berries, then the subsequent two years we got zero. The foliage looked healthy most of the dry summer, but got a little red towards fall. Can you advise on some of the basics that we are obviously not covering? I tried to water regularly with rain barrel water but it didn't rain for maybe 3 months here last year so that ran out. What kinds of nutritional supplements should I supply? My husband threw a bunch of mulch on them last spring and I wonder if there is now too much soil around their roots? Do they need to be kept constantly moist? I sure appreciate any advice for my poor struggling friends.

Green_Acres, I have started cranberries from seed. They will root in a baggie filled with moist spaghnum.

Thank-you Baci! Did your sprouts produce fruit or just nice plants?

ga

Katrat,

Go to www.cranberrycreations.com We have a complete growing guide to growing cranberries. If you have other questions, let me know and I can help you. We are passionate about growing cranberries.

In your case, there may be a number of reasons for failure. Frost is the biggest. If you get a frost in the early spring after growth starts, the buds can be damaged. The best way to prevent is to put a sheet, plastic, rug, or something over the plants during a frost night.

Another problem is pH. Make sure the soil is low pH. Take a soil test and send in to a local university soil lab.

Pollination could also be a problem. Make sure you have bumble bees around to pollinate. Do not spray around bloom time, if you do spray pesticides, which I do not suggest. You can also purchase bees.

Hope this stuff helps.

1. Do cranberry root systems eventually tend to pierce the liner, as does cattail

2. Does anyone know if you can grow blue berries in a bog garden and how, if so?

Cranberries have a very fine root system and will not pierce a liner. they do tend to grow out and over the edges of the bog.

I grew blueberries in my bog for 4 years. It then seemed obvious that they would get too big so I removed them to another part of the garden. They did not do any damage to the liner either. both grow amazingly well in the bog situation.

what kind of soil requirements for blueberries and cranberries - will their roots tollerate freezing solid, also?

i have ordered crans and blues for my bog garden...I am using a mix of perlite, sand, peat,soil and pine mulch because I have heard of people using one or more of these. I couldn't decide which so i figured i'd use all. The cranberries will be in the wtter part of the bog, with the blueberries in a slightly drier location next to the crans....Does this sound ok?

My bog is primarily peat, a bit of sand, and pine needles at the bottom of the mix. their roots will tolerate freezing. I've seen both in the bogs of northern Michigan and Minnesota.

The cranberries will run all over the bog wet and drier parts. I have to prune them back from the edges as they creep several feet outside the bog.

Cranberries are remarkably adaptive really. The big issues are adequate sunlight (the more the better), wet growing conditions, and acidic (preferably peat based) soil. I grow them here in Japan in a small container garden in full sun. Although we are rated zone 9, the average annual temperatures are nearly on a par with Atlanta, GA. I got a nice little crop of berries last year and there are tons of buds on them again this year! PF

if the soil is mostly peat - will pickerel plant, arrowhead, iris, and marsh marigold survive

or too acidic?

Iris and marsh marigold will survive well, I have no experience with the Pickerel plant nor the arrowhead. I have however seen the arrowhead at one of the local fens.

For zone 6b, how shallow can i make a canberry bog, filled with peat, sand, and dirt?

Will they survive if i allow the bog to remain saturated over the winter so that they will be in ice/peat/mud?

thanks

Sand and peat, skip the dirt. They are completely freeze resistant. In the Pine Barrens of NJ they are grown extensively in carefully maintained bogs. In the northern tier states they go through winters in quaking bogs that far exceed anything NJ can hand out. PF

but wont it be better to have dirt - more fertilization?

btw, i purchased 4 orchids, hardy puple ones, and they are in soil filled containers - do you think that some orchids can be in straight mud - these are moist not soggy

can they be in a mud filled bog

If you insist on mud, then rock on!

More fertilization = dead plants... that's why it's a bog. Bogs are naturally nutrient poor. We are all willing to assist you, but please do a little research.

Without knowing the genus and species of the "i purchased 4 orchids, hardy puple ones" I cannot advise on conditions there are dozens of hardy purple orchids. If they're what I think they are (Bletilla) They will not survive long in a bog. They prefer a spot in the perennial garden. these are Platanthera integrilabia (white) and P. ciliaris (orange in background) blooming now in my bog. These would die quickly if fertilized.
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Wow Fred, great monkey faces! Have you tried to flask any seed of these? I'm sure you're aware of their rarity in the wild. You're doing a great job growing them.

BTW My cranberries are growing like mad this year. Since my little bog is so small I've had to make a new container next to it and train all the runners to grow into it. Next year I should have a new container full. Under the right conditions these guys are spreaders!

PF

nice pictures.

Any chance someone would share some cuttings for a new grower, and bog maker?

bears In Ohio

I would be more than happy to share some plants! They take over the world. Send me an e-mail privately so we can make the exchange?

Fred

I grow CPs in containers, but this year I decided to try out a cranberry bog. I dug out an area in my backyard that is all clay (so no need for a liner). I filled it with a mix of peat/sand, about 50/50. You said yours was mostly peat, does your bog get really soupy? Everything seems to look fine so far, I did top dress with some used coffee grounds and alfalfa pellets to feed it a little. I understand that bogs are naturally nutrient deficient, but cranberries must get some kind of nutrition. Remember CPs get their nutrients from bugs, cranberries don't have traps and are not carnivorous so they must be absorbing some kind of nutrients?

Here's an interesting link:

http://www.umass.edu/cranberry/services/bmp/nutrient.shtml

Has anybody had any experience with no bog cranberries.
Vince

cranberries will grow on the tundra and there is a good size patch on the table land on mt katadin. Moms blueberry field in ellsworth me. has enough growing by a rock wall to rake 4-5 bushel per year. the only care they get is to bush hog the grass to 4-5" each fall. the blueberries mowed to 1" every 2 years. The bog or water that cranberry growers use is for frost and harvest. paddle wheal to dislodge the berry and skimmer to harvest.