Question
Hi, I抦 in the Chicago area- Zone 5.  I have a 4x6 foot Bog garden that I will be covering soon.  I will probably be covering with Pine bark mulch.  I would like to put something down between the mulch and plants; primarily to make removal of mulch easier in spring, and prevent it  from mixing in my bog soil.  I have a large piece of sheet  foam that I thought would also act as extra insulation.  I have also thought of putting either Burlap or plastic sheeting over the bog.  Question is; Will plastic or sheet foam be bad because of not letting the bog 揵reath?at all?  Or would Just burlap be better?  I do plan on doing a spray with some fungicide before covering.   Also,  I plan on cutting my various tall Sarr Pitchers down before covering;  should I do that with the  S. purpurea also, or do they retain their pitchers for the following season?  If they do retain their pitchers,  I was thinking of putting some sort of shallow box on them to prevent them from getting smashed by the mulch.  Thanks Much!

Answer
Hi Bud,

The best covering to use is burlap.  Make sure it's new burlap and not a used one, like a potato sack.  The used ones might harbor fungal spores.  You can find horticultural burlap in many garden centers since many gardeners use it to cover their plants too.

Definitely spray your plants and burlap with a sulfur fungicide.  Be generous because once the mulch is down, you can't respray and you won't know if you had a fungal problem until spring.

You won't need to cut the purpurea.  As long as the pitchers are shorter than a few inches, they're fine.

For more info about winter care, watch volume 1 of our Grow Carnivorous Plants DVD series.  In this volume we focus specifically on North American carnivorous plants

http://www.cobraplant.com/DVD

Good growing!
Jacob Farin