FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q1: Is a rain garden expensive?
With family and friends helping with labor, it doesn’t have to be. Rain gardens cost about the same as other perennial flower gardens and are less expensive than replanting annuals every year. Installing one yourself costs approximately $3–5/square foot. Using a landscaper to plan and install your rain garden could cost $10–15/square foot or more. Plants are the biggest expense.
Q2: Is a rain garden a pond?
Rain gardens are not ponds or wetlands. They are designed to hold water for no more than 24-48 hours and to be dry between rain events. Unlike ponds, you don’t need costly pumps, electricity, or filters. You simply need plants that can handle the moderate to wetter conditions when it rains.
Q3: Do they require a lot of maintenance?
Rain gardens can be maintained with little effort after the plants are established. If you use native plants, they adapt well to local soil conditions and don’t need fertilizers or pesticides. While your natives are establishing their roots, water them at least twice a week (when it doesn’t rain) for the first growing season or until you see that they’re thriving. After that, they won’t need watering except during a prolonged dry spell. Basic long-term maintenance includes mulching and weeding.
Q4: Are they a breeding ground for mosquitoes?
No! Mosquitoes need 2-3 days to hatch and 7-12 days to complete their life cycles. Properly installed, your rain garden will not hold water long enough for mosquito larvae to develop. By draining in 24-48 hours, it may serve as a mosquito trap!
Q5: Why should I use native plants?
Native plants have adapted to our climate and are much better at handling the alternating wet and dry conditions that go along with a rain garden. As perennials, they’ll save you the time and money of replanting every year and provide quality habitat for your favorite wildlife.
Q6: Do rain gardens function in the winter?
Even though your plants will be dormant, rain gardens can still help slow down water from rain and snow and allow it to soak into the ground. Water may remain in the garden longer, particularly when the ground is frozen, but that’s not a problem in cooler temperatures. Your rain garden should always have a safe outlet for excess water.
Q7: Can a rain garden be too large or too small?
No, rain gardens can be designed in all shapes and sizes. You can size your garden to handle all the rain that normally falls on an impervious surface or to fit in a specific location. You do not have to capture all the rainwater from your house. For example, capturing water from a single downspout will help!
Q8: Can I install one myself?
Although it may take a little more digging to create the depression, rain gardens are no harder to install than a traditional perennial landscape.
With family and friends helping with labor, it doesn’t have to be. Rain gardens cost about the same as other perennial flower gardens and are less expensive than replanting annuals every year. Installing one yourself costs approximately $3–5/square foot. Using a landscaper to plan and install your rain garden could cost $10–15/square foot or more. Plants are the biggest expense.
Q2: Is a rain garden a pond?
Rain gardens are not ponds or wetlands. They are designed to hold water for no more than 24-48 hours and to be dry between rain events. Unlike ponds, you don’t need costly pumps, electricity, or filters. You simply need plants that can handle the moderate to wetter conditions when it rains.
Q3: Do they require a lot of maintenance?
Rain gardens can be maintained with little effort after the plants are established. If you use native plants, they adapt well to local soil conditions and don’t need fertilizers or pesticides. While your natives are establishing their roots, water them at least twice a week (when it doesn’t rain) for the first growing season or until you see that they’re thriving. After that, they won’t need watering except during a prolonged dry spell. Basic long-term maintenance includes mulching and weeding.
Q4: Are they a breeding ground for mosquitoes?
No! Mosquitoes need 2-3 days to hatch and 7-12 days to complete their life cycles. Properly installed, your rain garden will not hold water long enough for mosquito larvae to develop. By draining in 24-48 hours, it may serve as a mosquito trap!
Q5: Why should I use native plants?
Native plants have adapted to our climate and are much better at handling the alternating wet and dry conditions that go along with a rain garden. As perennials, they’ll save you the time and money of replanting every year and provide quality habitat for your favorite wildlife.
Q6: Do rain gardens function in the winter?
Even though your plants will be dormant, rain gardens can still help slow down water from rain and snow and allow it to soak into the ground. Water may remain in the garden longer, particularly when the ground is frozen, but that’s not a problem in cooler temperatures. Your rain garden should always have a safe outlet for excess water.
Q7: Can a rain garden be too large or too small?
No, rain gardens can be designed in all shapes and sizes. You can size your garden to handle all the rain that normally falls on an impervious surface or to fit in a specific location. You do not have to capture all the rainwater from your house. For example, capturing water from a single downspout will help!
Q8: Can I install one myself?
Although it may take a little more digging to create the depression, rain gardens are no harder to install than a traditional perennial landscape.
