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Another Sarracenia dormancy thread

I know there's a lot out there on dormancy already, but I've yet to find anything with my particular circumstances and I'm also sort of formulating mixed ideas, so here goes.

I tried a few plants outside this last summer and I was (somewhat) surprised to see them do pretty well. I've pulled them inside for the winter and they're currently sitting in an east-facing window with the window barely cracked. This has pretty drastically cut their photo period (at least of direct sunlight) from almost a full day's worth to just a few hours in the morning. Also, with the window cracked and that room sort of sealed off from the rest of the house, they're getting down to around 35-40 degrees at night, give or take depending on the weather. They've been in this window for probably over a month, now, but I'm not really seeing any change. They've all stopped growing, for sure, even a few pitchers are just now starting to die off, but I guess I expected more noticeable changes by now. Should I just wait it out and see what they do?

Also, regarding mixed ideas: I know with the refrigerator method, you're supposed to cut back all the previous year's growth, then seal them up keeping them moist. Outdoor plants should not be cut back, right? Just allowed to die back? Finally, should I continue watering them? They're still on the tray method, though I've been allowing the tray to dry out a few days before refilling. Should I just be aiming to keep them moist, but not with an inch of water at the bottom?

Thanks in advance for any input, I really appreciate it.
 
Why didn't you just leave thjem outside and bring them into a cool porch or basement or something once they died back a bit?
 
Because it rapidly went from around 50 at night to around 5 at night, LOL. I assumed (maybe incorrectly?) that a drop that low and that fast would probably just kill them all.
 
Congrats on surviving your first outdoor growing season here in Colorado. I keep my plants in the garage during the winter. The temps rarely fall below 25F and only for a few hours when they do. I only move my plants indoors if we get the rare prolonged cold spell. Light is not that big of an issue at this time of year (but I do keep them near the window). Be careful that the media in the pots does not feeze solid. You just need to keep your plants cool and make sure they don't dry out. I water mine once every couple of weeks during the winter as I do get evaporation this time of year. Also, it is normal for the pitchers to brown slowly over the the next few months. In fact, some of my later ones of the season are still green in the spring. I only cut them back once they are completely brown.
 
Congrats on surviving your first outdoor growing season here in Colorado. I keep my plants in the garage during the winter. The temps rarely fall below 25F and only for a few hours when they do. I only move my plants indoors if we get the rare prolonged cold spell. Light is not that big of an issue at this time of year (but I do keep them near the window). Be careful that the media in the pots does not feeze solid. You just need to keep your plants cool and make sure they don't dry out. I water mine once every couple of weeks during the winter as I do get evaporation this time of year. Also, it is normal for the pitchers to brown slowly over the the next few months. In fact, some of my later ones of the season are still green in the spring. I only cut them back once they are completely brown.

I've had media freeze with no ill affects, but never for more than a few days at a time.
 
Aha! Someone from Colorado growing plants! And outdoors!? You and I may have some chatting to do, LOL.

But really, you just keep your plants outdoors all year? Where in Colorado are you? Here in Fort Collins, it's been getting pretty well below 20 (like I said, 5 degrees has been seen more than once in the last week or two weeks), and it can stay around 15 or 20 even through the day.
 
I keep the planters in my attached/unheated garage under a west facing window. The temps average in the 30s/40s in there for all but the coldest parts of the winter. I'll send you a PM with other information.
 
to me, it sounds like you have a decent set up. if the sealed off room stays 35-40 degrees, that's about perfect. when they go dormant, you're not going to "see" them go dormant. they just cease to grow. some pitchers will gradually dry up, turn brown, etc., but it is not uncommon for them to hold their color throughout the winter. you want to keep them from completely drying out, yet you don't want it too wet either - that will invite mold. it won't hurt to apply some fungicide and remove any dead plant material.
 
Thanks, everyone! I'm going to go cut off the dead/dying stuff now. 'sides, it's fun to slice them open and see what's inside. XD

I'll also stop watering them, but make sure they stay damp. As for fungicide, should I look for anything in particular? Liquid/powder? Any particular brands? Something available at, say, Home Depot would be great since local nurseries are shut down for the winter.
 
  • #11
I wouldnt bother with fungicide..
with the pots all opened up, not bagged, you shouldnt have any fungus growth at all..
plus fungicide is pretty toxic..to people and pets..not a good thing to be spreading around indoors..
I highly doubt you will need it at all..I would just forget about it completely.

I seal my plants up in plastic bags all winter, and I dont even use or need fungicide! ;)

sounds like your dormancy system is pretty good!
should work fine..
the only thing I would worry about with an "indoor dormancy" is the plants being too warm..
but if its truly an unheated room, and it generally stays in the 30's or 40's all of the time,
then that is pretty ideal..

if its a room you live in though, and you heat it up at times in the winter, thats not so good..
think of the room as a big refrigerator! ;)
if it truly feels like a refrigerator all winter, then you are in good shape..

Scot
 
  • #12
Hmmm, yeah, I might just pull a waiting game. I'll keep a close eye on them and make sure no mold starts growing. With the window cracked the majority of the time, they get a decent bit of circulation. I think I'll do that, just keep an eye on it.

And, yeah, the room is actually a bathroom connected to a laundry room. I sealed up the vent for the heater in there, so it's not directly heated, though it probably gets some warmth from the house - not necessarily a bad thing since it's so friggin' cold at night these days. I keep the window cracked and the door shut with a blanket shoved up against the bottom of the door to keep it from drafting. I just threw a thermometer in with the plants to keep a good eye on them. I might even invest in one of those nice digital ones that keeps track of daily highs/lows. Couldn't hurt. My only concern is when we do laundry. The drier might heat the area up, but I close the door to the laundry room and open the laundry room's window all the way to vent the warm air out. I'll keep an eye on it next time we run a load.

At any rate, they should be fine for the next week or so until we move into our new house and I have a garage to keep them in, where temperature should (theoretically) stay pretty consistently low. My main concern was that they weren't getting the picture to begin with and that they'd be entering a pretty late dormancy, but thanks to the advice here, I'm quite sure they're already dormant. Like I said, they stopped growing anything new a long time ago and some pitchers have died back and (just) got cut off. If the garage doesn't turn out to be consistently low enough, we're going to have an extra fridge that I guess I can just keep in the garage for dormancies. ^.^

Thanks, guys!

EDIT: If I do have to resort to the fridge method, I think I'll be trying to follow that thread that you posted, F R e N c H 3 z, so thanks for that!
 
  • #13
The lion's share of my temperate plants are with a local nursery for the winter, where they have the temp set to be between 35-45F. For the small Sarracenia and some of the sundews I made a sulfur solution dip and placed the plants in baggies, in the back of the fridge.
 
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