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Hello all this is my first dormancy with my plants and I've already had some of my sundews go dormant. My question is how much water do the plants Need during the winter? I am in Charlotte NC if that matters and the plants are grown outside. I'm growing VFTs, Sarrs, and some temperate, and tropical Dews. Mostly D. Capensis, intermedia, Binata, Filiformis, and intermedia. Thanks for all of your help. Second question..... Is it normal for Sarrs to flower in the fall? My S. Dixie Lace has an 8 in flower stalk growing
 
Honestly I usually just leave about the same amount of water in that I did over the summer. If it rains, I leave the water. If I have to water, I usually just put like half the amount that I would normally. I do not really make a fuss about it. I have Sarrs, VFTs, filiformis and intermedia dews.
 
Honestly I usually just leave about the same amount of water in that I did over the summer. If it rains, I leave the water. If I have to water, I usually just put like half the amount that I would normally. I do not really make a fuss about it. I have Sarrs, VFTs, filiformis and intermedia dews.

Sound good!!
 
The most important part in my opinion is making sure you keep the plant clean of dead materials like you normally would. Clip off dead leaves, etc.
 
Same water level should be fine, just keep an eye out for molds. Also, yes, it is somewhat common for plants to send up errant flower stalks in fall. That's the only time my oreophila has ever flowered!
 
Well after a light snow flurry 2 nights ago all of my Dews and VFT look drab. That flower stalk is completely dropped over. I think that shocked the rest of then into dormancy.
 
The most likely reason some of KKP's plants are flowering in the autumn is explained here:

Hello all this is my first dormancy with my plants

They are probably new tissue-culture plants..
probably growing indoors before they were purchased..

KKP, did you purchase the plants after, lets say..June?
If so, they probably dont "know" what season it is right now..that could explain why they are flowering now..

but you live in the perfect climate for outdoor dormancy..just keep doing what you are doing! ;)
and they should come out of dormancy fine in the spring, and I bet a year from now they will *not* be flowering,
because by then they will have their seasonal clocks set properly..

None of this is a problem! or anything to worry about..
it's just a quirk of the plants being relatively new to the world..

Scot
 
Last year I used a relatively dense mix of peat and fine grade sand which held on to moisture better than the mix of peat and perlite I currently use. Because of this, I was worried about keeping my plants too wet for the winter, so I cut back on water a ton. In fact, my Judith Hindle, purpurea ssp. purpurea, flava var. flava, and rubra ssp. rubra didn't sit in water and were only top drenched three or four times all winter. I always made sure the media was moist at least just under the surface, though.

I figure I will follow a similar approach this year. If my mix dries out too quickly, though, I figure I will experiment with my pots sitting in a small amount of water.

It might help to know that I live in zone 6b in Southeast Missouri: a bit colder in the winter than you.
 
Well after a light snow flurry 2 nights ago all of my Dews and VFT look drab. That flower stalk is completely dropped over. I think that shocked the rest of then into dormancy.

That snow flurry was a bit of a surprise!! I did not get any at my house but it snowed in Greensboro about 10 minutes from my house.
 
  • #10
The most likely reason some of KKP's plants are flowering in the autumn is explained here:



They are probably new tissue-culture plants..
probably growing indoors before they were purchased..

KKP, did you purchase the plants after, lets say..June?
If so, they probably dont "know" what season it is right now..that could explain why they are flowering now..

but you live in the perfect climate for outdoor dormancy..just keep doing what you are doing! ;)
and they should come out of dormancy fine in the spring, and I bet a year from now they will *not* be flowering,
because by then they will have their seasonal clocks set properly..

None of this is a problem! or anything to worry about..
it's just a quirk of the plants being relatively new to the world..

Scot
I honestly don't know. I bought that particular Sarr from the botanical gardens at UNC-Charlotte but your theory makes perfect sense. They were greenhouse kept as well. IDK if that matters and I did buy them in June if I remember correctly.
 
  • #11
Last year I used a relatively dense mix of peat and fine grade sand which held on to moisture better than the mix of peat and perlite I currently use. Because of this, I was worried about keeping my plants too wet for the winter, so I cut back on water a ton. In fact, my Judith Hindle, purpurea ssp. purpurea, flava var. flava, and rubra ssp. rubra didn't sit in water and were only top drenched three or four times all winter. I always made sure the media was moist at least just under the surface, though.

I figure I will follow a similar approach this year. If my mix dries out too quickly, though, I figure I will experiment with my pots sitting in a small amount of water.

It might help to know that I live in zone 6b in Southeast Missouri: a bit colder in the winter than you.
Thanks!!!
 
  • #12
That snow flurry was a bit of a surprise!! I did not get any at my house but it snowed in Greensboro about 10 minutes from my house.
EXACTLY!!!! I stepped out to get something out of the car and bam!!! Snow flurries. I was blown away. I hadn't looked at the weather at all do it was definitely a surprise. Poor plants though. The wind beat them up pretty bad that night
 
  • #13
EXACTLY!!!! I stepped out to get something out of the car and bam!!! Snow flurries. I was blown away. I hadn't looked at the weather at all do it was definitely a surprise. Poor plants though. The wind beat them up pretty bad that night

Whenever it gets really windy and it is cold, I always place garbage bags over mine just in case.
 
  • #14
I would bring the binata and capensis inside.
 
  • #15
Depends on the form of binata. There are some that naturally go dormant, and can survive very cold temperatures.
 
  • #17
Depends on the form of binata. There are some that naturally go dormant, and can survive very cold temperatures.

I have marstons dragon and Dichotoma giant
 
  • #18
The dichotoma is well known for surviving cold temperatures in dormancy, as it is a form from very southern Australia. Multifida is a more tropical variety, but can go dormant on occasion if temperatures go low enough, so I would assume the hybrid, Marston Dragon, would also naturally be able to take dormancy.
 
  • #19
The dichotoma is well known for surviving cold temperatures in dormancy, as it is a form from very southern Australia. Multifida is a more tropical variety, but can go dormant on occasion if temperatures go low enough, so I would assume the hybrid, Marston Dragon, would also naturally be able to take dormancy.
That sounds good. I have no room for plants to come in the house so they're going to have to slug it out outside. Our winters are generally mild any way. Even during the coldest parts of the winter we usually see highs in the 40's and 50's I'm not that worried about them.
 
  • #20
I was going to say that even if it should be brought in the house, they might be able to ride it out in Charlotte especially if it gets too cold at night you can throw a trash bag over it at night and take it off in the morning.
 
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