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dormancy

I know its a couple of months away but I live in the panhandle of FL (I dont know about the zones and everything could someone Pm me about it?) and I have 2 VFTs. Will they be ok if I leave them outside dureing dormancy? Thanks.
 
If a venus flytrap had lips, it would kiss you for that suggestion! YES! Put it outside in a tray or bowl of water in full sun (slowly! acclimate it to outside first.) Slowly introduce it to full sun. A week or so in bright shade, then filtered light (say through a tree) for a week or so, then full sun. They will adore you for it!!!! You can keep them outside all year long too!!! It will NOT hurt them.
 
well i was talking about dormancy but umm I bought the 2 Vfts a couple of days ago and since im still learning how to grow CPs i i just put them outside in a dish of water (i said i was still learning) they dont seem to have had any damage but could doing that kill them?
 
Nah, they are much tougher than that. They can handle lots of heat and lots of cold. leave them out there forever and keep them wet. Thats all you need to do.
 
When people think of dormancy, they naturally think in terms of providing cold. If I had to draw a pie chart of dormancy factors and attach a few round numbers in terms of percentages, I would put photoperiod at 70 %, followed by temperature at 25 %, and the rest as moisture & food supply. Reduced light is the biggie.
 
Yeah during dormancy here temps would get into the 75-85 range and the VFT's never broke dormancy. So It's got to be all about the photoperiod.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (reg @ May 18 2006,3:39)]I know its a couple of months away but I live in the panhandle of FL (I dont know about the zones and everything could someone Pm me about it?) and I have 2 VFTs. Will they be ok if I leave them outside dureing dormancy? Thanks.


Where in the Florida panhandle do you live and how cold does it get in the winter?

The main concern with VFTs in hotter climates is whether the temperatures will get cold enough in the winter and last long enough to give the VFTs a good dormancy and resting period, without going through the bother of artificially refrigerating them such as might be necessary if one were growing VFTs in southern Mexico, Central America or southern India for example.

I have noticed with my own VFTs that they don't need to get colder than the low 50s and 40s Fahrenheit in order to help induce and provide a non-broken dormancy for them, which for me in eastern New Mexico usually starts in latter November and continues until the plants "wake up" in late March.

The days in my greenhouse may get even into the upper 70s or low 80s during the days, but chill to the mid 50s at night although the temperature outside is usually much lower. (I have a gas heater controlled by thermostat in the sunroom.) I can't set the temperature lower than the mid-to-upper 50s because of some temperature-sensitive orchids that share the greenhouse with the CP. Phalaenopsis orchids in particular generally resent regular or prolonged temperatures below about 55 degrees in my experience.

So, what I do to make my VFTs and Sarracenia cooler is to place them on the floor of the greenhouse/sunroom, directly beneath a window where the very cold nighttime outside air chills the glass and makes sheets or waves of cold air fall from the inside of the window and wash over and around my VFTs and Sarracenia. Despite the ambient temperature of about 55 degrees F. in the greenhouse at night, this technique chills the CPs to the low 40s or possibly upper 30s on very cold nights.

I try to ensure that the VFTs get light even when they are dormant, because photosynthesis continues to provide them with food during their dormancy, but I give them very little water and keep the planting medium on the drier side of moist. In general I tend to agree with "hot and wet is fine, but cold and wet is not," with regard to watering my CP. Even in the summer I tend to try to keep my VFTs moist but not soggy.

The reason I asked what part of the Florida panhandle you live in is because, believe it or not, there are some colonies of Venus Flytraps growing wild now in several areas of the Florida panhandle. Someone planted some VFTs there, in a few spots that are very much like their native home in North Carolina, and they accepted their new home and are happily growing without any human intervention at all (except to keep the locations somewhat secret from the public for obvious reasons).
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I live in Okaloosa (sp?) county and I keep on hearing to reduce their photoperiod how would I do that?
 
If you are depending upon sunlight, that will happen naturally.
 
  • #10
[b said:
Quote[/b] (jimscott @ May 19 2006,5:02)]When people think of dormancy, they naturally think in terms of providing cold. If I had to draw a pie chart of dormancy factors and attach a few round numbers in terms of percentages, I would put photoperiod at 70 %, followed by temperature at 25 %, and the rest as moisture & food supply. Reduced light is the biggie.

It seems like diminishing daylight would be an important factor to induce or initiate dormancy, but after a VFT becomes dormant, wouldn't the chill requirement gain greater importance in maintaining dormancy for the usual several months?
 
  • #11
Leave your VFT outside all the time and it will do its own thing. It'll go dormant at the right time and wake up in spring with nothing for you to do but watch and water  
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  • #12
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Alvin Meister @ May 19 2006,4:45)]Leave your VFT outside all the time and it will do its own thing. It'll go dormant at the right time and wake up in spring with nothing for you to do but watch and water  
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Ok but if it dies outside during winter cause I followed your directions I want a free ping. lol
 
  • #14
I am also very concerned about this as I live in South Florida (winter somewhat cold at night, 30s maybe, usually 50s, daytime easy back up to 70s 80s, so it never really gets cold here even compared to the 'Florida panhandle' sense of winter) and i do not have room to refrigerate all my vfts. On the one hand I am being told that vfts dont really need cold for dormancy and simply reducing watering and moving to a shadier area will be sufficient, however I have also been told (this weekend and by a vft supplier no less) that I am almost guaranteed to lose all my vfts if I try that. Anyone care to comment and give me even more to worry about?
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  • #15
[b said:
Quote[/b] (jimscott @ May 19 2006,7:02)]When people think of dormancy, they naturally think in terms of providing cold. If I had to draw a pie chart of dormancy factors and attach a few round numbers in terms of percentages, I would put photoperiod at 70 %, followed by temperature at 25 %, and the rest as moisture & food supply. Reduced light is the biggie.
how would i reduce the photoperiod? Where my plants are outside they get sun most of the day but for parts of the day the shade of my house or the shade of the big tree we have in our yard covers them
 
  • #16
I live much further south in Florida than you do up in the panhandle. I leave my plants out all year and they are fine, they go dormant at the correct time and "wake up" in the spring. I am in zone 9b, therefore I would assume you are probably in zone 8.
 
  • #17
Attention, all Venus Fly trap growers who live in Florida.
any part of Florida.
Here is what you must do to sucessfully grow happy and healthy Venus Fly Traps for ever and ever (amen.)

Grow them outside.
the end.

and now, with slightly more detail.

Put them outside, in direct sunlight.
Keep them in a tray of distilled or rain water.
keep the tray filled at all times.
keep them there, outside, every day and night of the year.
leave them there forever.
the end.

you have no idea how lucky you are!
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ideal conditions!
"reduced photoperiod" comes naturally every autumn.
you need to do nothing to give them a reduced photoperiod.
nature does it for you.
you have to do nothing to give them a winter dormancy.
nature does it for you.

Scot
 
  • #18
ok thanks for the advise. but if the plant dies for every plant that dies i want a free plant
 
  • #19
It'll look dead, but it WILL come back. Guaranteed.
 
  • #20
Thanks for the Florida growing tips. Ive been looking for some kind of wheeled cart to put my vft pots on so I can move them out into direct sun because they are still sitting on my patio only getting about 3 hrs morning sun, but its looking like Ill have to build one myself. The vft pots are pretty heavy with the water tray and I have 3 big dogs so the cart has to be fairly sturdy, anyone know of a decent retail flower cart?
 
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