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cold damaged Vft

i just entered college last fall and when i left i entrusted all my plants to my father, bad move. i told him to bring my Vft in before we got a frost (where in zone 5/6 massachusetts) but it slipped his mind and it got hit with the frost. ever since then (september) leaves have been wrinkled and bumpy and the traps have been tiny, it is niether getting worst or better. I know its probaley going to die but just in case i wanted to know if theirs anything at all i can do for it. i am leaving soon to go back to college so im hopeing i can do something before that.

Thanks, Jon
 
Actually it'll probably live :) Mine get frost yearly and are fine.

Then again I live in GA lol. But I'll still bet they survive. Have you considered mulching over bringing them in and out?
 
Tell you dad to put them inside an unheated garage/basement/attic until temperatures become dormancy friendly again. Don't worry about the appearance of the leaves and traps… as long as the rhizome didn't suffer too much from the frost, the plant will get back up and running in the spring.

If you don’t want to risk losing your plants make sure someone puts them inside. Call your dad to remind him!

Good luck!:-O
 
Mine have been getting that way too, I can't say I much like the way it looks but they usually do survive. I'd just be careful with long term freezings... definately not good.
 
o, so i should just keep it in a cool dormancy area intill spring like normal and ignore the damaged leaves?
 
Absolutely. Got frost on mine for a week here. They pull through every time. (Look like CRAP! But they live!)
 
i live down here in kentucky zone 6 and my plants have stayed outside the whole winter. those are sarrs, VFTs and a D. Filiformis. so far they are all alive although my S. flava has takne a HUGE hit and has only one remaining(out of at least 10) growth point. the point is people give them a reputation and are much hardier than people say!!
Alex
 
alright, thanks a bunch u guys are always lift savers, literally.
 
my pots are probably frozen and there fine. Last year same thing happened. usually put the pots in the fridge but its been so warm here in philly that we only had a cold week so far. they can take the frosts easily.
 
  • #10
o, so i should just keep it in a cool dormancy area intill spring like normal and ignore the damaged leaves?

If the leaves are black and dead you might consider cutting them off just to ensure that they don't rot and cause other problems. My VFT's look terrible right now, but you can tell they are still kicking because they are slowly sending up tiny leaves. Can't wait until spring to get them growing again! Actually, a dormancy like the one you describe I believe has better growth results come spring because of the required rest necessary.

Keep us posted.

xvart.
 
  • #11
Remember never to bring a frozen VFT into a warm house to thaw. It'll defrost too quickly and turn to mush. A slow thaw, as would happen in nature is safe though.
 
  • #12
im going to be keeping it in a cold garage , which has seemed to do fine for dormancy before. The leaves arent black their just very bumpy and deformed and have tiny traps. But unfortunately as i was about to put it into the garage i noticed that theirs tiny white insects on it which i belive to be aphids, so before i put itnot dormancy im going to have to submerge it underwater along with my sarr seedlings. but what your saying is when its time to bring it out of dormancy dont just bring it in but let the garge warm up with the spring?
 
  • #13
but what your saying is when its time to bring it out of dormancy dont just bring it in but let the garge warm up with the spring?

Yes. And if possible, let it gradually get more light. I don't know if you have a window in your garage, but if you do you might want to move it closer to it as the day length increases so they are getting both warmer and more light with the coming of spring.

xvart.
 
  • #14
Yes. And if possible, let it gradually get more light. I don't know if you have a window in your garage, but if you do you might want to move it closer to it as the day length increases so they are getting both warmer and more light with the coming of spring.

xvart.
Yeah, this is one of the biggest downsides of using a garage to hold your plants during the winter: most of them don’t have windows and the plant does not experience an increase in day length and light intensity.
Remember to keep your attic or basement open as options, and use them if they have a window over a dark garage…
 
  • #15
alright, i have a small plastic greenhouse which tends to stay in the 40s and is located in the sun room which might be a good locaction.
 
  • #16
alright, i have a small plastic greenhouse which tends to stay in the 40s and is located in the sun room which might be a good locaction.

Sounds perfect.

xvart.
 
  • #18
it ended up my Vft dident have cold damge ( well it might) but while i was treating it for aphids ( i had just taken it out of the tub of water, where i was submergeing it ) , i was looking for any surivers when all of a sudden i saw something large move in the soil, i grabed my tweezers and pulled an aquactic worm out of the pot! i then ended up pulling out two more of the little buggers. hopefully with them out, my Vft will recover.
 
  • #19
You should repot it. If those were earthworms they were busily converting your nutrient poor peat into ultra nutrient rich worm castings.
 
  • #20
ok, will do.
 
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