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fridge adaptation

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johnnyfrye

I like drosera.
I'm going to put my plants in the fridge for dormancy this year, and I was going to put them outside for a week to get them used to cold temperatures, then put them in the fridge. Is this a good idea, or should I just flat out put em' in the fridge???? Thanks, Johnny
 
You should leave them out there until they have slowed down enough to appear essentially dormant. From what I read, even the Southern Californians can leave them outside all year long. Granted, you don't get as cold, but somehow they get cold enough, combined with the reduced photoperiod, to give them the rest they need. Too much changing of environments can hurt the plants.
 
I still don't think it is necessary for you to put your CPs in the refrigerator. There are several LACPS members who grow their CPs on shelves in their living rooms, etc. By reducing the photoperiod their plants slip into dormancy each year.

The majority of my CPs are growing outdoors and many of my Sarracenia have been producing phyllodia and several of my Drosera have already gone dormant.

But since you insist:

Just bag them up and put them into the refrigerator. Medium should be just damp. Most people bare root their plants to save space and to lessen the chance of mold/mildew/fungus growth. Wrap the root ball in damp LFS or a paper towel and check regularly for fungus. Many will even treat their plants with a fungicide first, a practice I frown upon.

In the US many people use Thanksgiving Day as the start and take them out on Valentine's Day. Nothing special about the dates other than easy reminders within a time period of three months.

Putting your plants in the refrigerator more or less shuts down all the metabolic processes from the cold temperatures and lack of light within a matter of days or even hours. Natural dormancy is a gradual slowdown of growth and metabolic processes over a period of weeks.
 
just leave em in the pot. they'll be happier and you'll have less work.
 
I'm going to put my plants in the fridge for dormancy this year, and I was going to put them outside for a week to get them used to cold temperatures, then put them in the fridge. Is this a good idea, or should I just flat out put em' in the fridge???? Thanks, Johnny

Both are bad ideas..

I still don't think it is necessary for you to put your CPs in the refrigerator. There are several LACPS members who grow their CPs on shelves in their living rooms, etc. By reducing the photoperiod their plants slip into dormancy each year.

IMO, thats a very bad idea. might work, but its not as good a natural dormancy outdoors.



JBut since you insist: just bag them up and put them into the refrigerator.
Putting your plants in the refrigerator more or less shuts down all the metabolic processes from the cold temperatures and lack of light within a matter of days or even hours. Natural dormancy is a gradual slowdown of growth and metabolic processes over a period of weeks.

IMO, thats also a very bad idea..

No plant will go instantly dormant just by putting it outside for a few days before putting in the fridge, and no plant will go instantly dormant by taking it from a warm, bright location indoors and just plunking it in the fridge! that will just shock the plant.
Those methods virtually guarentee death to the plant.

"going dormant" is a long, slow, gradual process that takes months!
plants should be outdoors June-October to go dormant properly.

If you plant has been indoors up until now, rather than put it in the fridge right now, I would just leave it where it is and let it keep growing through the winter and into next spring..it will still die, but this way you might have it for another year or two before it eventually weakens and dies from lack of dormancy, rather than killing it in a few months by putting it in the fridge without preparation.

or..

the other option, put it outdoors right now, keep it there forever, and you have a healthy and happy plant for many decades, if not the rest of your life.

The key to the "fridge method" is that the plant needs to be fully dormant BEFORE you put it in the fridge! the fridge just keeps the dormancy going..it doesnt cause or create it.

So how do you make the plant go dormant before putting it in the fridge?
by growing it outside all spring, summer and autumn long!

its not hard..nature will do it all for you if you only let her! :)
growing CPs indoors is needlessly complicated and IMO very bad for the plants.

johnnyfrye,
the best thing you can do for your plants, as has been said many times,
is to grow your plants outside and leave them there 24/7/365..
SOOOOOO much easier than trying to grow them indoors!
and nature takes care of dormancy for you every year..you dont have to do a thing.

Scot
 
Both are bad ideas..



IMO, thats a very bad idea. might work, but its not as good a natural dormancy outdoors.





IMO, thats also a very bad idea..

No plant will go instantly dormant just by putting it outside for a few days before putting in the fridge, and no plant will go instantly dormant by taking it from a warm, bright location indoors and just plunking it in the fridge! that will just shock the plant.
Those methods virtually guarentee death to the plant.

"going dormant" is a long, slow, gradual process that takes months!
plants should be outdoors June-October to go dormant properly.

If you plant has been indoors up until now, rather than put it in the fridge right now, I would just leave it where it is and let it keep growing through the winter and into next spring..it will still die, but this way you might have it for another year or two before it eventually weakens and dies from lack of dormancy, rather than killing it in a few months by putting it in the fridge without preparation.

or..

the other option, put it outdoors right now, keep it there forever, and you have a healthy and happy plant for many decades, if not the rest of your life.

The key to the "fridge method" is that the plant needs to be fully dormant BEFORE you put it in the fridge! the fridge just keeps the dormancy going..it doesnt cause or create it.

So how do you make the plant go dormant before putting it in the fridge?
by growing it outside all spring, summer and autumn long!

its not hard..nature will do it all for you if you only let her! :)
growing CPs indoors is needlessly complicated and IMO very bad for the plants.

johnnyfrye,
the best thing you can do for your plants, as has been said many times,
is to grow your plants outside and leave them there 24/7/365..
SOOOOOO much easier than trying to grow them indoors!
and nature takes care of dormancy for you every year..you dont have to do a thing.

Scot

Well, as I keep teling everyone, I don't have good conditions. I live in a condo, the north side of my house is connected with another house. the south side is open (except for some trees) for about 20 feet, then more houses. I have a patio on the east, surrounded by a wall wich gets at the most 4 hours of sun in the SUMMER. Along the southh side is a garden, but there are sprinklers wich regularly spray water unsuitable for CPs. The west side is just a driveway. So, as you can see, I can't really grow venus flytraps outside with just 4 hours of sun max. In the Carolinas there is a lot more that that. It just doesn't work.:-( And i'm thinking of using 'Not a Number's idea, as It is my only option.
 
If you put them in the fridge they still wouldnt have any light, and 4 hours of sunlight in the summer is suitable for flytraps. So I would keep them outside, my plants are already starting to go into dormancy and I dont live very far away from you.
 
Sorry Johnny,
I must have missed the post where you described your possible outdoor growing areas.

I would also go with the 4 hours of sunlight outdoors.
still much better than the alternative (keeping them indoors)

(it doesnt matter that they get no light in the fridge, they would be fully dormant and not growing, they dont need light in the fridge)

Scot
 
have a patio on the east, surrounded by a wall wich gets at the most 4 hours of sun in the SUMMER

Problem solved - put your plants there.
 
  • #10
Since you've already started another thread on this topic that has generated more responses I am going to lock this one. We don't need multiple threads on the exact topic floating around confusing people who want to help you.

If you are reading this and have a comment or a suggestion you can visit the other thread here.

xvart.
 
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