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Now for the snow question...

I'm in zone 8

Now I read that it's bad that a flyftrap sits under snow ...

& yet I been told it's ok to keep my flytraps outside

I have this season put 1 out to test and the rest out side but undercover

Advise welcome.

Noddy
 
Zone 8 snow is fine..because its still very warm *overall* all winter..
VFTs in their native habitat of South Carolina (in Zone 8) get snow on occasion..its rare, but it happens.

If you are in zome 8, I would still leave the VFTs outdoors, even if it snows.

"its not the cold itself that kills..its the duration of the cold"

I bet you wont be under zero degrees C for more than a day or two..
and when you get snow, I bet it melts in a day or two..
thats fine..nothing to worry about..

Now I read that it's bad that a flyftrap sits under snow .

its not bad if they are under snow for a few days..
its only bad if they are under snow for 3 months..like we get around here.

If you get a major cold snap, say minus 7 C or colder, you could consider moving the plants to a shed or garage..but if you are only around zero C, no big deal..

Scot
 
Well e are currently getting the worse snow no in 30years that's sod's law...

I hope all the VFT's will be ok...

And that they don't die... this year

Noddy

---------- Post added 01-06-2010 at 12:01 AM ---------- Previous post was 01-05-2010 at 11:34 PM ----------

The is my junk VFT to see how it stands to the cold...

This was a frosty day, with ice on water nearby... so it's cold outside

DSCF0029.jpg


Then we had heavy snow for 4 days or so

DSCF9894.jpg


Next the sno had gone but it's still cold...

DSCF9903.jpg


Now this is where it get's interesting around the corner is a soda bottle that's 4 inches thick with ice... Hmm

Today's shot as the worst weather starts to come in...

DSCF0033.jpg


I'll give you a progress report as an when things change or if this plant survives the cold outside.

I've done this as an experiment to all new comers... & to prove to myself...

Thanks Noddy
 
Last edited:
Snow is an insulator. That's why venus flytraps dig dens in deep snow during the winter. Temperature in the den may stay slightly above 0 °C (32 °F), while outside it may be as low as -50 °C.

Edit: I thought we were talking about polar bears.
 
I think I'm in zone 5, and some people here in canada (but not in ottawa) can keep VFT's outdoors yearround with temps as low as -30 celcius.
 
I'm in NH on the line of zones 5 and 6 and my VFT's stay out year round. They've been under about a foot of snow for a month now. They come every spring no worse for the wear. They are in the ground in bogs however. I might worry about them in pots up here, but not in zone 8. They should be just fine.
 
I think I'm in zone 5, and some people here in canada (but not in ottawa) can keep VFT's outdoors yearround with temps as low as -30 celcius.

Wow... I was just posting in the "when to bring them in?" thread that people underestimate how much cold VFTs can take, but this is hard to believe.

Minus 30 C is -22 Fahrenheit, right?

That's a good 30-40 F. degrees colder than it ever gets in the Wilmington area. And it only gets that cold briefly and rarely.

It's really hard to believe VFTs could live outside all winter in temps even approaching that.
 
I think I'm in zone 5, and some people here in canada (but not in ottawa) can keep VFT's outdoors yearround with temps as low as -30 celcius.

I'm in zone 5 and single digit Fahrenheit temps freeze my bog garden solid. Frost heave pulls the VFT out of the ground and makes them dead. Just sayin!
 
The issue there is probably dehydration rather than death by cold alone.
 
  • #10
I'm in zone 5 and single digit Fahrenheit temps freeze my bog garden solid. Frost heave pulls the VFT out of the ground and makes them dead. Just sayin!

Sounds more like "hoar ice" rather than frost heaves and, that would surely kill VFT's. A good blanket of snow usually doesn't let that happen.
 
  • #11
Wow... I was just posting in the "when to bring them in?" thread that people underestimate how much cold VFTs can take, but this is hard to believe.

Minus 30 C is -22 Fahrenheit, right?

That's a good 30-40 F. degrees colder than it ever gets in the Wilmington area. And it only gets that cold briefly and rarely.

It's really hard to believe VFTs could live outside all winter in temps even approaching that.

well here in ottawa, VFT's cannot live outdoors year round. but in niagara I was told they can. there is a nice snow cover and the windters are around -20 celcius most of the time. I'm not sure if niagara is zone 5.
 
  • #12
Sounds more like "hoar ice" rather than frost heaves and, that would surely kill VFT's. A good blanket of snow usually doesn't let that happen.

I had to look up hoar ice, its a synonym for frost. We usually don't have snow to insulate so what happens to my bog is frost heave (the water in the peat moss freezes and squirts out of the top in icicle form). Sarracenia are fine but anything with smaller roots gets pulled up.

I'm in NH on the line of zones 5 and 6 and my VFT's stay out year round. They've been under about a foot of snow for a month now. They come every spring no worse for the wear. They are in the ground in bogs however. I might worry about them in pots up here, but not in zone 8. They should be just fine.

I've overwintered VFT in pots outside unprotected in South Carolina zone 8. There were about 80 pots in all and most of them came back small and weak in the spring. There is an enormous difference between being in a pot and being in the ground with a toasty blanket of snow on top.
 
  • #13
A lot of the discussion has been about being in the ground versus a pot. What about a very large 29 gallon mini bog contained? I know temperature does not fluctuate as much. CP connection, if we are going to have a low of 18 degrees followed by lows the next few days in the 20s, should I just leave the plants where they are or cover them with something?

Phil
 
  • #14
A lot of the discussion has been about being in the ground versus a pot. What about a very large 29 gallon mini bog contained? I know temperature does not fluctuate as much. CP connection, if we are going to have a low of 18 degrees followed by lows the next few days in the 20s, should I just leave the plants where they are or cover them with something?

Phil

I would protect it from wind if it were mine. If you're worried about it then get a bale of pine straw to put on top and around, then throw an old blanket over it.
 
  • #15
The snow or the cold are not the problem. DEHYDRATION is the problem. When the soil is completely frozen, the plant cannot "drink". The winds leach all the moisture from the plant and it cannot replinish it through the roots because the water is frozen. I guarantee it, the cold is not what kills them per se. That is why mulching or covering during the worst freezes helps. It helps block the wind from the plant so it doesn't dehydrate so fast!
 
  • #16
I wouldnt trust Niagara..
im in Rochester..same place..
WAY too cold.

Scot
 
  • #17
Just a little update...

After our little snow we had and some very lo temps, one soda bottle frozen solid 4" x 4", and -22 I heard in scotland...

My little plant is still green ;-) let's hope he stays that way.

Noddy
 
  • #18
Here's a snap shot taken on the 31st Jan 2010...

There's a darkness on the stem of the leafs so it may die this one ...

DSCF0255.jpg


Noddy
 
  • #19
Here's a snap shot taken on the 31st Jan 2010...

There's a darkness on the stem of the leafs so it may die this one ...


Noddy

looks fine to me! :)

Scot
 
  • #20
Yeah, looks fine. Not supposed to "stay green" during dormancy. It looks nice an healthy!
 
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