What's new
TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

After much panic all is well...!

After panicking for a few weeks and thinking all was wrong with my plant and plant care skills, I believe all is well. The VFTs I got looked to be in bad shape when I received them. It appears that the new winter leaves have started growing in. The sundew is also showing a lot of new growth and I actually fed it today! So, I guess the lesson here is patience and probably waiting until spring to get plants would help also. :-)) **Sidenote** Got "The Savage Garden" in the other day and I'm loving all the information that's within its paperbound cover! :banana2::boogie::jester::0o::-O:blush::-D:-))
 
The VFTs I got looked to be in bad shape when I received them. It appears that the new winter leaves have started growing in.

The what now?? "new winter leaves"?? Dionaea needs a winter dormancy period, so if anything it should be well on its way to fully dormant with most of its foliage dried up, not making new leaves. Are you growing this indoors?
 
Nope, it's outside and has sprouted new growth. I asked the seller and he told me that the winter leaves should be coming in and possibly due to the warmer than usual winter that we are experiencing out here that might be causing the growth...? It is warm enough for me to wear shorts outside....

---------- Post added at 07:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:35 PM ----------

So should I begin panicking again?
 
Yeah, I have no idea what that's about. You're in Delaware and it's warm enough to wear shorts? I suppose if your plants haven't experienced a heavy frost than they could still be growing. However, I have no idea why the seller would tell you to expect this. As whimgrinder said, the opposite should be occurring.
 
Sounds normal - nothing to fret about.

Several years ago, John Hummer mentioned** that he noticed that the 'naturalized' VFTs in his bog grow during warm spells all winter long. In his opinion, they do not have a true dormancy like many other temperate plants.

** I think this was from listserver comments but it may also have been from a personal conversation during one of his open days...
 
One of my potted VFT died all the way back to the rhizome and then started slowly producing one leaf a couple of weeks ago.
 
A couple of my VFTs still have healthy, fully-functioning traps and are still catching insects. I don't think their dormancy needs to be as severe as some people on here think, like keeping the plant in a fridge all winter. In their native habitat, it's not unusual to have heat waves that bring the temperature up to the mid-to-high 70s during the winter. My plants are making new traps but not unfurling them yet... They stay folded up near the base of the plant. I think in a couple months they're going to explode into action like my sarrs will.
 
Ok, thanks... Yeah, it's been unusually warm this winter and most of the traps are closed and they appear to be "drying" up but there is still 2 new leaves coming in. I'll post pics as soon as I can locate the charger to my camera.
 
Temperature may not play as important a role in dormancy a some people are led to believe however dormancy is necessary for the long term life of the plant. Seasonal cues such as photoperiod changes and a general lowering in temperatures play a role. Its probably more trends rather than absolute changes. As I recall Cindy in Singapore posted after 3 or 4 years without dormancy the plants die.

I grew my first flytrap on kitchen windowsill for 12 or so years of my parent's house. They never let the temperature drop below 68°F in the winter. As I recall the thermostat was always set to 70-72°F. The plant flowered in the spring and often produced seeds.
 
Last edited:
  • #10
I don't think their dormancy needs to be as severe as some people on here think, like keeping the plant in a fridge all winter.

To clarify, "the fridge method" has nothing to do with giving a VFT a "severe" dormancy..
it actually has to do with giving it a normal, "mild" dormancy!

For many of us, we have three choices for winter VFT and Sarracenia dormancy:

1. leave it outside..no good, nearly guaranteed death, because it is FAR too cold and *much* colder than their native habitat.
2. leave it indoors on a windowsill, in a heated room..no good, far too warm.
3. The fridge..just right, a balmy and pleasant 35 degrees, absolutely perfect for dormancy.

(choices 1 and 2 actually arent real choices at all! the plants will die..choice 3 is the only real option)

It must be noted that the fridge is used because its much *warmer* than outside! ;)

nothing whatsoever to do with "severe"..in fact, the fridge is considered very mild to those of us who live in Zone 6 or colder..
compared to our outdoor winter climate.

some people are experimenting with outdoor dormancy in zones 6, 5 and colder..it has been done, but its risky..
plants can (and do) still die if its an unusually cold winter..(the fridge is actually much safer)
for outdoor dormancy to work for those of us in the "great white north" the plants need to be in a bog in the ground, with *heavy* mulching..
it can work, but for those of us who only keep plants in pots or "mini bogs", that kind of dormancy isnt practical..the fridge (or a similar cool location)
is much easier..its actually very easy, and works very well..provided the plants are grown outdoors spring, summer and fall..
its a tried and true method..can be a bit of hassle, but for many of us, its the only option..

If you live in a climate where you can keep your VFTs and Sarrs outdoors all year long, and have to do nothing
at all about dormancy, consider yourself very lucky..

Scot
 
Last edited:
  • #11
I just meant that in the wild, Venus flytraps don't experience constant 38 degree, stagnant air like they do in refrigerators. That would be quite severe to a plant in ground in the Carolinas. It seems like it would promote fungus growth on the plant... Does anyone have problems with that? If so, do you think it could be remedied by only putting the plant in the fridge at night and letting it warm up and get some fresh air during the day? That would more closely match the winter conditions of their subtropical climate.
 
  • #12
Temperature and photoperiod are the major variables, with photoperiod being the most significant, since it heads in one direction and then the other. Temperature waffles in one direction and and waffles back.
 
  • #13
do you think it could be remedied by only putting the plant in the fridge at night and letting it warm up and get some fresh air during the day? That would more closely match the winter conditions of their subtropical climate.

No it wouldn't..it wouldn't match at all..
it would be going from 35 in the fridge to 70 degrees outside the fridge..
I doubt the temp swings are quite that extreme in the Carolinas..
at times perhaps, but not everyday..

plus, there is absolutely no reason to do that..
35 degrees in the fridge for 3 months straight is perfectly fine..
no need to alter the procedure, because it works fine as it is..

People who think there is something "wrong" about the fridge method just dont understand it..and have clearly never tried it! ;)
(or dont *have* to try it..in which case, as I said, you are very lucky)

This is now the 18th Winter in a row I have doing "the fridge method"..with minor variations..
I have lost maybe 1 or 2 plants in all that time..yes, some light whispy mold does grow, but its not a problem..

previous procedure, using an actual fridge:
http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/scottychaos/CP/page2.html

current procedure, using a cool stairwell in place of the fridge,
but otherwise everything else is the same:
http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/scottychaos/CP/page5c.html

And I must emphasize..this ONLY works if the plants are *grown outside all year except winter*..because the plants must be outdoors all Spring, Summer and Autumn, so they they go dormant naturally *before* the go in the fridge! the fridge does not cause or create the dormancy, it simply maintains the dormancy that was created naturally by the plants being grown outdoors all season..the fridge method does not work with plants grown indoors or grown in terrariums..the fridge is simply a warm winter substitute when real winter outdoors is too severe..

Scot
 
Back
Top