Refrigerator questions

[Lauderdale]

I live in South Florida and will be putting my troops (purchased from Exotic Gardens May of this year) in the refrigerator to rest. Other than a slightly lower growth rate my VFTs are healthy and robust…especially my Dentes which have stunning interior red traps and are still eating every insect in sight. The typicals are still producing new growth.
I have three questions that were not completely addressed in the dormancy post.
-Will forcing them into dormancy lessen their chance of survival?
-Does anyone have any advice as to which method is best…”bare root” or “in the pot”?
-In either case…should I cut back ALL of the existing leaves/traps?

 

[pond boy]

I would first lower the amount of water you give them (without letting the soil dry out),I would NOT remove any of the living leaves,and I would put it pot and all in the fridge.

 

[BigCarnivourKid]

I usually put the pot and all in a ziplock in the fridge. I feel there is less problem with transplant shock from root disturbance this way. If you're having or have had problems with fungus then I would go the bare root route as it is easier to insure getting the whole plant treated with fungicide prior to putting it in the fridge for dormancy.

I wouldn't think forcing dormancy would be a problem for healthy plants. Mother Nature isn't known for keeping a strict schedule when it comes to weather.

I only trim off dead leaves to keep fungus from having a place to get started. I never trim off green leaves for anything except cuttings.

 

[scottychaos]

-Will forcing them into dormancy lessen their chance of survival?

that depends..do you get a natural "cooling" period in the fall?
depending on where you are in Florida, a night-time cooling in september-october might be enough to trigger dormancy..which means your plants might "know" its time..
but if you are staying really warm up until now, they might not be getting that cue.
IMO, "forcing" then into dormancy is better than no dormancy at all..
no dormancy = certain death (after a few years)
so "forcing" is better than nothing..

-Does anyone have any advice as to which method is best…”bare root” or “in the pot”?

I consider "in the pot" much better, simply because the roots are not disturbed!
that removes a potential source of stress..

-In either case…should I cut back ALL of the existing leaves/traps?

yep, cut off everything!
the plants wont be growing at all, they will have no need for leaves in the fridge, and leaving the leaves on will only encourage fungus..

Scot

 

[Travis]

First off - I suck at dormancy! So to take my advice be weary...I have had only one vft survive my dormany so that gives you ball park of about 20% sirvival rate.

-Will forcing them into dormancy lessen their chance of survival?
I would not force any plant into dormancy. What I try to do is slowly get the vft use to cold temps for about two weeks or so.

-Does anyone have any advice as to which method is best…”bare root” or “in the pot”?
I perfer pot meathod as that was my only vft that survived. If you want to use fungiscide just in case...Just sure you do not use to much.

-In either case…should I cut back ALL of the existing leaves/traps?
No, keep them. When you take out your plants they will have the leaves for energy. Some people cut them off I do not. If you are worried about fungus under the leaves, I would check once in while for any fungus growth under the leaves. Again, funguscide is just like life insurance. If you have no life insurance you pay through the rear getting better but broke for life.

In the case of the vft, fungus is not a certain death and the vft can survive.

Travis

 

[scottychaos]

I dont think VFT leaves survive the winter anyway..
they wont be any good the following spring because they will likely die over the winter..

I know Sarracenia Purpurea leaves die right back and turn brown and crispy in the winter..totally dead.
in the spring, all new growth emerges.
VFT leaves *might* survive the winter, but IMO the risk of fungus far outweighs the slight (if any) benefit of still having old leaves in the spring..leaves are pretty much good for one season only..
and new leaves pop up quickly in the spring and start photosynthesing right away!
I see no benefit whatsoever to leaving them on..
and big drawbacks to leaving them on..
cut them off!

Scot

 

[scottychaos]

another reason I personally prefer to cut off all the leaves..

I only have one refrigrator!
and all my regular food is also in it while my CPs are in it all winter!
fungicide is quite nasty stuff..
its very toxic and dangerous,
breathing in certain powder fungicides could probably kill you.
so..I dont use fungicide at all!
only because the plants go in my "food fridge"..
if I had a dedicated CP-only fridge, then I would probably spray with a fungicide for the winter..
So by cutting off all the leaves, I minimize the "surface" that mold has to grow on..
yes I do get some fungus growth over the winter, but its usually just light wispy strands growing on the cut stalks, and it is seldom fatal..(but I have lost plants to fungus..it happens..its the the only drawback to the fridge method..)

My plants are going to go inot the fridge any day now!
they are still outside, have been since April.
we have had some light frosts, days in the 50's and nights in the mid 30's to 40's..soon we will cross that deep freeze line!

I will create a "photo essay" when I put my plants away!
document with pictures the steps I go through..
I will post it here! probably this weekend..

Scot

 

[Travis]

They stay green all dormancy and about a month after dormancy.

Travis

 

[Joseph Clemens]

I've been using the refrigerator technique for about 30 years now.

I've had it malfunction and freeze the plants to about 28F without any noticeable harm. I've kept them in their pots completely intact, and I've unpotted them, trimmed off all leaves and roots and kept them in a zip-loc with a little moist peat or Sphagnum moss. I've kept them in undrained containers where they were submerged under media and water. I've kept seedlings, germinated in petri dishes in the refrigerator for several years at a time --- all without loss of plants.

VFT's seem quite tolerant, yet curiously very sensitive to many environmental factors.

 

[Lauderdale]

Thanks. You guys answered all of my questions. Sooo...here is what I am going to do. Leave them in their pots, cut off all dead leaves, dry them out for a day, soak in Clearys for an hour, dry them out a bit, place in clear plastic bag with some damp LFS, raise frige temperature to 35 degrees and check them every couple of weeks for moisture and mold.
Any more suggestions?