Flytrap Dormancy

[Snugulz]

Greetings!  I live in Raleigh, NC and winter weather is not far away for my little flytrap, which leads me to two questions:

1.)  What should I do with my flytrap during winter?  Currently, it lives in a small pot outside on my deck with a mesh umbrella shading it, and come this winter, it will most likely snow.  I know that it loses its traps and such, but will it be okay covered in snow?  If that's too cold, I was thinking I could maybe keep it in the garage where it's not quite as freezing as outside.  Any suggestions as to where to put my little one?

2.)  I've noticed that its roots are poking out of the bottom of the pot, which leads me to think that it needs re-potting.  Any tips of how and when to do this would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!  

 

[vft guy in SJ]

Hello Snugulz... Welcome to the forums

Im not sure why you posted this here, one of the mods will undoubtedly move it to the VFT forum soon.
Raleigh is on the northernmost tip of the VFTs natural range so I would suspect that it will do just fine outside in full sun (you can ditch the umbrella for shade, VFTs LOVE sunlight) As for winter I would say that they will probably do just fine outside, perhaps bring them indoors on the days you know there will be snow, or at the very least keep them under an overhang or something so that they are protected from the rain/ snow.

Vfts dont have very large root systems, I suggest that you make 100% certain that it is indeed roots that you are seeing before you attempt to repot. VFTs will grow very happily in a 3 inch pot for quite some time. If you do decide to repot, I suggest that you wait until nearly springtime. Right now your plant should be preparing for dormancy. Idealy you do not want to interfere with that process. Around late January is a good time to repot. The plant will still be dormant so the disturbance of the roots will not affect the plant too badly and springtime will spark new growth to replenish the plant after the stress of transplanting.

Good luck with your plant
Steve

 

[Ozzy]

I tried to move it but I can't. I'll check why.

 

[vft guy in SJ]

Hey Ozzy.. You are native to this area.. Did I miss anything important?

Steve

 

[Snugulz]

There's a VFT Forum? Hmm... I shall have to check again. Thanks for the advice!

 

[Spectabilis73]

moved to vft forum.

 

[Ozzy]

VFT guy, Your advice is pretty good. The only thing that may be a little off is about protecting them from rain or snow. If you're going to leave them outside I waould suggest buring the pot in the ground. It may be a little too cold for them even in their habitat in an small unprotcted pot. If it snows the best thing to do is to pile as much snow on them as you can. The snow acts as insulation and will keep the plant warmer then if it wasn't there.
Good Luck Snugulz
If you have any more questions feel free to ask.

 

[alandallas]

If I can add something, VFT's are a lot tuffer that one would think. Here in N. Texas, mine have survived 17* last Feb. and 110* in Aug. This is the first year that I have grown them outside in the Summer, and I made a tent of shade cloth over them which diffused the harsh Texas sunlight, but did nothing to lower the ambient temperature.
Even when I placed painter's drop cloth (the clear plastic kind) which probably did nothing to help, the plants froze solid on some of the coldest days of winter. Keep in mind that these extremes only happen on a few days each winter here, One last thing, even after a hard freeze for a day or two, they never lost their winter leaves.
Hope this helps.

Alan

Alan

 

[Snugulz]

So... would there be anything wrong with just keeping it in the garage? It should stay nice and cold, but not frozen - and there will be very little sunlight.

 

[Tamlin Dawnstar]

Mine are kept in a similar way and they do fine. Light is not really needed during dormancy although it is probably beneficial.

 

[PlantAKiss]

Hello Snugulz

Welcome to the forums.

I live in VA, not that far from NC and I keep my potted VFTs outdoors all winter.  They get rained on, snowed on and frozen and they do just fine.  They are tough little plants.

If you want to be safe you could maybe pack a little mulch around the outside of the pot to protect it a bit.  You could put it in the garage...but you will have to remember to water it instead of letting Ma Nature take care of that outdoors.  If I did that, I'd probably forget to water it...(like I just did 40 african violets I moved upstairs...

)

Suzanne

 

[Travis]

Quote[/b] ]They get rained on, snowed on and frozen and they do just fine. They are tough little plants.

You are sooo lucky!!

Hi Snugulz. The only thing that I sugjest on transplanting is wait till spring and if you can keep the old dirt ball around the vft. That keeps the roots safe and keeps the shock to a minimum.

Travis

 

[Ozzy]

17 Degrees is nothing for a vft for a short period of time if it's planted in the ground. It gets in the teens in NC almost every year for a about 3 or 4 days then it warms back up to above freezing. On Christmas of '89 it was 0 degrees F. (all time record low for the area) and we had 14 inches of snow on the ground. So that shows that vft's and alot of other cp's can tolerate very cold temps.

 

[Snugulz]

Thanks Travis, I was about to ask whether to keep the current dirt ball entangled around the roots intact, or to shake it off and completely transplant - but I will most likely keep the dirt ball indeed

Thanks to all for your advice!

 

[Snugulz]

Hurray!  I got photos of my little guy.  Please feel free to comment about the condition of the plant.  I took one of the bottom of the plant to show you what (I think) are the roots of the plant poking out - thus meaning that it needs replanting.  I have noticed that they initially come out white, then eventually turn to the blackish color that you see in the photo... =\

<center>Click to open in a new window:
<a href="http://antihero.fileburst.com/Vft/Top.jpg" target="_blank">

</a> <a href="http://antihero.fileburst.com/Vft/Bot.jpg" target="_blank">

</a></center>

 

[SnowyFalcon]

Comments: Overall healthy plant. Your plant is starting to make winter leaves (the short wavy ones in the center), which is a good sign. Even if those are roots poking out of the bottom, I would still leave it in the pot. If you absolutely wanted to, I guess you could transplant it, but it doesn't seem to be overgrowing it yet.

SF