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There's been a lot of questions regarding fridge dormancy for those of us that do not have access to a garage or shed and live in zones not fit for outside dormancy.

There are different methods, this is simply mine. I have had tremendous success using it and hope that those of you that chose to use it do as well.

Please feel free to comment and ask questions!

Required items:

Individually Labeled Ziplock bags
Empty clean bucket
Sphagnum moss
Consan 20
Neem oil
Sulfur based Fungicide
Clean RO/DI or rain water
Trash bag
Scissors
Spray bottles
Fridge




1) Fill bucket halfway with water (approximately 1 gallon)
2) Add 2 cups of sulfur based fungicide
3) Add 4 - 5 tablespoons of Neem oil
4) Add bale of sphagnum peat moss to the mix and hand mix thoroughly


5) Select your plant (make sure pre-dormancy has properly occured in your location i.e. slow to stopped growth and natural pitcher death due to change of seasons. Usually occurs after night time temperatures drop below freezing a couple times.)

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6) Carefully dig up the plant entirely, making sure to get as much root system as possible.
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7) Trim dead/ discolored pitchers and any trapped prey from the plant by cutting below the pit line of the trap. Be sure to leave phyllodia on the plant.

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8) Grab a handful of the soaking sphagnum moss and wring out excess water. The media should be moist, not wet. Place into ziplock bag than place roots of the plant into the sphagnum.

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9) Spray all of the plant and media with neem oil and consan20 generously.
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10) Place in fridge for ~ 3 months or until night time spring temperatures continuously stay above freezing.

11) MOST IMPORTANTLY: Check regularly on the plants at least monthly by inspecting the rhizome and leaves for mold or other infestations. Re-apply neem and/or consan20 as needed.
Rubbing alchohol and Hydrogen Peroxide are also acceptable but do not work as well as fungicides IMO. Application to the leaves via Q-tip is acceptable and preferred as large amounts of alcohol can be fatal.

NOTE: DO NOT use Consan 20 on Drosera species!

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Flash Forward 3 months, repot and divide as desired and watch for new growth! Do not trim phyllodia, however trim old pitcher stumps back if desired.

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very nice guide! I think I might use this for some of my plants, but only if my garage is too cold. Thanks for this!
 
I'm doing this with my pitchers this year. What temps do yall usually keep them at or is above freezing good enough? I didn't mess with the settings....theyr'e just what i use to keep groceries fresh.
 
I'm doing this with my pitchers this year. What temps do yall usually keep them at or is above freezing good enough? I didn't mess with the settings....theyr'e just what i use to keep groceries fresh.

Last I checked the temp in my fridge was around 40F / 5C. That is just the basic setting with the wheel turned on '6'.
 
Sticky? ;)

Very well done, Yann! My Sarracenia are just now going dormant, it's a little too mild at this time of the year.
 
Sticky? ;)

Very well done, Yann! My Sarracenia are just now going dormant, it's a little too mild at this time of the year.

Thanks Chris. Most of mine are just now ready to be unpotted, so far the weather here has been very mild as well for some reason.

I've only done half (the last picture), tomorrow will be the second half if I can find room in there! I'll add to the post if I catch anything I needed to cover.
 
looks good!
I have one concern:

11) MOST IMPORTANTLY: Check regularly on the plants at least monthly by inspecting the rhizome and leaves for mold or other infestations. Re-apply neem and/or consan20 as needed.
Alcohol and Hydrogen Peroxide are also acceptable.

Alcohol??!
that seems highly toxic and dangerous!...to the plant!
alcohol is a poison..I would not recommend spraying alcohol on plants! ever..

If it were my demo, I would say:

Of slight importance, if you dont get to it, not a big deal:
Check on the plants by inspecting the rhizome and leaves for mold or other infestations.
but if you dont check for mold at all, all winter, not a big deal really..
dont really need any fungicide at all...dont use alcohol! ;)

Scot
 
looks good!
I have one concern:



Alcohol??!
that seems highly toxic and dangerous!...to the plant!
alcohol is a poison..I would not recommend spraying alcohol on plants! ever..

If it were my demo, I would say:

Of slight importance, if you dont get to it, not a big deal:
Check on the plants by inspecting the rhizome and leaves for mold or other infestations.
but if you dont check for mold at all, all winter, not a big deal really..
dont really need any fungicide at all...dont use alcohol! ;)

Scot


Ahh yes I probably should have clarified lol :jester:

RUBBING alchohol also known as isopropyl alcohol (70%).
I've use it a few times when the neem and consan wouldnt do the trick. It dries quickly in open air after it's been sprayed and seems to do a decent job at getting rid of most fungi for a short period of time. As far as it being toxic, I dont think I've ever used enough of it to kill a plant. I apply either using a Q-tip or the spray method.
It ranks 3rd in my book behind neem and consan20.


As for checking on mold, I've found it to be detrimental IMO. Catching early symptoms before it becomes an outbreak has been the easiest way to not loose any plants at all. Due to all the rotting corpses there's a great fauna I imagine living in some of the leaves and boy does mold love spreading when it gets a chance. I've also found that infected rhizomes/plants have great trouble getting back into the swing of things in the spring rather than concentrate on growth and flowering. Though they have to manage the natural fauna of bacteria in the bog, having to deal with a severe infection that could have been detected during dormancy is much more difficult.

But like I mentioned in the beginning: There's many different methods! This one just happens to work well for me :)
 
Wow! That's intricate! And to think I stuck a couple pots of VFT's, as was, in the butter keeper, back in 2004.
 
  • #10
Thanks for the Alcohol clarification French..
interesting..well, I suppose it could work!
but you should probably clarify (in your first post) that one should just lightly rub the leaves with alcohol!..not spray down the whole bag with alcohol! ;) (which someone might try!)
we all need to be very exact and clear with these kinds of things! ;)

I never have any problems with mold..but maybe its due to the temps I keep my plants?
my plants generally spend all winter at 35 degrees F..quite cold..
(either in the fridge, or my current basement stairwell)
perhaps mold might be a bigger issue at warmer temps? 45-50?
perhaps..

Scot
 
  • #11
Thanks for the Alcohol clarification French..
interesting..well, I suppose it could work!
but you should probably clarify (in your first post) that one should just lightly rub the leaves with alcohol!..not spray down the whole bag with alcohol! ;) (which someone might try!)
we all need to be very exact and clear with these kinds of things! ;)

I never have any problems with mold..but maybe its due to the temps I keep my plants?
my plants generally spend all winter at 35 degrees F..quite cold..
(either in the fridge, or my current basement stairwell)
perhaps mold might be a bigger issue at warmer temps? 45-50?
perhaps..

Scot


Thanks for the input Scotty :) Any clarification I can add is always great!

I believe that the issues with mold, 95% of the time for me, has been due to lack of air circulation i.e. ziplock bag!
If I remember Scott, dont you keep your bogs intact and just bring them in by a large window or basement? I know someone does this and has had great success with it as well thanks to the more airy environment. I just wish I had a basement :(
I'll update the rubbing alcohol part, in either case I recommend both neem and consan20 over it any day!
 
  • #12
Well it took a couple hours but everything sure does look much better once it's OUT of the fridge! XD Everything made it, found just a few bags with a bit of mold but nothing serious whatsoever. Have some buds on the way as well!
Moving everything tomorrow to a better location that gets more sun!

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  • #13
nice!
congratulations, they look great! :)

im really itching to get my plants out!
but I think im going to wait a few more weeks yet..

Scot

---------- Post added at 04:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:20 PM ----------

If I remember Scott, dont you keep your bogs intact and just bring them in by a large window or basement? I know someone does this and has had great success with it as well thanks to the more airy environment. I just wish I had a basement :(
I'll update the rubbing alcohol part, in either case I recommend both neem and consan20 over it any day!

I still wrap them up tight in plastic..even though they are going into the basement stairwell..
if its cold enough, mold is not a serious concern..

I would worry a lot more about mold if you had pots wrapped in plastic at 40 or 50 degrees..that would much less healthy..but at 35 degrees virtually nothing grows..
the little bits of wispy mold that do grow only grow above the surface, on the green stubs..
its usually nothing harmful..as it looks like you have discovered!

I have never used any kind of fungicide..I have not found it necessary..

Scot
 
  • #14
Thanks scot. We're finally in the 50s here and above freezing at night. Bring on summer!
 
  • #15
Nice guide! I need to check if I still have a mini-fridge in the basement next winter. I used the same method scotty uses and everything came out alive. At least I know it will work for purps, flava, and rubra and I didn't get that much wispy mold either. Two of my smaller sarrs don't look like they enjoyed it. (one looks like a tiny S. leuco division and the other might have S. minor in it)
 
  • #16
Nice Yann! The collections getting bigger!! :)
 
  • #17
Nice Yann! The collections getting bigger!! :)

It's surely nowhere near as nice as yours Fred but bigger is the only way to go!!! Come june I'll transfer the indoor sarrs outside.
 
  • #18
Nice guide, Yann!

I think I have the same pots as you do... I got them at Lowes during winter. They were on sale! :-O
 
  • #19
Nice guide, Yann!

I think I have the same pots as you do... I got them at Lowes during winter. They were on sale! :-O

Lucky you Joel, I got stuck paying full price on these and the size up. I ended up spending $100+ on pots alone... >:O I did wipe out their entire stock though and picked up a fresh darlingtonia death cube while I was there. Can't go wrong with a $5 Cobra!
 
  • #20
Nice Yann! :) I'll love to see progress pics as they come alive again.
 
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