How you do dormancy

[Finch]

First, let me be clear the title is "How You do dormancy", not "How do you do dormancy"

Tell us how you do it, your methods, your timing, everything! This is meant to be a learning experience for everyone- seeing how others do dormancy in ways that are different from your own.

So, how do you do dormancy?  

 

[brisco225]

In Western Washington, for about 5 years I would place each pot in a whole dug in the ground. This would insulate the pots during very cold spells. Last year I decided I had too many plants to do this with, so I just take them out of the their bog tubs and leave them out all winter. I only bring them into the garage if we have weather in the teens for an extended period of time. I have never lost a plant using these two methods.

 

[Bugweed]

I wrap my little round rear in a bearskin and sleep ALL winter!

 

[glider14]

i live in kentucky(zone 6) and mine are out side. i have to watch for freezing wind but otherwise they do fine! i have all my sarrs outside along with the VFTs and Drosera. the only sarrs i have inside are seeds and they are being germinated under lights. i plan to get many more soon!
Alex

 

[herenorthere]

I dig a broad, but shallow hole and put all the pots in there, filling around them with dirt and keeping the rims of the pots an inch or so above the ground.  It's a raised bed, by the way, so water won't collect there.  As winter arrives, I start piling loose leaves on top.  Using oak leaves, not maple, which would mat down and suufocate everything underneath.  I end up with 12"+ of leaves. Then I prop a lean-to overhead to keep the snow off.  The lean to is just an old section of wooden lattice covered with landscape fabric.

Two things have gone wrong with this "system".  One year, more than the usual amount of snow piled up on the leaves and, because it would melt a little on warm days and the water would refreeze underneath, the pots became encased inside solid ice.  I lost several plants and added the lean-to the following winter.  Then, last year we had an extremely dry period in late winter and everything dried out.  I lost essentially all of my Sarr seedlings by the time it occurred to me to check on whether they might be too dry.

I keep more than CPs under there, by the way.  My hardy terrestrial orchids are in there and so are a bunch of newly rooted fruit cuttings and plants.

 

[jimscott]

I live in the Buffalo, NY area and if I put the CP's outside, without any help, in a normal winter, they'd likely be dead. I have my VFT's, Sarracenias, and temperate sundews in portable min-bogs and I tote them up to the attic, once the temps are forecasted to be below freezing. I place them at a window sill, just as they are, uncovered. I water them sparingly and wait for them to wake up - which they have for me, one by one, beginning in February.

 

[Clint]

I don't do anything

I barely water

 

[Bugweed]

What?? Nobody uses bearskin?

 

[Outsiders71]

First I wait for a freeze. After one freeze I will bring in my pots into my unheated garage.

When we get some rain instead of snow/ice I put the pots outside all day to get some rain. Then I empty their dishes and let them sit back inside the garage.

 

[Bugweed]

I AM DISTRESSED!!!!! Nobody uses bearskin?

?

 

[Drosera36]

I sat on some bearskin once.

-Ben

 

[herenorthere]

I'm vegetarian, so I use tofuskin instead of bearskin.

 

[Bugweed]

I will try that for my next dormancy! Thanks, Bruce!!!

 

[JB_OrchidGuy]

I am like Clint. I leave them outside. I am using bugweeds method of growing in tubs and they are outside right now sitting in water. Everything finaly looks like they are going to sleep. Come spring I will clean them up and replant them into a nicer, larger bog. My tubs are starting to breakdown from the sun exposure.

 

[Finch]

Lucky for u guys u can grow any kind of CP outside at your place at any time of the year. I am much more restricted in my growing options

 

[quogue]

I terrarium-grow my plants indoors in my apartment. I start reducing the photoperiod around Oct and place them in terrariums I have on the floor of my kitchen pantry around Thanksgiving and have the photoperiod at 8 hrs/day by then.
It gets pretty cold in that pantry but doesn't get near freezing.
At the end of Feb/beginning of March I start increasing the photoperiod slowly and I take them outta the pantry once they start growing nicely.
In the spring/summer/early fall they sit in my living room near my Low Land chamber getting nice & warm...
Other than that, all I do is water them less in the winter and the most in the spring.

One year I learned the importance of gradually increasing the photoperiod from spring to summer instead of increasing the photoperiod too quickly.

This method works quite well for me for growing these plants indoors in terrariums year-round.

 

[JMurphy97]

Is bugweed back? That's cool. What is the bearskin about? I do what Jim does and put them in from of a south window in the attic. It's kinda weird that he says his start to wake up around Feb seeing as though it's only about 3 weeks away. This is me 1st year with them so I hope it works out for me. I have some pretty cool ones up there. I think though this year it would have better to keep them outside with these temps. Jim when yours wake up when do you bring them back outside?

 

[jimscott]

I bring them back outside in April, depending upon what the weather happens to be doing. I shoot for overnight lows that are going to be consistently above freezing, though they could take temps in the 20's. Sometimes I have to bring them in for a night or two. Remember, I live near Buffalo, NY, and that is colder than where you live.

 

[JMurphy97]

You really think Buffalo is colder then Milwaukee? I'm not too sure about that.