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!

Sarracenia --- outside

NeciFiX

Kung Fu Fighting!
Hello,

It is currently 66F outside, with about 45F for tonights temps. The temps will raise till mid 70's over this weekend, then drop down to mid-60's with no 50's in sight. Meaning, temps will be in the mid-high 40's to low 50's at night.

Can my Sarracenia be outside? There shouldn't be ANY frost (if there is, I'll bring them inside until it's over, as I have a weather thing). Will they go dormant if I do? I just am running out of room on my windowsill, so I think bringing them outside is fine.

I just received a S. 'Bugscoop' from Victoria here (nice plant!) and I have run out of space on the only sunny windowsill in the house where the only danger is my mom reorganizing the plants so they look prettier and in alphabetical order since she is so obsessive (not really, but she CONSTANTLY reorganizes them).

So are these temps okay for them to be outside?

Daily humidity goes from 30% Humidity to 50%, with a low of 50% at night to a high of 100% (usually somewhere in the middle).

They have been in a windowsill with very bright direct light for about 5-6 hours a day and indirect, but a little low light in the morning and in the evening, but more ambient in the evening, so I feel as if leaving them outside may not be such a bad idea! (I am worried one of my plants, S. oreophila x leucophylla, since it seems to attract wasps very well but is only 6 inches tall at the tallest pitcher with 1/2 inch mouth width, will overfill with wasps and I'll have to dig them out!)

Can anyone please help?!

Thanks!

~NeciFiX
 
Those temperatures sound fine, although your plants would prefer a sun trap, out of the wind.

What state are you in?
 
The wind here is mild except during when it rains, and it would be direct sunlight until nighttime.

I live in Wisconsin. The lowest temps would get (Maybe one night, if at all) is high 30's low 40's.
 
Do you live in the lower half? I live north of Chicago, IL so I guess I'd only have warmer temps. If they're used to 70 degree weather in my room though, won't they go dormant in the wrong part of the year?

EDIT: Nevermind, the temps are going to be as low as 52 by Thursday, April 26, but as high as 70 by the 22. Would a VFT do any better?
 
Leave them outside. Sarracenia can handle frost also. Just do it gradually and harden them off. I have been putting a 4' shoplight (for warmth) and a covering over mine at night if the temps are going to drop below freezing. Forgot to last night and it got down to the low 20s. The plants don't seem to have noticed.
 
I'm assuming yours arent dormant so how long have they been "awake"?
 
Well, I find no need in hardening all the plants off, as the ones in the windowsill are right against it and the cool wind blows in and the window is open in that window so only the screen is blocking it, and they are fine. The S. 'bugscoop' was in the transition and was used to the day and night, but I might acclimate him instead.

The temps at night right now may be low 50's or very VERY high 40's (48 or 49) because it is supposed to be 53 degrees right now but it's 62! I'm going to move them outside. (The temps at the coldest part of tonight should be 45F for about 2 hours, but, I think it'll be a tad warmer because it's 5 degrees warmer than it should be right now)

Thanks guys!

Mine have been awake since the middle of February or later. My S. oreophila x leucophylla just woke up, along with some of my other plants (I'd say a huge majority, 90% of them came out at the end of February/beginning of March, while some I just got it and the Bugscoop from Victoria only a few weeks ago came out. So, they should still think it's early in the season!)

Also, would a highland Nep (Nepenthes ventricosa) do well in these conditions?

Thanks!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Yeah, I find that weather.com always lies and says it'll be colder than it actually is. It said it was going to be in the 60s when it got up to 79 one day, then the rest of the week it was in the mid 70s also.
 
Yeaahhh, a week or so ago. In only one week though, it's 3/4 done pitchers (2 of em, one was a lil more than the other) developed, opened, caught fruit flies, misquitoes, and a yellowjacket. From tomorrow to Monday, 70 temps are common, the highest is 75F, which will probably actually be about 80 due to them being slightly colder in their ratings. They characterize Monday and through as only 60's and one 59F, but, they are probably wrong, this weekends temps should've been low 60's, but it went up 15 degrees! And they may even be wrong again and it be 20F more! You usually can't trust what they say for anything past about 3 or 4 days. It should be about 50F right now, but it's 60F, at about 10 PM, so, they definitely characterize things colder than they should be!

P.S. If you think they shouldn't be outside due to root disturbance or something, it came in a pot.
 
  • #10
Do you listen to your radio, weather.com, TV or what?
 
  • #11
I grow my Sarrs outside year round. Granted I am in Atl but during winter we still get temps down to the 20s. Sarrs are robust, you should be fine
 
  • #12
It's a 10-day thing that tells me the temp for 10 days embedded in my computer.

Thanks Pyro.
 
  • #13
Oh, because I use weather.com and it's always about 5-10 degrees off.
Do you think you could put VFTs outside if it's going to get down to the low 50's next week?
 
  • #14
VFT's grow around Sarracenia, so my guess would be yes... but... I don't really know!
 
  • #15
I thought VFTs could go dormant as high as mid 50s.
 
  • #16
The temps in Charlotte & Wilmington NC in the native region of VFTs has been in the low 40s at night. The average lows for Wilmington, NC for April is 50F.
 
  • #17
And they're all awake too right.
Just warn me if I'm getting annoying.
 
  • #18
You learn by doing stuff that works, making mistakes and asking questions. Often by asking questions you can avoid making mistakes.

Not living in the Carolinas I have no idea if the CPs in the area are growing or not. Perhaps Ozzy, who does live in the region, will answer that.

Growing season for Sarrs and VFTs in the Northern Hemisphere is usually from April through November. Of course that can change depending on the locality and the severity or mildness of a season.

Dormancy is brought on by a number of environmental cues: photoperiod, temperatures, and moisture probably being the most important ones. There is probably no simple, single switch or threshold that signals these plants to go dormant. It's not like as soon as the temperature drops below 40F they automatically go dormant. True you can induce a dormant state by putting these plants into a refrigerator, but probably takes a matter of a week or more of lack of light and cold temps for the metabolic processes to slow down enough to be considered dormant.

If you're going to worry about your temperate CPs whenever the temps dip into the 50s or 40sF then maybe you should pick up a different hobby.
 
  • #19
I'm sorry for worrying......
 
  • #20
I put the sarrs and VFTs outside and the sarrs are already turning redder (the new one anyway). One pitcher caught a small hornet or something with my help too, and the fly trap caught some unknown bugs.
And, since it was so nice, I put my dying sundew out there for the fun of it.
 
Back
Top