the weather gets cold enough that my hands burn when i wash my hands in warm water. thats usually the coldest and its january and its still like that. my house indoors is warm and it never gets as brutal as outdoor temperatures. i am afraid of putting the plants outdoors because i am still not experienced enough and also afraid that i might forget to refill the water and the plant dries out and dies. .
well..forgetting to water could be bad!
but if you keep the plant in a tray of water, it will go many days before drying out.
you will probably only have to water twice a week..but you will have to keep an eye on it!
Get a plastic saucer, slightly larger around than the pot, sit the plant in the saucer, and always keep the saucer filled with water.
use rain water, distilled water, or reverse-osmosis water only! never use tap water or any bottled water from the store, unless it specifically says "distilled" on the bottle.
(most people with only a few small plants buy gallon jugs of distilled water from the store..most grocery stores carry it, and its cheap..with one plant, a 99-cent gallon jug will last you months!)
the saucers filled with water look like this:
thats called "the tray method" of growing CPs..and its great for sarracenia and VFTs.
How do i "coax" the into winter dormancy right now? some of the leaves are beginning to die slowly but the flower is still there. it doesnt seem like the flower might die soon..
you dont "coax" it..you cant, because its the wrong time of year.
dormancy is created naturally by the seasons..your plant "goes dormant" by being outside all year..it will naturally go dormant in the winter...yo dont have to do a thing to "make" it go dormant..it will happen all by itself..
all you have to do is keep your plant outdoors, in a bright sunny spot, and keep the water tray filled..thats it! nature does all the other work for you..
you have no idea yet how LUCKY you are!
you dont *need* to use the fridge method! because of your native climate.
The plant is flowering because it thinks its spring..
and its slightly early, but its basically right..
ina climate such as yours, Feburary pretty much IS spring..(here in rochester spring doesnt arrive until April.
put your plant outside! today!
seriously..dont bother with the fridge this winter..its too late in the season now.
your plant would be MUCH better off outdoors..
fussing with it indoors will do much more harm than good..
also, ive also read somewhere that if you can't find bugs yourself, you can use diluted milk as a substitute. is this true? ive done it twice now and i haven't seen any damages to the plant but, am also unsure if it will do damage if i continue.
no, dont use milk..it might not harm anything, btu then again, it might..
CPs arent adapted to digest animal fat..thats why feeding hamburger to VFTs is no good either..
put..your...plant...outside..
and you will never need to feed it anything..
it will catch more than enough food on its own..naturally.
Scot