Anyone here from Indiana (or a bordering state)?

[Pyro]

Hey guys,

I need a bit of help for a friend.

Sent a couple Sarrs up to a buddy in Indiana cause I had spares and he wanted to give them a whirl. He has been growing them outside in pots since spring and they have been doing great for him.

Now that fall is approaching he is a bit concerned about temps and dormancy and stuff. I have advised him as I can but being in the deep South my winters are nothing like his.

So, anyone from the area that could offer up some advice on how you handle dormancy? I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks

 

[F R e N c H 3 z]

I'm in Indiana, would you like me to give you the details or directly to your friend? Havent lost a single plant yet using this method.

I'll remove my rhizomes from the bogs usually once the temps consistently drop below freezing at night to insure the plants are dormant.
I soak some LFS in a RO water/Sulfur fungicide/Neem mix for a systemic fungicide for about 4-5 days. I label my ziplock bags and place individual rhizomes in the bag after rinsing them off and trimming off all dead pitchers. I leave a few healthy looking pitcher and all phyllodia on. The pitchers that I do leave on I try to rinse any dead carcasses out with some water then spray the same mix I let the LFS sit in inside the pitchers. I ring out any excess solution from the LFS and wrap the roots and rhizome p and place in the bag. If the pitchers do not fit I trim as much as I can without totally cutting off the pitcher. I place everything in the fridge until mid to late February depending on the temps.I check usually about twice a month to make sure no mold is actively growing. If I find some, I clean as much as I can off and apply the same above mix and add a light spray of Hydrogen peroxide. Come time to wake up I set aside the LFS that I used until the following dormancy or just get some more from Lowe's. I use this for Sarrs , VFTs and larger Drosera such as filiformis. The key is too keep an eye open for developing mold and catching it early.


I'll post a more informative post when I do this and include some pics. I've had a lot of questions about it so hopefully this can help out first timers here.
Edit: Feel free to give him contact info, there's not a lot of us out here : /


Yann

 

[Pyro]

Hey French,

Would you mind shooting me the details in an email? Then I can forward it over to him. And if you want to include your contact info in the email and he can contact you if he wants more detail.

Many thanks, it is appreciated.

 

[droseraguy]

My method is a bit on the simple side. At this point in life the simpler the better.

After the 1st good frost things tend to slow down alot, although I don't bring the pots in until the temps. are going to stay 35ish or colder on a consitent basis. I water alot less if at all. I take the one pot out of the pond and let it dry down a bit more before bringing in indoors to the unheated garage. I should say that one room is just a few degrees warmer than outside and windowless. The other room has been insulated but not heated so it will stay 40-45ish even when it's 0 outdoors. I leave a tray under them and have them near a window for the first month or so. After that they get stuck where ever there is space and a little air movement. I'll put a bit of water in the pot when it's really dry to the touch but just enough to keep the moss from shriveling. Bring them out in the spring when you think about it. My D. filiformis like this as well.

 

[F R e N c H 3 z]

If i only had a garage/basement or unheated room lol Would indeed save me a lot of hassle.

 

[DavyJones]

I'm in Cleveland, which probably has similar temperatures to some places in Indiana. It is my first year putting sarracenia through dormancy, but I'm planning on keeping them near a sunny window in my unheated attic, in their pots from last season. I'm planning on repotting once things start warming up in the spring.

 

[dashman]

I am from Indiana and I suspect about 2 miles from this guy. I recently got a buddy into this hobby and I know he has gotten 3 sarrs from you. 2 within this week. If it is the same guy, tell him I will talk to him at work on Monday!

 

[F R e N c H 3 z]

Where abouts in IN are you Dash?

 

[dashman]

Indianapolis

---------- Post added at 05:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:23 PM ----------

My method is rather cumbersome, but I don't like sticking my plants in the fridge.

I use the insulated garage method for all of my sarrs, filiformis, and vfts. I simply let my pots stay outside as long as possible until the point where average highs/lows go below 40 high/30 low. Usually around early Nov? I will put my pots outside any chance I can get during the winter. As long as temps get just above freezing I will stick them outside for the day and move them back during the night. It is alot of work moving them back and forth into the garage but not that bad. I make sure to clip off most pitchers (depends based on species) prior to placing in the garage.

I also cut way back on watering. Just enough to be faintly moist almost on the dry side and I check for mold once a week. But I haven't had to spray for mold yet. My guess is because I try to get them as much fresh air as possible, I keep the soil dryer than during the growing season, and the garage is a pretty dry place.

 

[RL7836]

Pyro,
Any idea what facilities he has? It doesn't do us any good to recommend approaches that require a garage if he doesn't have one ... (or basement or ...).

 

[Pyro]

Hey all,

Sorry for the tardy reply, only just got back from a small jaunt.

Thanks for the info posted.

Dash, actually this is not the same guy you are thinking of, it is a guy I know through my other hobby: snakes.

RL, I have not asked him for details of what he has available to him. Probably would be a good idea LOL. So much going on in my head I am not tracking well these days. I'll hit him with some questions and see if I can provide more details.

Thanks again all

 

[sarracenia]

well, i'm in WI, in the general vicinity of the Twin Cities (MN). i would presume our winters are a little rougher than Indiana. i just use my garage. not insulated and has a couple of leaks. i stick them in there over thanksgiving weekend. take them out in April. i have a couple of mini-bogs and a couple of large, deep plastic trays filled with pots. not sure if the mini-bogs actually freeze solid all the way through, but I know at least the outer crust will stay frozen all winter. i lazily will usually leave water in the plastic trays, so the pots in it sit in an ice cube all winter. i haven't lost any plants, save for one winter, but I think it was some kind of microbial attack in early spring that wiped a bunch out. i don't think the cold hurts them. i kept a thermometer in there 2 winters ago. The coldest I saw it get was about 15F, which was during an arctic blast, when it was probably -30F outside. Otherwise, it hung around 20-25F all winter. Once it gets to be late Feb.-mid March, I will scoop some snow onto the plants. Usually by then things start to thaw out in the garage and dry out somewhat.

 

[Kayota]

I throw mine in the garage over winter. I live in IL.

 

[twigs]

Is the same method used for VFT's? This is my first real winter and I don't really have a good place to put mine. I was thinking the unheated garage would get too cold. (St. Louis)

Right now I have mine inside under some lights. I was hoping a significantly shortened photoperoid would put them to sleep, but from some reading, it sounds like it won't.

 

[Kayota]

My garage is unheated. It won't get too cold. You do the same thing for VFTs.

 

[RL7836]

Is the same method used for VFT's? This is my first real winter and I don't really have a good place to put mine. I was thinking the unheated garage would get too cold. (St. Louis)

It really depends on your garage. I tried keeping my VFTs with my Sarrs in the garage and many died. I now keep them (& my outside cephs) in a back basement room under lights all winter (typically gets down to mid to low 40's *F). My Sarrs normally spend at least Jan/Feb mostly frozen. They have handled it well - the VFTs - not so much... Now - both groups are happy.

 

[Kayota]

my garage never freezes.