Expert opinions requested

[sarracenia]

i've run into a predicament with my sarracenia. the long and short of it: i have to live in a motel for a month (it's a long story!). my sarras are currently in a bedroom with the window slightly open (i am in wisconsin). they are all fast asleep. right now, the only option i have with the plants is to put them into the greenhouse my wife is in charge of here on campus. i was wondering if this would harm them in any way. they've been dormant since probably the end of Oct. the greenhouse gets fairly warm during the day (not sure at night - haven't been in there). i was wondering if you thought they would break dormancy - in which case they'd have to stay in there until probably May. Otherwise, I'm hoping to keep them in there only about 1 month max, until we move into our new house.

Thanks.

 

[herenorthere]

If she's thrown you out of the house, what makes you think she'll take care of your plants in the greenhouse

?  I'd move them to the greenhouse and then on to the new house.  If they seem to have broken dormancy, just move them back to the greenhouse.

 

[sarracenia]

LOL! I didn't get thrown out of the house. The story is, we bought a house, we can't move in until the end of Jan. We're currently renting a house in which the lease expires in June. So rather than pay mortgage and rent, we got a subleaser to start Jan. 1. Our current landlord said she had a house we could stay in for Jan. We put most of our stuff in storage yesterday. Got to our temporary house yesterday with our bed, clothes and a few toys for the kid. The house was an absolute disgusting mess. cigarette butts all over. carpets were disgusting. bathtub had a layer of something growing in it. the wife called the landlord and said we're not living there. so we got a deal at the local best western. we'll be living in a suite until we can move into the house we bought. i don't know if i've ever been so annoyed in my life.

 

[Alvin Meister]

They should be far happier in the greenhouse then being given a semi dormancy on a windowsill. I can't see them coming out of dormancy in a Wisconsin greenhouse in January

 

[schloaty]

Sar,
I beleive dormancy in more related to photo-period (some winters can be quite warm down in sar-land...you just never know what the weather will bring), with cold as a second trigger....So with out nice, short days, I think you'll be fine in the greenhouse.

 

[herenorthere]

Plants might not break dormancy if the daylength stays short, but they'll burn a lot of energy if dormant in a warm greenhouse. A northern windowsill can be a surprisingly cold place and, if it doesn't warm up in the sun, it could be an excellent place for over-wintering CPs.

 

[sarracenia]

while moving them in, i noticed an S. flava with about 8 flowers popping up. can't tell if they're new, or a fall burst that i didn't notice before.

 

[Alvin Meister]

Can't see a greenhouse being too warm in January, even in sun. Even if it was warm, as has been said, it's the photoperiod which is important. The current temperatures in Perdido, Al for example are 72 in the day, 53 at night.

 

[Pyro]

I would not stress the flavas that are putting out buds. flavas at ABG are doing this and I had a recent incident that basically required that I repot my entire Sarr collection and I discovered that my Horry Co. flava is also putting out a bud. I am thinking that maybe flavas bud late and hold it as a bud through dormancy. Pure speculation on my part however.

 

[Wesley]

Hey would it be safe to move my sarrs to my garage, it CAN get down to about 30-35F(usually above freezing though), and up to about 50 in the winter. They would not get a large amount of light just some morning light. It is usually filtered but can be direct if there are no clouds.