TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk
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I used to answe with a straight "No" if you can provide sufficient warmth and LIGHT over the dark, cold winter months. Recently acquired clones have died back all on their own, so now I am not so sure the advice applies in all instances. However, I did nothing to encourage the event, so I think that you need not worry. Their dormancy seems advantageous rather than mandatory (not like the U.S. temperate species). If you can't provide abundant light, I think it best to allow them to go dormant to conserve the gains made during the growing season. That's what I did last season when I did not have the use of my HID lighting. Plants went dormant on their own with the cold weather here in early October, and were overwintered with my Sarracenia, just above freezing with occasional light frost, and returned to their full splenour by July. I grow all my forms outdoors, or under HID light, having poor success with flourescents (and I use a lot of those!). Dormancy is triggered by cold conditions, growth is maintained in most forms when they are kept warm, but without a lot of light, they etiolate terribly. It is very difficult to get the crown of the rosettes close enough to the light tubes when the plants are mature due to the long petioles the plants produce, although juvenille forms do ok provided you keep the crown close to the lights.
I think Tamlin has pretty much summed it up.
My experience is that the southern forms go dormant and the northern forms do not although they do look a bit ratty, my night time temps do not usualy go bellow 0. If you keep them warmer they will take longer to go dormant. I have never tried to stop one going dormant but in the warmer grow area (unheated plastic igloo which got down to 4c) they took an extra month to go dormant and came out sooner even though they got less light.
They etiolate because they think they are in dense plants and are trying to get to the top for more light this dosn't seem to affect them to much in the long term as long as they get enough light to grow.
I found a new binata (and a red bellied black snake) population on Wednesday!!!!!!!!!!
George
My experience is that the southern forms go dormant and the northern forms do not although they do look a bit ratty, my night time temps do not usualy go bellow 0. If you keep them warmer they will take longer to go dormant. I have never tried to stop one going dormant but in the warmer grow area (unheated plastic igloo which got down to 4c) they took an extra month to go dormant and came out sooner even though they got less light.
They etiolate because they think they are in dense plants and are trying to get to the top for more light this dosn't seem to affect them to much in the long term as long as they get enough light to grow.
I found a new binata (and a red bellied black snake) population on Wednesday!!!!!!!!!!
George
I have a D.binata x dichotoma that died back because I did not water it enough in a hanging basket. I thought it died but put it in a watering tray and it has since come back with a vengance (2.5 foot wingspan and three offspring) during our South Florida winter, low 50's at night and mid 70's daytime. It is the best eater of all of my Drosera and is showing no signs of dormancy. Perhaps its' "near death" experience served as it's dormancy.
