[b said:
Quote[/b] (Outsiders71 @ Oct. 03 2006,8:40)]Hey Scott,
That's just the thing I'm not sure on the histories of the plants. They've only been outside since end of September.
The way I over wintered my collection last year was putting them in an unheated garage.
thats probably best for your new plants then..
where did you get the new plants?
was it a well-known CP nusery?
or can you contact the person you got them from and ask where they have been growing all this season?
[b said:
Quote[/b] ] Infact I let them experience 1 snow. From what I understand the plant won't actually release the chemicals to go into dormancy and survive the dormancy until it experiences a freeze over.
I doubt that is true...most plants begin the "going dormant" process when the light begins to diminish with the Summer Solstice in June! its a long, drawn-out process, lasting many months through late summer and into autumn.
and many wild VFTs and Sarrs wouldnt even get a freeze or a snowfall until they are well into the dormancy period.
giving them a light snowfall wont hurt, but it is also far from necessary IMO..
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]My question is, how can you determine the health of a plant and if it is healthy enough to go into dormancy? The traps are colored up nice, the sarr hybrid has green foilage but no new opened pitchers yet.
If its been growing well all season, and its been outside all season, then its fine for dormancy..if grown outside, nature will take care of 99% of the "going dormant" process for you..you dont have to do a thing to help the plant along, other than find it a good winter home for a northern US winter.
Im over in Rochester, NY..basically the same climate as Ohio.
April-October is perfect weather for CPs outdoors.
its just the winter months of November - March that are the killers..
all you have to do is grow them outdoors April-October, by late October they will already be dormant all by themselves, then give them a winter of 35-55 degrees, instead of 20 below zero..
I wouldt worry about trying to determine if they "look healthy enough"..because it doesnt really matter what they look like anyway..because no matter how they look, you should still put them into their winter resting place no matter what, because that is FAR more likely to ensure their survival than indoors on a warm 70 degree windowsill all winter!
many people think "If I keep my VFT or Sarr indoors all winter, on the warm windowsill, it will be less likely to die than if I "risk" a dormancy.."
the opposite is true..
NOT risking dormancy is more likely to kill the plant than "risking" dormancy..
Scot