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Dormancy

alright for my VFT's Dormancy pieriod, i plan to Up-Bulb my VFT and Fungacide it, followed by placing it in a plastic bag, and storing it in the refrigerator till spring has sprung.

What are your opinions?
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how long have you had it?
where has it been growing this year?
indoors or out?
what is your climate like?
how cold does it get in the winter where you are?

Scot
 
You can probably get away with leaving it outside for a natural dormancy. Your temps are a little chilly but with a couple extra precautions on the coldest nights you should have no trouble with natural dormancy.

Good luck
Steve
 
I have had it for 3 days, it is indoors, Hot summers and chilly winters(freezez often).ive been giving it indirect sunlight.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (#1Trapper @ Oct. 02 2006,10:52)]I have had it for 3 days, it is indoors, Hot summers and chilly winters(freezez often).ive been giving it indirect sunlight.
Given that your plant is so new (and probably fresh from tissue culture) I would probably skip dormancy this year. You are right that the summers are far too warm for VFTs. Winters are pretty chilly for them also. You "could" get away with it, but since you will need to provide a growing environment for it for summer anyway, might as well get a jump on things and set yourself up now.

You should get yourself a small reflector lamp and a compact fluorescent light bulb. If possible get a timer for the lamp so that you can control the photoperiod that the plant receives (this will be important for initiating dormancy next fall).

Next fall when dormancy time comes you can make your decision of weather to try the fridge method, or a natural outdoor dormancy. If you try the fridge method I suggest that you review this post first: Fridge Method

Good luck
Steve
 
I am going to be doing the same thing you posted in your original post.

I have had my 2 typical VFT's since April (I got them from Wal-Mart). I have been growing them in a terrarium (big mistake), so now I must use the fridge method for my plants. I can't put the entire terrarium outside because it's too bulky and it may collect too much water when it rains.

I hope this will work well, and if they do make it, they will be grown outside in the happy sun from then on.

Good luck!
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (vft guy in SJ @ Oct. 02 2006,2:10)]" I would probably skip dormancy this year."

"You should get yourself a small reflector lamp and a compact fluorescent light bulb."
Ok, i thought that VFT NEEDED dormancy, secondly if i were to get a flouresent lamp where and around how much for? wouldn't puting a lamp over my VFT be direct sun light.
confused.gif
 
VFT do need dormancy. With a few exceptions... ie: 1. fresh tissue culture, 2. seedlings. Adult plants can skip dormancy for a season or 2, but the plants will be less vigorous the following year. Prolonged non-dormancy will result in death of the plant.

A reflector lamp should be relatively inexpensive, the bulb should be the "cool white" type. All together, lamp, bulb and timer should run about 30-40 bucks.

VFT's prefer direct sunlight. Problem is that in McKinney Tx. the heat is so severe that the plants would be burnt to a crisp in notime flat. Keeping a fluorescent bulb over it should keep it lit enough.


Steve
 
thanks for the info, i think i will dorment my VFT, to get the hang of dormancy, But is that the right way to do it, My first post up there, is that the right way to dormant a VFT?
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  • #10
Alright I live within 10 miles of you and I grow VFT's so let me fix all the misunderstandings here.

Your VFT's will do their best outside YEAR-ROUND. They do just fine with our 100+ degree summers and they love our cold winters. In the DFW area there is NO NEED to put the plants in the fridge for winter. All you need to do is put it in the sun, and water it. Thats all.

If you want to do more you could spray it with fungicide every now and then while it's dormant.
 
  • #11
But what about keeping them in indirect sunlight? I also think the plant will freeze if it is kept ouside.
confused.gif
 
  • #12
Indirect or full sun is OK for VFT's even in Texas. But I recommend full sun.

The plant will freeze in the winter and it will look dead but it will still be alive and it will wake up the next year flowering and growing like mad.
 
  • #13
have u had succes with this before? i dont want my VFT's dying. Just remember we dont know if winter is going to be like last year, it could be more severe this year?
 
  • #14
Leave them outside all winter and just keep the soil wet. I guarantee your plant will not die. If it does I will personally drive up to Mckinney and give you a bunch of VFT's to replace it.

VFT's are very tough plants.
 
  • #15
I'm kind of in the same situation you are. I just recently put a VFT and a Sarr outside from a trade. They're both adjusting nicely but I wonder if they are healthy enough to go into dormancy. I might just bring them in for this winter ::shrug::.
 
  • #16
[b said:
Quote[/b] (CopcarFC @ Oct. 02 2006,4:33)]Indirect or full sun is OK for VFT's even in Texas.  But I recommend full sun.

The plant will freeze in the winter and it will look dead but it will still be alive and it will wake up the next year flowering and growing like mad.
Trapper,
listen to CopCar!
your plant will be MUCH more likely to survive if you just leave it outside all winter, than if you try to force it into dormancy in the fridge..

one thing people often miss with the "fridge method" is that the plant is *already dormant* when it goes into the fridge!
because it has been outside all summer, then into September and October..it has recieved all the decreasing light and decreasing temps all of late summer and into autumn..so by late October, when it goes into the fridge, it is *already* dormant naturally...
your plant wouldnt have that..
it would be fully "awake" if you tried to put in the fridge now..
it would die..

you are very lucky, you dont NEED the fridge method!
because your winters are mild enough to simply keep the plant outdoors 24/7/365..you have a greta climate, use it!
smile.gif


forget abotu the fridge..you dont need it.
keep your plant outdoors every day of the year.
put it bright, direct light, keep water in the tray, and it will thrive.

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]I'm kind of in the same situation you are. I just recently put a VFT and a Sarr outside from a trade. They're both adjusting nicely but I wonder if they are healthy enough to go into dormancy. I might just bring them in for this winter ::shrug::.

Outsider,
your situation is totally different, because you live in Ohio..
winters in Ohio are VERY different than winters in Texas!

Have your plants been outside all summer and into this autumn? (before you got them?) if so, you could try the fridge..but dont just "bring them inside" into a warm house..
70 degrees all winter is just as deadly as 20 below zero..
Do you have anywhere cool they could spend the winter?
basement? unheated room?
Do you know the history of the plants before you got them in a trade? have they been dormant every winter before you got them? if so, they will need a propery dormancy this winter too..

Scot
 
  • #17
Alright thanks! ill do it ill keep them outside all winter, should i keep it in the plastic container it came in? and how often should i water it, it will Probably freeze the moss alot.

And Copcarfc ill take you up on that offer, i hope my VFT's are ready for the winter! LOL
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  • #18
It's OK if the moss, pot and plant freeze solid. It still wont kill the VFT. I would hold off on repotting until next year or while it's dormant. You should water it enough to keep it moist to the touch. Not soggy.
 
  • #19
[b said:
Quote[/b] (scottychaos @ Oct. 03 2006,8:05)]
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]I'm kind of in the same situation you are. I just recently put a VFT and a Sarr outside from a trade. They're both adjusting nicely but I wonder if they are healthy enough to go into dormancy. I might just bring them in for this winter ::shrug::.

Outsider,
your situation is totally different, because you live in Ohio..
winters in Ohio are VERY different than winters in Texas!

Have your plants been outside all summer and into this autumn? (before you got them?) if so, you could try the fridge..but dont just "bring them inside" into a warm house..
70 degrees all winter is just as deadly as 20 below zero..
Do you have anywhere cool they could spend the winter?
basement? unheated room?
Do you know the history of the plants before you got them in a trade? have they been dormant every winter before you got them? if so, they will need a propery dormancy this winter too..

Scot
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. It worked very well. I only lost 1 sundew, everything else came back thriving. So I will be using the same method. I never forced them into dormancy. 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. It just can't take the constant freezing/unfreezing.

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.
 
  • #20
[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
 
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