ok ok ok ok

[Hazwaste]

first off I do read a lot on the form, and sorry for another post about dormancy,

im just not that much of a poster (is that even a word)

My name is Jerrod and i live in the far north east of Washington state, we get about 100 in of rain a year and it does freez but not for months on end

I have had my vft all year, it looked kinda bad when i got it, but looks GREAT NOW
I have cared a lot about it at my office hear at work
But hear it is 5 days before Nov. they are still in my 80 F. office.
was going to do the frig. method but you are all saying that i should do the out side methid
this is what i was going to do, correct me if i am wrong
i have a open face facility at work (missing 1 wall)
i will just put them out their on a shelf and keep them damp and thats it right?

 

[BobZ]

A good practice is to introduce any change slowly. If you were to suddenly move your plants from your 80F office to outdoors, the plants may croak. If you live near Spokane, for example, I see the current Spokane weather is mid 50F (day high) and near freezing (night low). During the dead of winter, if your plants are outside in pots, it would be advisable to protect the plants and soil from freezing solid.

 

[scottychaos]

This is why IMO VFTs should never be grown indoors..ever.
because seasons take months to ramp up and ramp down.
when grown outdoors, VFTs start to get the cues to enter dormancy in July, (decreasing light) then they slowly enter dormancy through august-september-october as light levels and temps gradually decline..
but indoors, its July every day straight through November!

I would put your VFT outdoors right now.
If your winters are generally 35 degrees or above, with maybe just a few dips below freezing, then you should be good to grow VFTs outdoors 24/7/365.

Scot

 

[Alexis]

Kept on a windowsill though, they get all the light cues they need. And houses are cooler in April and May than July and August, so it is possible for them to do well.

It's still tricky moving them to somewhere cold gradually though.

 

[xscd]

I'll put my 2 bits into the discussion as well. I'll bet northeastern Washington can get really cold (a lot colder than the natural habitat of the Venus Flytrap). I used to live in Walla Walla, Washington and it got darn cold there--

One alternative that will ensure a nice winter sleep for your VFT is if you find a place indoors that is colder than most parts of the house, but where the VFT will still get plenty of light in order to photosynthesize, as they do even when dormant. If you have a cooler room with a window, like a laundry room or an enclosed porch, the VFT can be placed at the bottom of the (single-pane thickness) window and the cold air will fall from the inside surface of the window and chill the VFT, giving it plenty of coolness to stay dormant for several months. VFTs don't need extremely cold weather to go into and remain dormant; the low to mid 40s Fahrenheit will do fine, even if the temperature rises a dozen or two degrees during the day before chilling again at night.

I place my VFTs on the floor at the base of a floor to ceiling height window in a sunroom that used to be a backyard patio, attached to the main house but with a separate heat source. I keep the heater's thermostat in the sunroom/greenhouse at 55 degrees during the winter for the sake of the orchids and other plants, but the floor of the greenhouse, where the VFTs and sarracenias are, is typically much cooler. Although the greenhouse heats up into the 60s and 70s during sunny days in winter, the VFTs don't break dormancy down on the floor where it is always cooler. But they still get plenty of sunlight from the south-facing window.

My VFTs here in eastern New Mexico, US, go into dormancy in mid-to-late November, and they break dormancy in mid-to-late March using this technique. I don't water them often during dormancy--only when they are almost dry and just barely moist. Then I allow them to almost dry out again before watering. They don't need nearly as much water when they are dormant, and drier conditions help prevent rot.

Just my own addition to the discussion--

Steve / xscd

 

[Hazwaste]

Quote[/b] (scottychaos @ Oct. 27 2006,3:52)]I would put your VFT outdoors right now.
If your winters are generally 35 degrees or above, with maybe just a few dips below freezing, then you should be good to grow VFTs outdoors 24/7/365.

Scot

thanks for all the input this is what i will plan to do. shure hope they make it threw the winter. I have put a lot of time into thes plants, would shure hate to mess things up now.
thanks again, Jerrod

 

[joossa]

They'll probably do fine.

Just make sure to put them into your garage/basement when your temperatures will drop below 35F for multiple days. Remember, VFT's can tolorate a light frost, but not a lengthy exposure to freezing temps.

Also, you mentioned that it rains a lot. Don't worry too much. Just make sure that you empty the water trays and pots when water has accumulated inside. Or, just move them to a place that is covered and that will prevent too much rain to get into the pots/trays.

Last thing: Do not fear loss. If something happens to your plants, you will learn and gain experiance. There are no real "right" answers when it comes to situations like these, just general guidelines. Diffrent methods work for diffrent people in diffrent places, so don't sweat it!!

Good luck!!!