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Dormancy..

  • #21
Joel,
can you put them outside 24/7 for the next month?
thats really the best way to acclimate them to fridge dormancy..
they go dormant naturally if they are left outdoors all summer and autumn..
if left indoors..well, thats a problem..
I wouldnt stick them in and out of the fridge every day,
that would be going from room temp to fridge temp instantly..
not good..

IMO, VFTs should never be grown indoors at all if it can be avoided..
can you put them outside?

Scot
 
  • #22
I don't think I can really put them outside since they are in the dorms with me at college. I could open the window for a while and let them slowly adjust like that. But it might get a little chilly in here come November!
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Another option would be for me to bring them home next weekend. I could surely put them outside there as long as I had something to give them somewhat of a wind block. It would probably be a shock to them to get put outside when they are used to it being fairly calm in the house. I suppose outside is always best, but I like having them indoors so I can admire them all day long
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Do you think opening the window would be good? Thanks
smile.gif


- Joel
 
  • #23
hmmm..I dont think keeping the window open would be an option!
you *want* your plants to experience falling autumn temps, down through the 50's, 40's and even high 30's!
I dont think you will want to experience all that along with your plants! ;)

if you can put them outside at home, that would be great!
wind isnt a big deal..
give them a bright spot, and make a wind break if you think its necessary..
if they could get direct light in the morning or evening that would be good..
but since they have been indoors all this time, they might burn..
but I woldnt worry about that either..
a little sunburn isnt a big deal, especially this time of year when growth is winding down anyway..
do you have someone at home you trust with watering for the next month?
and..if its gets TOO cold someone will have to know to bring them indoors for the night!
a light frost wont hurt them, but if it drops into the mid-20's they should be brought inside..
20's arent common in October, but it can happen..
basically you need a trained babysitter for the month!
Scot
 
  • #24
Thanks Scot! I will bring them home and put them outside. My mom is there now watering the ones I left there (unfortunately I am limited for space here), so I'm sure she could plant-sit for me until they can be put in the fridge. Thanks for the help.

- Joel
 
  • #25
I moved mine around too much last Fall from the window sill to the kitchen window with the screen open, to a screened in porch, to the butter keeper of the fridge. It's a wonder they got enough sleep. What Scottychaos suggests is the best thing for them for the duration. This year they went outside in march and won't be dealt with again for another two months.
 
  • #26
Is being in the fridge with no light the same effectiveness as being outdoors with light, assuming it's cold both places? If the plants are kept outside, do they still keep some leaves, and if they are kept in the fridge, will all their leaves surely die?

Thanks,
Scott
 
  • #27
Another question to add to that. Does the lack of airflow in the fridge hurt anything?
 
  • #28
Last winter was my first attempt at dormancy and my inexperience and creativity led me to the convoluted procedure I took. So I am far from being an expert. Having said that as my disclaimer, here were my fridge conditions: Unlike others who spray with fungicide or put them in baggies or whatever, I took the plants in their original 2" pots and placed them in the butter keeper. I didn't trim their leaves, because it was writen somewhere that whatever leaves left on them would be benficial for photosynthesis when they wake up. I didn't seal them in anything because of the air circulation thing - although bing in a butter keeper doesn't provide much air circulation. I was hoping it would prevent mold - and it did. I watered enough to keep them moist, since there was some evaporation. A couple weeks befor I attempted to wake them up I brought them to work and placed them iniside our lab sample fridge - where there is plenty of air circulation - literally, due to a fan. By mid-February i took them out and placed them on the cold window sill, where it was in the mid-50's. The plants themselves looked ragged. A few leaves blackened and died - but far from being all of them. All visible growth had stopped. 3 emerging leaves from November remained as they were - and resumed growth and development when woken up. I'm sure this was an unorthodox approach, but this was just my experience with them. They soon woke up and resumed growth. A month later I placed them outside, where they have been for the last 6 months. There is more than one way to do dormancy.
 
  • #29
I trim off all the leaves, and seal them tight in plastic bags..
I trim off the leaves because, IMO, the "old" leaves are no longer going to be needed by the plant..(certainly not while in the fridge! ;)
and leaving all the leaves will be a prime place for mold to grow..
so I cut off everything, just leaving behind short green stubs..
yes, I do get small amounts of whispy mold growing on those stubs by spring, but it never seems to hurt anything..
wrapping in plastic never seems to hurt..no air circulation at all..
been working fine for 10 years..
also, by wrapping in plasitc, the plants need NO watering at all for the entire 3-month dormancy! because no water can escape..

I do it this way because I have a lot of plants..I basically put them to bed and forget about them for 3 months!
the first few years I did it this way, I would always be unwrapping some to check for mold, but now I never even bother! ;)

I dont use fungicide, but only because im using my regular food refrigrator..
dont want nasty toxic chemicals (fungicide) in with my food!
but..im engaged! getting married next summer!
so this will be the last winter dormancy of my bachlorhood..
next winter I will probably have to buy my own dedicated dormancy fridge!
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then..I will probably spray with a fungicide..
I *have* lost a few plants to mold over the winter in past years, but its very rare..
last winter I had no losses at all..

IMO, keeping the leaves doesent really benefit the plants for the following spring..the old leaves are..well..old!
they might help somewhat in the spring, but my plants always send up new leaves/pitchers right away anyway, so if there is any real benefit, my plants dont miss it at all..they just send up new leaves and get right to work!
the way I do my dormancy, keeping the leaves would be a bigger risk (mold) than the possible spring benefit would warrant..
they all get cut!

for the VFT's, if there are any small, just emerging traps that arent open yet, I dont cut those off! I leave those..then those are the first traps/leaves to emerge in the spring..
I cut off all the "adult" leaves, if you know what I mean..
Scot
 
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