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Simulating the dormancy period in a terrarium?

I'm in Denver. We get blistering cold and feet of snow at times. I have 2 VFTs and 1 pitcher in a terrarium. They're all doing quite nicely (Reading, playing cards, going on Ebay, etc.). I have two 15 watt plant flourescent fixtures about 8 inches from the plants and they're on a timer for 16 hours every day with foil on the sides and a mirror on the back.

I'm tellin' ya, these plants are HAPPY!

BUT....

The dormancy period is arriving in about a month. I was wondering what the extremes of all the needed items (Light, temperature, humidity, etc) would be and still be able to keep them all in the same container that they're in. I'd hate to have to move them and shock them with a transplant. I was thinking of moving the whole contraption into the in-house shed in the back and try to regulate the temps and such.

Any tips to keep these happy plants..... umm... happy?
 
Do you have an unheated garage? If so I would leave them outside till it gets into the thirties. Then I would stick them in the garage. If not just unpot, get some moist long fiber sphagnum to wrap the roots in put in ziplock baggie in the fridge
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (ALLOSAURZ @ Oct. 18 2004,1:54)]If so I would leave them outside till it gets into the thirties. Then I would stick them in the garage.
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Do you have an unheated garage?
Nope.

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]If not just unpot, get some moist long fiber sphagnum to wrap the roots in put in ziplock baggie in the fridge
I'd read about that. What about the light needed for the plants to survive? I'd read that they still need light during dormancy.
 
i dont like to keep temperate cp's in a terrarium for this reason, dormancy.
if i were you, i would leave them out side, like ALLOSAURZ said, let nature take its place, trigger them into dormancy, then just tak em out, wash them, clean them with fungicide, and them place them into the fridge with some LFS, Or Paper towels (Barely Moist, not soaking wet). If plants are put through dormancy in the fridge like this, then they wont need light, because they are put into a heavy sleep.
Normally in the ild, they would need sun light.
what you can also do, is jsut leave em, then put them into the fridge when the time is right and give them a crash dormancy. idk if this is safe, but some people on this forum use this method, and it seems to have no effect on ther plants.
Hope this has helped you a bit,
Hellz
 
If I were to keep them in a cooler place and lower the lighting to, say, 8-10 hours per day, would they still go dormant normally and wake up OK in the spring?

Also, the dates I read were roughly from Thanksgiving to Valentine's day. Does that sound about right?
 
Several years ago I kept VFTs and pitchers under the same terrarium conditions. To produce dormancy you must first reduce the photoperiod down to 9-10 hours. Raising the lights to 12 inches above the plants also helps. Cut back on water too. If you have a basement with cooler temps thats also a big plus. HOWEVER, this situation is not optimal. I found that my plants stayed healthy for up to three seasons and then became weak and eventually died. It's worth the experience for a season or two though. Good Luck!
 
No kidding? Crap! I'll just have to see what I can come up with then. Thanks.
 
Back in december I purchased a bunch of clearence CPs(Sarracenia, and VFTs) from a local Lowes Hardware store. The fools in the nursery were still trying to grow them. I brought them home and set them out side for a week the wrapped, bagged, and stuck them in the fridge. Every single one of them survived. I would open the baggies every couple of weeks to allow freash air in. So I think Garage or cold window to fridge will work for you.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Several years ago I kept VFTs and pitchers under the same terrarium conditions. To produce dormancy you must first reduce the photoperiod down to 9-10 hours. Raising the lights to 12 inches above the plants also helps. Cut back on water too. If you have a basement with cooler temps thats also a big plus. HOWEVER, this situation is not optimal. I found that my plants stayed healthy for up to three seasons and then became weak and eventually died. It's worth the experience for a season or two though. Good Luck!

In theory your setup should work, so maybe other factors caused their demise? I would adjust the photoperiod to 8 hours in November, 7 in December, 8 in Jan, 10 in Feb, 12 in March. The temperature should also be between 5 and 12C ideally for 3 months. If you can manage this Wendall they should be fine.
 
  • #10
Light isn't necessary for VFT's when they are in the refridgerator since it is a much deeper kind of dormancy. I'd recommend refrigerator dormancy since its much easier and yields good results. Here's what i would do:
-Take the plants and slowly introduce them to lower temperatures and lower their photoperiod.
-After the temperature and photoperiod have been decreased, take them off their trays and keep them like that for a day before you stick them in the fridge so they arent too moist.
-Take the plants (VFT's, Sarracenias) and cut off all growth and leave little stubs, then stick them in the fridge. (you shouldn't need fungicide since you are cutting off most of the growth)
- Leave them in there for 3 months then bring the outside to a cool window so they can slowly come out of dormancy.

Also don't take the plant out of the soil, just cut the traps and the pitchers off, only leaving small stubs. Its easier on the plants since this way, they can keep their roots
smile_n_32.gif


Thats the method i've heard many people use with effectiveness (over 10 years), and its what i plan to do this year.
 
  • #11
i live in the springs, if you come down here on friday, november 26th, the colorado cp society is having a meeting, you could get lots of plants, and learn some too
 
  • #12
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Kirkscoastalcarnivores @ Oct. 30 2004,1:06)]i live in the springs, if you come down here on friday, november 26th, the colorado cp society is having a meeting, you could get lots of plants, and learn some too
I just looked at my schedule. I gotta work.

Thanks for all the information, folks.
smile.gif
 
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