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Post by markym4rk on Oct 15, 2008 0:58:20 GMT -5
I'm gona make this short and simple.
When should I start dormancy? (Stick em in the fridge in a bag of moist LFS pot included)
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Post by hackerberry on Oct 15, 2008 9:36:42 GMT -5
I tried some of my VFT to enter dormancy early like last week. I removed them from their pots and cleaned them up by soaking in R/O water and then water/no damp. I then wrapped each plant with a damp paper towel with no damp. Stick em in the fridge inside a tupperware container. Learned that from Rug.
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Post by lloyd on Oct 15, 2008 10:30:21 GMT -5
Mine are still happy outside. I'm going to see how they look after a few nights of 3-4C and then decide.
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Post by flytrapcare.com on Oct 15, 2008 13:35:03 GMT -5
The temps here in Boulder are freezing at night now, so I moved my plants onto the unheated porch where they'll stay through winter. Most of them look pretty ragged now. Dormancy is definitely very close if not here already. I can't really see any signs of new growth.
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Post by Rick Hillier on Oct 15, 2008 13:54:16 GMT -5
I have two sets of VFT... one is the common dentate form that is out in what's left of my bog garden. I have had them there for years, covering them with 8-12" of pine mulch over the winter (I'm in Southern Ontario - Kitchener to be exact)... they come back every spring.
I also have a population of different forms indoors (now reduced to what the chipmunks left behind, but that may result in more plants to make available here if the pieces grow out)... last year, I just put the whole tank in the back of the downstairs fridge (much to my wife's chagrin) from late November to April of this year. They came back just fine.
What you are doing should work out just fine as well.
Good luck with them.
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Post by lloyd on Oct 15, 2008 16:29:04 GMT -5
I'm in a bit of a quandary (not the same as a quarry, by the way) this year as I'm moving Dec. 1'st with no house as yet to go to. I have my sarr's etc. in four big pots and I don't have anywhere safe to put them for the winter. I was thinking of temporarily covering them with big plastic garbage bins. Would this provide reasonable insulation (the air inside the bin)? It might be my only option.
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Post by flytrapcare.com on Oct 16, 2008 13:19:44 GMT -5
I have two sets of VFT... one is the common dentate form that is out in what's left of my bog garden. I have had them there for years, covering them with 8-12" of pine mulch over the winter (I'm in Southern Ontario - Kitchener to be exact)... they come back every spring. That's interesting Rick. I'd like a little more information on your technique. At what point during the year do you cover them? And when in the spring, when do you uncover them? How many years have you had them outside now? |
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Post by Rick Hillier on Oct 16, 2008 13:40:24 GMT -5
It's pretty easy... I collect enough pine needles to cover my bog to somewhere between 8 and 12 inches. It's amazing just how much protection this provides. A couple of years ago, I took part in an experiment that Brian did that showed that even though we had temps that hit the -30's at times, the temps at the surface of the soil was only 0.1 degree C below freezing. Perfect for a nice winter snooze. I generally mulch them once they have gone visibly dormant (drosera make visible hibernacula, the growth points of sarracenia look like a bunch of little stubby aborted growths (now there's a great description for ya), VFT kind of just stop or start to look really crappy). That's when I cover them up. In the spring, I get them off once the temps are constantly above freezing. So far, it has worked for me - I don't know what next year will bring, as I had very heavy hail damage. I've had almost all of these plants in the ground since 2001. If you want to see how it's mulched, I have an old photolog (I've been too busy to update it over the past several years, but it will show you what you need to see) at: www.swconnection.com/cp |
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Post by mabudon on Oct 17, 2008 17:51:18 GMT -5
Lloyd- I would be a bit concerned that the cans might heat up too much in the day if it gets sunny.. I will think on it and see if I can come up with anything, it IS an interesting quarry you are in tho  |
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Post by markym4rk on Oct 17, 2008 20:33:43 GMT -5
So u guys are saying, that i should start it now?
Original question was when i should start it.
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Post by lloyd on Oct 17, 2008 21:38:37 GMT -5
I was thinking of putting the containers just against a fence so they would never get direct sun.
It's going to be 2-4C overnight the next few days, I'll see how the plants look.
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Post by flytrapcare.com on Oct 18, 2008 9:51:43 GMT -5
In the spring, I get them off once the temps are constantly above freezing. Thanks for all of the information and the photos Rick. It was very helpful. I do have one more question for you: How do you remove the pine needles? It seems like the easiest way would be to use a rake, but then I would worry about raking out the rhizomes of the plants. |
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Post by mabudon on Oct 18, 2008 9:55:23 GMT -5
you just sorta pull them off as carefully as you can- one person I know uses a sort of plastic mesh first then puts the needles on top, in spring he just liftsoff the mesh and what's underneath is still nice and undisturbed
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Post by mabudon on Oct 18, 2008 9:57:55 GMT -5
mark- put them in whenever you want really, tho early november is about as late as you want to go. Make sure to hack off as much dead stuff as you can to minimize trouble
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Post by Rick Hillier on Oct 18, 2008 16:20:44 GMT -5
I just lift them off slowly and carefully. The needles will tend to be wet and will really stick together, lifting off like a mat.
If your plants are well rooted, they'll stay in place. If they're loose (VFT especially), they may come up, but you'll easily see them and can just push them back into the ground.
This year, I'm going to do the mesh thing that was mentioned by mabudon, as it would make it much easier removing them.
>>> Rick <<<
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