vft dormancy

[mabudon]

Yep, most stuff is slowing right down, it sounds like your plants are going the way they should do

[eql]

just put my B52 and Typical from KC into dormancy.. just let em dry out a bit, and stuck em in the veggie drawer!

[daniello]

here's to hoping all our plants make it through the winter just fine!

[Sawchuk]

this is how mines going, iv started preping for winter now all i do is some more hay n then a burlap sack n some stones n i think im laughing but i dont think there al lready 4 bed yaknow

[brian]

I used to have luck with a basement window where it was cooler than upstairs but not really cold enough. I bought plastic sheeting and duct tape and fashioned a shroud around the single pane window that draped down over the plants letting the cold air spill over them while keeping out the warmer drier basement air. That way I could keep them under lights (turned down to an eight hour day) and watch them. A thermometer with the plants let me know if I needed more duct tape.

[vraev]

I might see how opening the window during -10 works. I will hopefully have the heater bring the temp up a bit. Then....I might GET them to bed. We'll see.

[eql]

when are people planning on taking their VFTs out of dormancy?
*EQL*

[Rick Hillier]

That would depend on whether or not your plants have sleep apnea. If they do, they'll need to rest longer.

I'm thinking of taking mine out of the fridge sometime in mid-late March or so. They've been in there since early November.

Same thing with my darlingtonia tank.

My wife will be very happy about this, as I'm taking up about half of the downstairs fridge because I just put the entire tank (2 of them) in there.

>>> Rick <<<

[jay]

spring

[mabudon]

Ahh, Jay, always such detailed advice Brother

Tho yeah, spring IS about all you need to know

[Sawchuk]

ill prob take everyhitng out when temps are right for good growth, we just had -45 so prob not 2 soon, but everyhitng looks good and green, i checked on them earlier and noticed that inside the setup was fairly warm, just by touch
then i simply watered them by putting a handfull of snow over each plant

[kd]

sawchuck - do you really manage to overwinter VFTs outside? In Grande Prairie? Then maybe I have a chance. I see you have a purpurea in your picture. It probably doesn't need much protection there. What else do you have there in the pics? I can't tell.

[Sawchuk]

well i dunno if they will pull through or not since this is my first winter but whats in there is 3 flytraps i sarr purp pur and a cobra lily which was a gift from david when i purchased my nep, and as for protection id say im pretty loaded up, its totally enclosed in glass, stealin heat from the basement window, then its covered in hay then wraped up in a burlap sack

i did notice it was warm in there on one of the coldest days we had, wihtout a meter just by hand but snow would melt inside the enclosure so its alright im assuming

[Rug]

Well I just wanted to let everyone know what I did (with Syble's help cause I have no idea what I'm doing) on the venus flytrap dormancy. First I took 2 large tupperware containers with lids. I wet some LFS and then rung it out so it was just barely damp. I placed about 2cm or 3/4" in the bottom of the containers. Then carefully removed all vft's from their soil and rinsed them all off so there was no remaining soil on them. Also important to remove any dead leaves, so that they won't contribute to rot. Then place all plants laying flat onto the LFS. ( I have so many that there were plants on top of plants). Then I took "No Damp" and mixed it with the proper amount of water (as per directions on the bottle) and put it into a spray bottle. Then gave a rather liberal spray to all the plants in the containers. Then I put the lids on tight and placed them in the fridge. I checked on them about once every 2 months or so and removed any newly dead leaves or anything starting to look fuzzy and gave another spray of "no-damp"!

I repotted all of my plants today and put them under my grow lights. TO MY SURPRISE I DIDN'T LOSE A SINGLE PLANT!!!

I figured that a detailed instruction of a "how to" might be nice for anyone that questions how to do this successfully.

I must also give a huge thanks to Syble as she was the one that actually put my plants to sleep for me. I washed em and mixed the "no-damp" (way too strong the first time I might add! I got a good laugh out of her and my wife for that one!) ;D ;D ;D

[Syble]

Glad to hear they worked out well for ya! I'll be popping my dorment bulbs out in the bog once I uncover it, which might be as early as this weekend (ie tomorrow!). I don't have the space, nor do i want to rush them by throwing them on the growstand with the others. I must divy up spce very stingy like now hehe.
Sib