Dormancy

[ChronoKiento]

When do you know when a carnivorous plant has gone dormant? Waht do they look like what happens to them...do they lose all their leaves.I really need to know what a sarracenia x purpurea x flava and a venus flytrap look like.
Thanx for any help

 

[Alvin Meister]

The purpurea x flava will stop producing new pitchers and a lot of the existing ones will turn brown. You will need to cut off any bits that go brown. There will still be some greenery present throughout the winter.
The same will apply to the flytrap - most of the traps will turn black but there will still be a couple of traps.
Dormancy is more like a rest than complete hibernation.

 

[BigCarnivourKid]

During the winter, VFTs tend to produce smaller leaves that lay flat against the ground or at least don't stick up into the air like the the long skinny summer leaves and the traps aren't as active as they are in the summer. They may not close at all or will close slowly. The plant will also seem to grow in slow motion if at all.

Hope that helps

 

[hitenryu]

how do u to put the vft into dormency? That the hard part. How much water and how dry or how cold should the vft be?

 

[BigCarnivourKid]

Dormancy is triggered by cutting back the length of time the leaves recieve light.  ie. The days get shorter.  If your plant is under artificial light then reduce the time the lights are turned on.  If they are outside then mother nature is already doing that for you.  The plants should be kept moist but not wet.  Here's a couple of links with more info.

http://www.sarracenia.com/faq/faq2460.html
http://www.sarracenia.com/faq/faq2462.html

 

[Meagan]

I have a question...

I read somewhere that if your plant is still a baby, it doesn't need to go into dormancy this year. I bought 3 VFT's in June, from this site, so... do I skip dormancy? I also have 2 other large VFT's. They are both still producing new traps. What do I do?

If I do put them into dormancy, does anything on the plant need to be clipped or trimmed back?

 

[BigCarnivourKid]

Hi meagan,
  Your plants will let you know which way they are going.  If the new leaves are shorter and tend to hug the ground and the growth slows down, then it's going dormant.   Long, tall leaves are typical of summer growth and indicate the plant isn't ready for dormancy yet.  Keep in mind that growth doesn't stop during dormancy, it just slows way down.
 VFTs don't normally die back to the rhizome when they go dormant, but the older leaves may die or the traps may die or both.  There is no hard fast rule for this.  It's like life, we play it by ear and try to give everybody the impression we really know what's happening next.   Trim off only the dead parts to prevent problems with mold.  The only difference in treatment from summer is to cut back on watering so the soil is moist/damp but not wet.  Since the traps react slower or not at all during dormancy I don't feed mine either.

 

[Meagan]

Hey thanx.

I am so very torn as to what to do... I live in NYC, and we do have somewhat harsh winters. My apartment has radiator heat, which I cannot control, and for some reason, the refigerator thing doesn't sit right with me. (Besides, I am a huge cook, and my refigerator space is precious&#33

I love my plants, and I will be so sad to see the croak. I have been thinking of putting them into an insulated cooler on my fire escape, but I am not sure if that would work.

 

[BigCarnivourKid]

Dormancy is a pretty iffy thing even me.  I've got room in my 'fridge for my two individualy potted VFTs, but not my larger windowsill style planter with 5 VFTs in it.  So this year I'll try leaving them outside most if not all winter.

This morning the temp was down to 28° and the water in their trays was frozen.  Amazingly enough, the leaves are a little worse for it, but they didn't die from the freeze.  My 2 S. x Judith Hindles shrugged it off entirely.

I've now packed the VFTs into a large, clear, plastic bag to hold in moisture and placed that in a box with shredded paper underneath and on the sides to insulate against fast temp changes and to protect them from frost.  The bag can be opened during the day and closed and covered with shredded paper if the weather gets nasty.  Or I can drag the whole thing into the house if it looks like a real cold night.

 

[ChronoKiento]

My Last two Venus Flytrap leaves have fallen off....the roots and all just pulled out of the Sphagnum in the pot.....so....is my Venus flytrap.......

Dead?.....................................................

I hope she's in a better place now if she is...gone

 

[Darcie]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (ChronoKiento @ Oct. 23 2002,09:01)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">

 

 

 

 

My Last two Venus Flytrap leaves have fallen off....the roots and all just pulled out of the Sphagnum in the pot.....so....is my Venus flytrap.......

 

Dead?.....................................................

 

 

I hope she's in a better place now if she is...gone

 

 

[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
ew, not a real good sign. Rinse away the soil and check I guess. If it's mushy it's dead, if it's not mushy pop it in fresh soil and in the frige. VFT are confusing because some like to drop all their leaves and go dorment while others stay fully leaved all year. To make things worst, some stay in the winter ground hugging phase all year so all you have to go on is growth rate (my "typical" is like that) Normally, however, dieing leaves is a bad sign.

 

[WayCool]

ChronoKiento,

As long as the "bulb" looks white, regardless if there are no roots or leaves, then there is hope for your VFT. Wrap the bulb with moist peat/shagnum moss and seal in plastic bag. Keep the bag in the fridge until Easter. Plant it in new soil mix next spring and wait

If conditions are right...you'll have a smile on your face too

 

[ChronoKiento]

I hope you're right.

 

[Darcie]

Yep, if the bulb is alive so is the plant, some just get really warn out and give out totally for the winter.

 

[ChronoKiento]

I have bad news.....i...I can'st find the bulb

 

[BigCarnivourKid]

ChronoKiento,
What you're looking for will resemble a buried peice of stem.  It will be whiteish in color, with the leaves and roots growing from it.

This is a picture of my common VFTs in dormancy.  So far they have survived temps down into the low 20's with nothing worse than the leaves starting to turn yellow and some of the traps dieing.

 

[ChronoKiento]

Yeah!!! I foudn the Rhiozome!!....it's not quite fully white though.

 

[WayCool]

As long as it has some white...there's still hope.

Don't give-up on it

 

[VeiledFighter]

BCK - You keep yours outside?

Would a cold windowsill do? I live in MI and winters are to cold. I put mine in the refrig last year they all died coming out of dormancy. Tragic lost so I only have and it survives I will get more next spring.

Thanks,
travis

 

[BigCarnivourKid]

Travis,
A cold windowsill would be fine and a lot less chancy than leaving yours outside like I do. A cold windowsill will also let them get some sunlight which will help keep them healthy during dormancy.