johnnyfrye
I like drosera.
I have a venus flytrap and it doesn't get cold enough here for outside dormancy. (in winter, Rarely drops below 60) I don't know if it is OK to put them in the fridge, and if so, for how long
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fridge OK?
- Thread starter johnnyfrye
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You can hibernate them in a fridge. Just hibernate for 4 or so months. I usually do November to February. Just make sure you watch them every now and then and make sure theres no rot. Keep them in a ziploc bag or something to keep the plants moist.
johnnyfrye
I like drosera.
How?
How do you treat rotting? I read once that cinnamon is a good natural fungicide.
How do you treat rotting? I read once that cinnamon is a good natural fungicide.
Don't keep the plants wet, just moist and stick 'em in a ziplock bag. You could treat with a fungicide prior to bagging them up, something like Safer's Defender would be safe for VFTs. Also, cut off all dead material right down to the media before sticking them in the fridge for 3 to 4 months. Take a look at your plants every week or two, at the sight of fungus, scoop it off with a spoon and treat again with fungicide - they key is to keep them just moist and not sopping wet and you'll be fine --> remember, wet + dark + cold = fungus.
There's tons of posts about grower's various experiences with fridge dormancy. Check out the search function. There is a great post somewhere on here that documents with photos (which may have outdated links these days) a member's fridge experience; but, I'm having trouble locating it; but just think of all the information you will come across while you look for it!
xvart.
xvart.
BigCarnivourKid
It's been one of dem days
Cinnamon is good for treating fungus but is not very good for preventing it. The oils that give it its fungicidal abilities are volatile and evaporate over time. I don't know how well it would work for treating rot though.
The best way I have found for preventing fungus problems is to do like rice_smuggler suggested. I don't like using fungucides as a preventative treatment as this will eventually lead to strains of fungus resistant to that fungicide.
60 is daytime low or night time? Our days only get to about that.. nights in the 40s and 50s mostly, and my plants go dormant just fine. Right now the temps are about 75 night and 95 day and some D. filiformis is forming hibernecula already.
Andrew
Andrew
Is this it?
fridge dormancy:
http://www.terraforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=95809
Sorry there are still dead photo links, I started to restore the first ones after the PFT photo hosting went away, but I still havent restored them all..
If Mythbusters did a segment on "does cinnamon prevent fungus for dormant carnivorous plants?" it would end up "totally busted"..
I tried it one winter years ago..it did absolutely nothing.
Scot
the thing about cinnamon, or so I've heard, is that it is in fact a great fungicide. The problem with cinnamon you get at the supermarket, though, is that it isn't real cinnamon. It's an imitation. Real cinnamon can be bought at specialty spice shops or online, and that's the stuff that works.
allegedly light period is more of a factor than temperature..
we have been through this before..I still dont believe it.
it just doesnt make sense logically.
I think they are equally important,
or low temp is slightly more inportant than light period.
because less light + 80 dgrees = not dormant, because of high temps.
but no decreased photoperiod + 40 degrees = dormant.
yes, ideally you need both, decreased photoperiod and decreased temp.
but I dont think anyone (including me) has ever proved that one is MORE important than the other..so I dont think "Light period is more of a factor than temperature" is an accurate statement..its simply an unproven opinion.
as is my opposing theory.
(although I did prove my theory based on bonsai trees, but not CPs)
Scot
Clint
Stay chooned in for more!
I just LOVE cinnamon, but not for plants. Try neem oil. It's cheap, reliable, and you won't have organic powder everywhere.
True cinnamon quils are multi layered and can be easily crumbled into a powder with a mortar and pestle or coffee grinder, Cassia (a related species that's used in powdered cinnamon found in the US) quills are hard, woody, and are a single layer. It's more like a stick than a series of delicate layers.
Also good in espresso!
True cinnamon quils are multi layered and can be easily crumbled into a powder with a mortar and pestle or coffee grinder, Cassia (a related species that's used in powdered cinnamon found in the US) quills are hard, woody, and are a single layer. It's more like a stick than a series of delicate layers.
Also good in espresso!
jimscott
Tropical Fish Enthusiast
But if you keep the plants, uncovered, in the attic, by a window, they remain dormant and fungus-free, with no need of chemicals, and very little maitenance - just the occasional moistening. They wake up in February-March, when both temps and photoperiod increase enough to cue it.
Oo, controversial
I think the thinking is that dormancy is not a switch and plants know dormancy is approaching, way before the time comes. Which is obviously why they start growing autumn leaves even though it may be a scorching October.
Remember that it can be pretty hot in the deep south even in winter. The average January high in Alabama is 16C / 61F. And a couple of weeks of 70 are not uncommon, but you don't see plants not getting a dormancy despite this. And it's this which may give my opinion some basis of fact.
Oo, controversial
I think the thinking is that dormancy is not a switch and plants know dormancy is approaching, way before the time comes. Which is obviously why they start growing autumn leaves even though it may be a scorching October.
Remember that it can be pretty hot in the deep south even in winter. The average January high in Alabama is 16C / 61F. And a couple of weeks of 70 are not uncommon, but you don't see plants not getting a dormancy despite this. And it's this which may give my opinion some basis of fact.
I agree about the "scorching October" and warm southern winters..
but even with a "scorching October" the overall trend is toward cooling through August, september, october, november..even if you have a warm spell thrown in there.
My theory is based on an observation of Bonsai trees..
A few years ago a local garden center was selling some cheap junky bonsai made from Japanese maples..they should have been outside all season, but they had them indoors in a greenhouse with tropical houseplants.
The store usually closes before dark (any time of year) so the greehouse got natural light, even after the "store lights" were turned off for the night..
(and there arent any "store lights" to speak of in the greenhouse anyway..they arent needed because the roof is glass)
So you have maple trees getting all the natural *light* cues that winter is coming..
gradually decreasing photoperiod through July-October, same as any plant outdoors, but the trees did NOT get gradually decreasing temperatures! because they were in a tropical greenhouse that was always kept warm..
In January, the trees were still in leaf..they never went fully dormant and dropped their leaves like a tree outdoors would.
Tree outside - decreased temp and decreased photoperiod = fully dormant in January.
same tree inside - NO decreased temp but decreased photoperiod = not dormant.
my conclusion - decreased temp is more inportant than decreased photoperiod.
the decreasing photoperiod might trigger the slow gradual process of dormancy, beginning with the summer solstice in late June..
but if the temps dont ALSO decrease but stay continouly warm, the plant is confused and wont enter dormancy, because its just too warm..
even southern CPs get a cooler winter, even if its not *really* cold..
the temp does gradually decrease with the photoperiod.
That why I think its a bad idea to grow CP's (VFT's and Sarrs) in terrariums indoors..
you can control the photoperiod easy enough with a timer, but you cant easily control a gradually decreasing temp from July-October to give them a proper dormancy by November..
outdoors is the way to go..nature provides both the decreasing photoperiod AND he decreasing temps..which IMO are both essential..
Scot
hmmm..I dont know!
but I suspect it still wont go fully dormant, because of the steady light.
what we need is a controlled experiment!
lets see..
four VFTs should do it.
I could maybe try it next year!
I have three large bogs with about 40 VFT's that have been growing happily together for many years now, I think its safe to say they are all on the same dormancy timeline.
Next Feburary, as plants are coming out of dormancy, re-pot 4 VFT's into individual pots, keep them together (same conditions) until June.
Experiment starts June 1, before the summer solstice arrives and photoperiod begins to decrease.
VFT #1 - the control, stays outdoors, gets natural photoperiod and temps.
VFT #2 - "Artificial High Temp, natural photoperiod" plant. goes in a south-facing window indoors. (I have the perfect room, that is almost never lit in the evenings)
this plant will get steadily decreasing natural photoperiod, but will stay at a fairly constant temp. it will even get the same direct sun as the outdoor plants.
but it will be cooled in the summer and heated in the autumn/winter along with the indoor air for humans..staying a more-or-less constant 65-75 degrees.
VFT #3 - "Artificial Constant Light, natural temp" plant..this one will be the most difficult to set up..
It will need to remain outdoors, so it gets the naturally decreasing temps, but it will need an artificial light source, so its lighting is constant and does not decrease with the naturally decreasing photoperiod. Where to keep this plant is a concern..
I have an unheated shed in the backyard, which in theory will have rising and falling temps along with the outdoor temps, but it will be TOO hot in the summer..I cant leave the shed door open 24/7 for 6 months..Maybe I could keep this plant on the deck, with some kind of rain-tent over it to protect the lamp..hmmm..I will have to think about that one.
VFT #4 - "Bright and Hot" plant...gets constant steady temp (same as VFT #2) but also gets constant bright light! same as VFT #3..
that one is also easy to set up...just indoors under a unchanging photoperiod light.
Its not a perfect experiment, because the artificial light wont be the same intensity as sunlight, but its not bad!
then the question will be, which plants are still growing the following January?
anyone see any flaws in that experiment?
Scot
Near the equator here, we grow our VFTs in full sun for years without providing dormancy. If a plant does slow down its growth and produce smaller and smaller leaves, the pot is removed and kept dry in a shady place. After a couple of weeks, watering is increased and often, repotting helps to give the plant a jump start to start growing again.
