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holy moley

Well since i moved my VFT hasn't put out any traps, not surprising it is probably on shock, but it has flowered, twice,i cut the first one off,a well later anew flower emerged. I didnt put it into dormancy as my old apartment didn't allow for me to do so. Never seen it flower before though, this is almost as surprising as when my Nep flowered twice last fall.
 
Not Putting a flytrap into dormancy is not a good idea. Even in your apartment you should put it in a bag with a moist paper towel and spray some fungicide and throw the whole thing into a corner of your fridge. Now that it is far past the time to put the plant into dormancy I would continue growing it normally and put it into dormancy next year. Definitely cut off the flower stem ASAP.
 
That was my plan, i want to put it into dormancy next yeaf bacause my new apartment has the means to do so, my old apartment barely had room for my plants and the fridge was so small i barely had room for my food. I know it isnt good for them but i also now live about 6 minutes from a nursery and if i lose this one i can easily get a new one, im going to cut the stock off aftet work tonight
 
If I were you right now, and if I had room in my fridge, I would put them in dormancy NOW for a couple months and put them back into growing conditions come early to mid-May. That way they'll have about three months of dormancy and be able to grow well the rest of the growing season. If you try to push them through until next winter, they may not grow very well this whole growing season.

Edit: After flowering twice when they shouldn't have, they're probably in an undue amount of stress anyway and may be at increased risk of death if you force them into continued growth (if you didn't cut off the second flower). Help them out a bit and give them some dormancy, IMO.
 
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I can make that happen now. When i get home i will get the ball rolling
Edit: can someone help point me to a thread on dormancy, i am having a hard time navigating the forum from my phone at work.
 
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Venus flytraps can be put into dormancy any time, but they have to go in slowly, kind of like how when you go to sleep, you get tired, then your eyes get heavy, then you stumble upstairs and flop on your bed, and THEN you go to sleep. It's the same thing with plants. :sleep: After you bring them out of it (again, SLOWLY) they'll synch up to the seasons naturally. :water:
 
You cant take a plant that has been growing indoors and just put it straight in the fridge..
it will be a huge shock, and probably kill the plant..

because the plant *isn't dormant*! ;)
and its very important that it be dormant *before* it goes in the fridge..

it takes *3 months* (summer into fall) for a plant to slowly go dormant, and be ready to go into the fridge..its a very gradual and slow process..
this is why VFT's and Sarrs should never be grown indoors..ever..because they cant properly go dormant..

My advice, dont bother with dormancy now, its far too late..
To be dormant this winter, it needed to be outdoors from last July - November, then go in the fridge..
leave the plant alone for now, then put it outside as soon as its warm enough this spring (night-time lows above 35 degrees F is "warm enough")
then leave it out all Spring-Summer-Autumn..*then* it will be ready to go in the fridge this November for a proper 3, 4 or 5 month winter dormancy.

When it comes to putting plants in the fridge for dormancy, the most important concept is this:

Please note that the fridge does not cause or create the dormancy!
it simply maintains the dormancy that was already started naturally by keeping the plants outdoors all season..
(spring, summer and fall)
the plants need to be already dormant before they go in the fridge.


from my webpage:
http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/scottychaos/CP/

The reason I have to do the fridge method at all is because I have VERY cold winters, and they last a long time..(5 months).. Here in Western NY, we have brutal winters, sub-freezing temps for weeks on end, tons and tons and tons of snow.. its way too severe for Sarracenia and VFT's to survive outside all winter. VFT and Sarracenia need a COOL winter..not a freezing artic winter. VFTs and Sarracenia (all except S. purpurea) are native to the South East USA..where they get a definate winter season, but a cool, somewhat mild winter, with temps in the mid-30's up to the mid 50's.
(+2 to 12 Celsius) sometimes they get snow and a light freeze, but when they do, it only lasts for a day or two and it quickly warms to above freezing again. Its a much less severe winter than here in Rochester.

Those south east USA winters are the conditions that need to be replicated. So..since I cant keep them outdoors, and I dont have a cool basement or an unheated room..what to do? the FRIDGE!
its perfect. temps very cool, but just *above* freezing..about 35 degrees fahrenheit. (2 degrees C)

My plants go into the fridge in the late fall. late October or early November.
whenever the night-time temps begin to seriously fall below freezing. (32F, zero C)
They stay in the fridge all of November, December, January,
and they usually come back out in Mid February..Valentines Day. 3 and 1/2 months dormancy.
but..Mid-February is still the dead of winter here! still far too cold outside.
So they sit indoors in front of a bright window to slowly come out of dormancy.
then, by April or May, they can go back outside for the season..
they remain outside ALL Summer, and then into Autumn..
I keep them outdoors all through August, September and into October, as days and nights
gradually fall into the 60's, 50's, 40's.. (15..10...5C)

I wont even consider bringing them inside unless its going to fall below freezing
or if there is a heavy frost forecast for overnight.
This way, nature creates a natural dormancy for me!
I dont have to do a thing about "making them go dormant"..
they go dormant naturally through all of late summer and into autumn..
then, by the time they are ready for the fridge,
they are already fully "asleep" and are ready to continue that sleep in the fridge..

Please note that the fridge does not cause or create the dormancy!
it simply maintains the dormancy that was already started naturally by keeping the plants outdoors all season..the plants need to be already dormant before they go in the fridge.


In my opinion, VFT's and Sarracenia should never be grown indoors or especially in terrariums..
the climate inside a terrarium is just all-wrong for them..
the climate is fine for a few months...but VFTs and Sarrs need very different climates at different times of year..

Keeping VFTs and Sarrs in a terrarum is the same as trying to grow maple tree bonsai in a terrarium...or attempting to keep a native tree indoors year-round.. you can replicate June through August ok in a terrarium..sunny and warm..but what about the other 9 months of the year?

Maple trees need a gradually warming spring to come out of dormancy, a gradually warmer and sunnier summer, a gradually cooler and darker autumn, then a cold and dark winter to be fully dormant.

...cycle repeats...

so do VFTs and Sarracenia.
its not an option..its a necessity!

If you grow a maple tree indoors it will die within a year...the non-changing environment of a terrarium will also eventually kill a VFT.

VFTs need it warm and REALLY sunny in the summer..DIRECT sunlight..
where can you find that? outdoors in the summer!
Nature provides the perfect light for free..
then you need gradually decreasing photoperiod and gradually decreasing temps from summer into autumn..
where can you find that? outdoors..again nature does all the work for us.

The only tricky season for those of us in the Northern states is the winter..
Spring, Summer and Autumn are a breeze..just keep the plants outdoors April - October.
but the plants need a COOL winter..the winter of South Carolina..
but winters in the northern states are too severe and will kill them if the plants are left outdoors..

I have since altered that plan somewhat..
for many years I would bring the plants out in Mid-February, simply because that was "long enough" and in their native climate (south-East USA) Spring begins to arrive in February! So for the plants, a 3.5 month dormancy is fine..but that creates a problem..because in Western NY Mid-February isnt even *close* to Spring!
On Valentines day, Spring is still a month and a half away..
So for the past few years, I have just been letting my plants stay put until its warm enough *here* to bring them out!
Today, on the first *official* day of Spring (according to the calendar) its snowing out, and the nights are still going to be in the 20's for the foreseeable future..Spring isnt even close to arriving yet..So my plants are still dormant! They have been in my basement stairwell since the beginning of November..they might not come until Mid-April this year, which will be over 5 months of dormancy!

But I think this is better for the plants..because they can come out of dormancy *outdoors* in full sunlight,
rather than indoors in February and March in weak sunlight..
IMO, outdoors is *always* better than indoors..
So im going to do it this way from now on..No more bringing my plants out of dormancy in Mid-February..
they will wait for "Western NY Spring"..which never arrives before April..

Scot
 
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Scott: i grow my sarra rubra and minor(with my adult vfts) indoor, under strong lighting system + sunny afternoon from a window. Last fall, i just put the pot next to a windy open window. My plants where dormant(no more growing after cutting all the pitchers) after 6-7 weeks in the front of the windows. The temps was at 8-10C in the room but i dont use that room exept for the plants.

After that i put my sarra in the fridg in a black plastic bag until...last week :)

Do you think its a good method ?
 
Scott: i grow my sarra rubra and minor(with my adult vfts) indoor, under strong lighting system + sunny afternoon from a window. Last fall, i just put the pot next to a windy open window. My plants where dormant(no more growing after cutting all the pitchers) after 6-7 weeks in the front of the windows. The temps was at 8-10C in the room but i dont use that room exept for the plants.

After that i put my sarra in the fridg in a black plastic bag until...last week :)

Do you think its a good method ?

yeah, its pretty good!
(being outside Spring-Summer-Fall would be *better*..but not everyone has outdoor growing space)

The way you did it should work fine..
they key was placing the plants in the cool window *before* going in the fridge..
That "simulated" being outdoors in the fall, and is arguably the same thing as being outdoors! ;)
sitting in an open window in the fall is pretty much the same thing as being outdoors..
plants are exposed to decresaing temps, and decreasing photoperiod, which are the two things they need
to trigger dormancy..which probably worked, because as you said they stopped growing after 6 weeks or so..

There is no *specific* length of time anyone can point to, to say *exactly* how long it takes a plant to "go dormant"..
IMO, the dormancy process begins in late June! because after the Summer Solstice, daylight begins to gradually decrease
through July-August-September..even though temps dont begin to fall until September..
So IMO ideally "going dormant" should be 4 month process, July, Aug, Sept, Oct outdoors..
and by November 1st they are basically "fully dormant"..

But 6 weeks in an open window in Autumn probably works too..
I wouldn't do any less than a month, before going in the fridge..that's probably not enough time..
even 6 weeks is a bit short IMO..I would be more comfortable with 2 months minimum.

but sounds like your system is working! :)
sounds like a decent plan to me..
you basically simulated "outdoors in the Autumn", for a month and a half..
which is that the plants need, before going in the fridge.

I assume the plants are indoors under grow-lights for the Spring and Summer?
If you can, I would do the "open window" scenario for all of September and October,
just letting them get natural outside light (turn off the grow lights for those 2 months)
then put the plants in the fridge in November..(then you can close the window! ;)

Scot
 
  • #10
Thanks for your time.

(Im learning english right now, so sorry for the misstakes)

Of course the plants are 'idling' when i put the big peat pot into the fridg.

I think the dormancy went well, caus i have a nice regrow right now. 4-5 littles strange pitchers on each sarracenia. But still no flower. Maybe later? My minor are still seedlings, but my big rubra is adult and should already have a flower?

This rubra have a odd story... I found this plant in a little general store downtown montreal, september 2011. The plant was almost dry and dead. At this time, it was impossible to say what sarracenia specie the plant was. The plant where labeled 'Carnivorous plant' lol.
The first dormancy was a half one, because i had no experience and the temps where not cold enought(10-15C all winter long) with no shorter photoperiod.
Spring/Summer 2012: the plant produced no flower, and no complete pitchers.
This year was the first real dormancy. So maybe this summer the poor plant will have a normal season.
The only reason i didnt grow my plant outside, is because the roof.
My building have a new roof, since 2 years and when it rain hard, the water fall in my pot, and its black!

Closing the tubes for the last 2 months is a very good idea, i will try next september!


Eee, we should move this thread into the pitcher plants section? Lol
 
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  • #11
You cant take a plant that has been growing indoors and just put it straight in the fridge..
it will be a huge shock, and probably kill the plant..Scot

Sorry to break it to you, but I do this fairly frequently with no ill effect. No dead plants here! And I see better growth when I take them out.
I agree, it is better to have the plants go in and out of dormancy slowly, with lighting cues, etc. But it is not completely necessary. A lot of people think these plants are way more fragile than they actually are.
 
  • #12
More experienced growers can also get away with things that people new to the hobby often cant..
So I always give the most "general" advice that will work best with everyone..

For everyone who says they can stick a VFT straight in the fridge after it was indoors for a year,
there are probably 10 newbies who tried it that way and the plant died..

I didn't say a plant will *always* die if you put it straight in the fridge if it isn't dormant first,
I said it will *probably* die if it is put straight in the fridge if it isn't dormant first..
which is still true..
especially for someone new to the hobby..new hobbyists usually have the weakest plants,
so they need learn the "best way" to do things, to ensure the most likely success..

If you have been in the hobby for 5 or more years, *then* you can start to break the rules a bit! ;)
when you know what you are doing..

but before then, people should be told the best way of doing things..
putting a plant in the fridge that is *not* at all dormant, is not the best way of doing things..

Scot
 
  • #13
Point taken Scott. I agree that's the best way of going about it, and new growers should exercise greater caution. Just saying it can be done though ;)

Edit: In agunn1231's case however, I thought his plant would have a much better chance if he gave the plant a rest ASAP vs waiting until next winter for dormancy. Obviously the plant isn't dormant immediately when you put it in the fridge, but the plant quickly catches on and slows its metabolism (=dormancy, basically). The best way of going about things? No. But perhaps the better of two evils given the circumstance. His plant was already in a bad situation and extreme action was needed, IMO.
 
  • #14
Point taken Scott. I agree that's the best way of going about it, and new growers should exercise greater caution. Just saying it can be done though ;)

Edit: In agunn1231's case however, I thought his plant would have a much better chance if he gave the plant a rest ASAP vs waiting until next winter for dormancy. Obviously the plant isn't dormant immediately when you put it in the fridge, but the plant quickly catches on and slows its metabolism (=dormancy, basically). The best way of going about things? No. But perhaps the better of two evils given the circumstance. His plant was already in a bad situation and extreme action was needed, IMO.


Maybe..it could work..
but IMO if a plant is already "in an extreme situation" then giving it *another* "extreme situation" usually isn't a good idea! ;)
(and going straight into the fridge, without already being dormant, is IMO an "extreme situation")
but agunn1231 said this particular VFT is flowering..which means one of two things:

1. Its basically fine, even without a dormancy this year, and it "thinks" its spring..(which it is..)

2. Its on its death-bed, and flowering as a last resort to pass on its genes before it dies..
(we have heard of plants doing this sometimes..)

I believe #1 is more likely..if this is a recent tissue-culture plant, its fairly "young" and can probably survive
its first winter without dormancy, even if that weakens the plant a bit..

IMO, *not* giving it dormancy right now is the less risky course..
but its hard to say which method (dormancy now, or no dormancy now) would actually be better..
its open to debate! ;)

If it were my plant, I would not give it a dormancy right now, instead I would put it outside this spring,
leave it outside spring-summer-autumn, that will "set its internal clock" and it will be ready for a proper
dormancy next winter..

Scot
 
  • #15
So tru about newer growers tending to have weaker plants! I feel like the hobby has lost alot of people to weak plant material that never had a chance at competing with the standard CP prophecy: "it'll just die anyway". I had a heck of a time nursing some of the sundews I've gotten back to health. Some even were lost entirely and I had to rely on strikes and propagation to keep them in my collection. Point being, hang in there!
 
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