I have around fifty or so potted cps that will require dormancy this winter. everything from s. psittancia, to your typical vfts. I was thinking of after I roto till my garden under, just making room for them in the garden and mulching them at ground level with whatever is lying around. If anyone has done this or something similar, what are the pros and cons here? I wonder about soil moisture, but I suppose that if they are 'planted' to pot level, that wouldn't be a problem. mother nature would take care of that. I figure this method would be easier than keeping them in a terra in the outside garage and having to worry about soil moisture. any thoughts are appreciated...
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jimscott
Tropical Fish Enthusiast
Being a little north of you, I will be in the sme boat, asking the same question, soon. I seem to remember someone from northern New England having success in providing dormancy for Sarrs, Darlingtonia, and VFT's by heavy mulching. I'll bet Nepenthes Gracilis or Tony or Tamlin has done this successfully.
Heya - Jim & everyone
It was me. I'm in Connecticut where we get lots of snow & freezing temps in the winter. Here's what I did last October & it worked very well - only lost 2 of 100 or so plants.
1. I built an 8 foot by 4 foot raised garden bed.
2. Started collecting lots of pine needles. A garbage bag or two full.
3. Then I filled the raised bed with FREE compost from our local recycling center.
3. A day or two before dormancy I sprayed down all the plants with a fungicide (powder you mix with water) using a 2 gallon pump style garden sprayer.
4. I scooped out little holes and placed all the plants (pots and all) in the raised bed, packing the soil around the pots. I tried to put the tenderest plants in the center.
5. Sprayed all plants with fungicide, again.
6. Strew pine needles over all the plants, about an inch thick layer.
7. Placed a large sheet of burlap (over the whole bed) on top of the pine needle layer.
8. Shoveled on a 1 foot deep layer of wood chips on top of the burlap the first week (again = FREE from our recycling center ).
9. The following week added another foot of wood chips.
When spring rolled around, I would remove a few inches of the wood chips as the weather warmed up. One suggestion John Phillip (NECPS Prez) suggested was to use pine boughs instead of wood chips because you just don't know what's in the stuff from your recycling center - stuff that could cause disease or otherwise damage your plants.
I hope this helps everone.
WildBill
PS: Moderators - feel free to copy or pin this under an appropriate topic/article/section.
It was me. I'm in Connecticut where we get lots of snow & freezing temps in the winter. Here's what I did last October & it worked very well - only lost 2 of 100 or so plants.
1. I built an 8 foot by 4 foot raised garden bed.
2. Started collecting lots of pine needles. A garbage bag or two full.
3. Then I filled the raised bed with FREE compost from our local recycling center.
3. A day or two before dormancy I sprayed down all the plants with a fungicide (powder you mix with water) using a 2 gallon pump style garden sprayer.
4. I scooped out little holes and placed all the plants (pots and all) in the raised bed, packing the soil around the pots. I tried to put the tenderest plants in the center.
5. Sprayed all plants with fungicide, again.
6. Strew pine needles over all the plants, about an inch thick layer.
7. Placed a large sheet of burlap (over the whole bed) on top of the pine needle layer.
8. Shoveled on a 1 foot deep layer of wood chips on top of the burlap the first week (again = FREE from our recycling center ).
9. The following week added another foot of wood chips.
When spring rolled around, I would remove a few inches of the wood chips as the weather warmed up. One suggestion John Phillip (NECPS Prez) suggested was to use pine boughs instead of wood chips because you just don't know what's in the stuff from your recycling center - stuff that could cause disease or otherwise damage your plants.
I hope this helps everone.
WildBill
PS: Moderators - feel free to copy or pin this under an appropriate topic/article/section.
I have an outside bog here and it has survived the freeze of Nebraska. My soil mix is standard for a bog. I covered the bog with some hay and it did wonderfully. I lost nothing.
I also keep a terrarium near a window in the basement. It is insulated against the warmth of the house. Everything survived there as well. I have not tried the refrigerator method.
I also keep a terrarium near a window in the basement. It is insulated against the warmth of the house. Everything survived there as well. I have not tried the refrigerator method.
jimscott
Tropical Fish Enthusiast
Hey everyone -
I just put things into outdoor dormancy for the winter. I'm in zone 5 and we have already had freezing temperatures. Here are pics that go with the previous posting.
Plants in the 8 foot by 4 foot bed, just sprayed with fungicide:
Pine Needles:
Pine Boughs:
Burlap:
Mulch:
The dogs already think it's their new playground, which by the way, didn't seem to hurt the plants last year. I will likely add another 10 inches or so of mulch. Hope this helps everybody.
I just put things into outdoor dormancy for the winter. I'm in zone 5 and we have already had freezing temperatures. Here are pics that go with the previous posting.
Plants in the 8 foot by 4 foot bed, just sprayed with fungicide:
Pine Needles:
Pine Boughs:
Burlap:
Mulch:
The dogs already think it's their new playground, which by the way, didn't seem to hurt the plants last year. I will likely add another 10 inches or so of mulch. Hope this helps everybody.
jimscott
Tropical Fish Enthusiast
elgecko
I've got a magic window!
Jimscott -
Yes there are a few Darlingtonias in there (far left white pot is one). The Darlingtonias did really well and shot up some nice pitchers in the month following dormancy and one even flowered! Some of the pots have Drosera intermedia and D. rotundifolia volunteers - they'll likely come back from seed if the plants themselves don't survive. Last year I lost my D. filiformis traci - it came through the buried dormancy OK, but we had a sudden very cold, very wet period of weather about a week or two after I removed things & it rotted. I brought all the D. binatas, D. capensis, some seedling Sarracenia, a few small VFTs, and the Neps indoors for the winter.
Yes there are a few Darlingtonias in there (far left white pot is one). The Darlingtonias did really well and shot up some nice pitchers in the month following dormancy and one even flowered! Some of the pots have Drosera intermedia and D. rotundifolia volunteers - they'll likely come back from seed if the plants themselves don't survive. Last year I lost my D. filiformis traci - it came through the buried dormancy OK, but we had a sudden very cold, very wet period of weather about a week or two after I removed things & it rotted. I brought all the D. binatas, D. capensis, some seedling Sarracenia, a few small VFTs, and the Neps indoors for the winter.
I sank my window box-bog into the ground (so that the soil level of the bog was even with the actual soil level), and covered the whole thing with 3" or so of wood chips. Yes, just three inches. They were "experiment" plants for my first attempted outdoor dormancy last winter. Worked out just fine. Only lost two plants, and one I think my have been toast even before dormancy began.
Probably not as long as it took me to plop my rear on the ground with a scissors cutting all the nice pine needles into lengths I thought were perfect. Next year I will do what Bill did and use entire pine boughs. This is one of those times where I shake my head at my own actions and think, "Why'd I do that?" Glad I found this forum and very pleased when people take the time to post photos.
