Sarr dormancy on abnormally bright windowsill?

[Fishkeeper]

I live in an old home without modern glass, so my windows let in slightly more light than normal. The room as a whole is poorly insulated, and antique glass is a bad insulator, so the windowsill gets and stays fairly cold. I have a couple of sarracenias under appropriate artificial lights, and would, if possible, like to give them an indoor dormancy. I know they do fine outdoors for dormancy, or for that matter year-round, but I'd like to have them where I can keep an eye on them at all times and don't have to worry about a nasty storm pushing their pots over.

My current plan is to change their photoperiod to match the weather outside, starting in October. Then, when I see them going dormant, I'll move them to the windowsill. That way they can get the colder temperature that, to my understanding, they need for dormancy. I'll be doing the same with my flytraps.

 

[adnedarn]

Sounds like it should work, my Sarrs experience days up into the 60s and 70s and nights down into the 30s and 40s for winter and sleep just fine. Keep us updated!

 

[herenorthere]

My Sarrs live outdoors year-round in southern New England, frozen solid through the coldest months but protected from the coldest nights and from freeze-thaw cycles by the layer of fallen leaves I pile over them. The contrast between the winter conditions they experience and what Andrew's Sarrs experience suggests the plants are pretty flexible.

For what it's worth, Sarrs can skip a dormancy when kept in a window indoors - at least 1st-year seedlings can - so you might find that your Sarrs don't even go dormant. I think I've read that they'll go into decline if it happens a 2nd straight winter, but haven't tried it myself.

Full disclosure: I have no idea of what actually triggers dormancy in a Sarr and how long or cold it must be.

 

[SubRosa]

As long as you maintain strict control of the photoperiod, Sarracenia aren't very picky about temperature during dormancy. I can remember Christmas day in Philadelphia with daytime high temps in the teens, and others with daytime high temps in the 60s. But the length of that day was consistent. And extraneous room light is more than sufficient to confuse them, by artificially lengthening the day.