Winter Care

[recacho638]

I brought in my pitcher plant indoors as the temperature is starting to fall below freezing. Are there any tips to care for it?

 

[TheAntiLion]

There are as many techniques as there are growers in how to take care of plants during dormancy. Personally I'm using a cold frame to protect my plants from the wind mainly. The main essential things is that they need to have a COLD dormancy. I learned my lesson the first time round when I used my Mom's classroom as a dormancy location (I'll let you guess how many died: it starts with 1 and ends with 00%). Other than that some light is helpful as some plants produce winter leaves, and a little water just to keep them moist.

 

[seedjar]

It should probably stay outdoors, unless you're dipping into subzero Farenheit temperatures. Outside, you can cover the soil with some sheets of translucent plastic, then pile some mulch around the base of the plant, and wrap the whole thing in another sheet of plastic. Keep the base of the pot in a shallow tray of water (deep enough to keep it wet, but not very high up on the pot; less than 1" is adequate for a 7"-8" soil level.) The tray should be covered with plastic as well, in order to prevent drafts around the pot.
Covering the whole arrangement like this helps keep the plant insulated against severe temperature changes, and prevents dehydration, which is the real danger that freezing temperatures present to temperate CPs. Pitcher plants come from parts of the country that see occasional snows and freezes, and they can handle remarkably low temperatures so long as they don't dry out. Remember that pitchers are living things, so they put off a little heat on their own just by metabolizing - if they can hold on to that heat they do fine. Sarracenia NW has a great care sheet for winterizing temperate CPs in cold regions - it's something you should take a look at.
~Joe

 

[jimscott]

I live in the Buffalo, NY area. My approach has been to tote my buckets of minibogs to the cold attic, where temps will be in the 30's & 40's for the winter, drawing some heat from our apartment. I just place them at a window sill and make sure they don't dry out. By late winter, they naturally have come out of dormancy, on their own.

 

[elgecko]

As was stated there are many was that people do this.

Myself when temps hit freezing for a few days in a row the outdoor plants come inside to my unheated garage. The temp stays in the low 50's. I just water them to keep the soil just damp. No light in the garage. When temps get warmer and I notice that the plants are starting to grow, but still too cold to take them back outside yet. I place 4' fluorescent lights over them.

 

[DerbyCityNeps]

i main rule PROTECT FROM THE WIND! ive alredy lost a sarr this winter because i letf them in the wind.
Alex

 

[KateKatinaite]

i have a different problem. i just bought sarracenia purpurea and dionea (VFT). presumably they are just from greenhose, so they are not sleepy at all  

luckilly it's very warm weather despite it's a midle of december. in a daytime it's +12 C ant in nighttime +6C. however i live in hardiness zone 4, so winters here are realy cold. oh, yes, i didn't mentioned, i keep both of them outside on a windowstill. please, i really need some advice...  

 

[seedjar]

Welcome to the forums Kate. Not sure what to tell you with regards to your temperature zone - you should look at the link in my post above for instructions on keeping plants in cold zones. If you have them on a windowsill, you could perhaps tent the outside of the sill with plastic sheeting, as a kind of makeshift greenhouse. It wouldn't necessarily be very attractive, but the radiant heat from your window would help keep the air around the plants from getting too cold and the plastic would protect them from the wind.
Best luck,
~Joe

 

[KateKatinaite]

thanx, seedjar  

but what realy is bothering me that they're in growing period right now. how to force them to asleep?

i guess low temperature and short daylight time should help. i know theoreticaly that sarr have to grow leaves without pitches ant that is the sighn it's prepared to sleep. but normaly it would take 2-3 months and my sarr is outside only 2 weeks

here are my beuties  

 

[BigCarnivourKid]

I don't think your plants will be hurt any if you let them skip dormancy this winter. As you think, low temperature and short daylight time should help give them some "rest". I don't think they will have time to get into a deep dormancy before you get colder weather though. I have brought my plants inside to spend the winter by the back door until next spring. They get bright light in the morning and cool temps from the cold air coming off the glass in the doors and seem to be doing fine so far.

 

[KateKatinaite]

wht do you think, if i keep them outside till it realy gets freezing and then put them into a fridger, in vegetables section?

 

[BigCarnivourKid]

I've done it that way before.  I put them in ziplock bags and checked them weekly to make sure they were ok and to add water or remove excess condensation from the ziplock.  I stuck the pot and all in the ziplock.  Many others bare root their plants and use fungicide.  I prefer not too.  It minimizes root shock and doesn't waste fungicide on plants that don't need it.  Nor do I like the idea of putting something sprayed with chemicals in the fridge with my family's food.  You can use small trash bags for plants that won't fit easily into a ziplock.

 

[KateKatinaite]

ok

thanks for advices

i guess everithing comes with practise

 

[carnivorkid]

ya my first year overwintering i lost all my sarracenias as i left them outside in a 4 tier greenhouse thinking itl keep them warm well heating in the day freeze at night x 100= 100% death and fungus overtake. So the next year i left them out by placing them in a location in my yard to protect from wind. i did nothing else and 100% survived u just have to believe there hardy and they really are

 

[Drosera36]

Quote[/b] (KateKatinaite @ Dec. 09 2006,1:28)]i know theoreticaly that sarr have to grow leaves without pitches ant that is the sighn it's prepared to sleep.

Only some do that. Your S. purpurea won't.

-Ben

 

[KateKatinaite]

then what would you advice me to do, if temperature fall down to -10 C and lower? last winter we had -20 C...

should i let them outside or should i bring them into the fridge?

 

[DerbyCityNeps]

sorry to hijack...but in in a real predicament right now... i have my plants in my unheated garage...but there is no light availiable. so i but them back outside so they would get sun and i put a white garbage bag over them with a little hole in the corner(ventilation) i did this so they wouldnt freeze or die from the wind... is the bag idea bad? is there any other way?
Alex

 

[recacho638]

Thanks to all that have responded.

In terms of priorities. Would light be a higher priority than protection from the wind & frost? I have my pitcherplant in the basement but lighting migh be an issue. I can bring it outside but the weather in Michigan is very unpredictable and the winter winds are extremely hazardous to plants.

 

[BigCarnivourKid]

There are a couple members who just mulch their bogs in pine needles every winter to prtect them from the rapid freeze/thaw cycles that result in plants dieing. If you have a lot of plants, this would be the easiest method. If you only have a couple, then the fridge or a cold windowsill would be easiest.

How much light they need during dormancy will depend on how cold they get. When it's at or below freezing, photosynthesis almost stops, because the water in the leaves freezes. So they won't need hardly any light.

I'd lose the plastic bag and cover them in an old bed sheet or something similar. Floating row cover material comes to mind. It's usually made from spun polyester, UV protected and durable enough to use several seasons before being replaced. They are used to protect seedlings from wind and harsh light in the spring. It's also porous so that moisture doesn't get trapped under it to cause problems with mold. Topped with a thick layer of pine needles it might make a good winter bed for your plants. I can't say it will for sure as I haven't tried it, but it sounds good on paper.

 

[carnivorkid]

if its -20 then leave the pot frozen where it is cause moving to a fridge will thaw it and its best if its frozen all winter then every day thaw and freeze. Most of all my sarracenias are all put together and mulched with some leaves and pine needles and thats it. You can store it in the fridge it shouldnt hurt it just chck for fungi. like big carnivorkid said if you have a couple them the fridge or windowsill will do i personnaly have over 20so i do whhat i explained above