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david146_gw

First winter struggles

David146
9 years ago

Well, I'm in quite a pickle here... This afternoon I picked up my pitcher plant and Venus flytrap only to find their soil frozen. I'm pretty sure they'll survive at least, but if I want to keep them dormant, I'll have to keep them outside, but if I keep them outside, they'll freeze to death. Soo.... What should I do? There is a refrigerator method, but this is my first winter with them, so I don't feel comfortable trying that out. I'd rather keep them outside if possible, like covering their soil with leaves or something. Please help me out, I'm just a novice at this, and would gladly take some constructive criticism.

Comments (11)

  • David146
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    And the pitcher plant.

  • cooperdr_gw
    9 years ago

    Definently don't try the refrigerator thing unless they're bare-rooted and cleaned. Mine turned all rotten and moldy in about two weeks. I was just following the directions on my venus flytrap but with no circulation or light it just didn't work.

  • hunterkiller03
    9 years ago

    When I used to use the refrigerate method. After cutting off the old leaves & cleaning the plants. I wrapped the bulbs and rhizomes with moistened long-fiber sphagnum moss & place them inside a ziploc bag, then inside a box, which in turn was placed inside the refrigerator. Usually where the vegetables are kept. I don't pack them tightly with the moss, just enough to wrap the plant, & I don't seal the bag all the way. Checking them once in a while & making sure the sphagnum moss is moist.

    But I change that method by simply putting them in cool part of the house, like a garage or a porch. Pot & all.

    But to my sarracenias & my two D filiformis, I now simply leave them alone in their pots under the sun, if there's a frost or not. The cold temperatures & the natural drop of light & the short days keeps them dormant. Every year I take my VFT out of their pots because by the end of their growing season, they have "walked" to the edge of their pots, so I have to take them out, separate any new plants. Then wrapped them in ziploc bags & place them in the refrigerator.

    Do you have any part of your house that is cold & doesn't receive much light. It doesn't take much to get them dormant. Drop of light & temperatures is enough.

  • David146
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks guys, I do have a garage, and it has no windows. I've heard that's not ideal for the plants to not being able photosynthesize at all. I could try to implant the plants, pot and all, into the ground. Then, mulch them with mulch and leaves so that they have extra protection. Will that work? Thanks for the input again.

  • cooperdr_gw
    9 years ago

    Well Venus Flytraps are native to only a very small area of the Carolinas. I bet it gets below freezing there but the directions said not to let it get below 40%. So basically I don't have the answer- sorry.

  • paul_
    9 years ago

    What zone are you in?

    If you have a yard (as opposed to being an apt dweller) then the Sarracenia can stay outside. Plant it pot and all in the ground.

    If your vft has been outside this whole time, and assuming you've been experiencing cold fall weather, your plant should already be in dormant mode.

    I have known folks in zone 6 who have similarly kept their vft's in ground all winter. They covered them with a layer of mulch.

    I'm an apt dweller so I keep my vft in the fridge all winter. I bag mine pot and all and stick it in the back of the fridge. I use a regular cheap plastic bag like the grocery stores use to bag up you stuff at checkout. I do punch a series of small holes throughout the bag with a nail. Every 3 or 4 weeks I pull the vft out to check the media for moisture and make sure mold isn't having a field day, then rebag it and return it to the fridge.

  • tommyr_gw Zone 6
    9 years ago

    You CAN put them in the fridge IN the pots. I've been doing it for years. Drain off the excess water and put them in a zip lock bag. A small spray of a SULPHUR based fungicide will help keep fungus/mold away.

  • cooperdr_gw
    9 years ago

    Actually you could try the fridge method. Mine was potted the way I got it- nasty old moss. That's why it didn't work.

  • goofy_507
    9 years ago

    Lol that purpurea would survive nearly anything as far as low temps go. They are very hardy!!

  • purslanegarden
    8 years ago

    Just as a follow-up to these cold temperatures and even freezing weather, I had my VFTs and pitcher plants outside all winter. While I didn't have weeks of snow and ice, there were definitely a few days where temperatures were freezing or below. I checked my potting material and it was frozen, as expected since it holds water. However, the plants themselves were later revealed to be OK, including whatever root system it had in the frozen potting media.

    Mine were young plants in the middle of a 6" pot that was about 8" deep, so I don't know if those measurements played a part in how different they would be. As well as not knowing everyone's winter seasons, but this is how I tested and experimented that the winters here will be tolerable for my plants to remain outside.



  • tommyr_gw Zone 6
    8 years ago

    They CAN take brief freezes. Prolonged freezes are deadly though. In your zone a good mulch cover is all that's really needed.

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