FlyTrapCare Forums

I usually keep my flytraps outside year round but this is the first time I’ve had seedlings I’ve grown from seed outside. Should I let them overwinter outside? Here’s a picture of them in a 5 inch diameter pot.

They look way bigger than the ones I am wintering outside, but I am in zone 9 and have them covered in greenhouse material to protect them from heavy rain. Yours should be fine. How old are they?

Well, wild seedlings don't have a caring mother to make sure they wear their jacket. But wild seedlings also have the insulation from the ground to help protect their roots.
You didn't say where your at, but if they don't experience below 20°F for a long time, or they don't do multiple freeze/thaw cycles, you might be fine.
Or, you could put them in an unheated garage or cold part of your basement this year.

I let seedlings just a few months old spend the winter outside. They get the same level of protection as their parents. However, the weather can be kinda volatile in Charlotte, and you'll have to keep a close eye on the nighttime lows. It might be better to keep them inside, away from heater vents, for the first winter.

My apologies for not clarifying. I live in Charlotte, NC about 3 hours away from the coastal peat bogs that flytraps grow in the wild. So Zone 7a. The seedlings are about a year old from time of germination. The reason they look so sunken in is because I’ve had to constantly tip the pot to drain excess rain water off the top. The pot drains poorly so whenever it rains, (which has been a lot this past summer) the pot turns to peat soup. On the plus side Mother Nature has taken care of the watering for me so I rarely have to!

Artchic528 wrote:My apologies for not clarifying. I live in Charlotte, NC about 3 hours away from the coastal peat bogs that flytraps grow in the wild. So Zone 7a. The seedlings are about a year old from time of germination. The reason they look so sunken in is because I’ve had to constantly tip the pot to drain excess rain water off the top. The pot drains poorly so whenever it rains, (which has been a lot this past summer) the pot turns to peat soup. On the plus side Mother Nature has taken care of the watering for me so I rarely have to!

If you don't mind damaging the bucket, you could punch holes through the sides to facilitate drainage and keep the pot from getting past a certain water level. I'll do that with 1020 trays holding my Sarracenia pots.