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Discussions about fluorescent, LED and other types of grow lighting for Venus Flytraps and other plants

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By Joe-The-King
Posts:  74
Joined:  Mon Jun 20, 2016 8:44 pm
#281462
If I grow my plant indoors during winter because it's getting quite cold outside, how to I got about dormancy I left my plant out and it has frozen a little and quite a few of the leaves are dying off... I don't want the plant to die, I want it to make a recovery so if I had some artificial lights and used them for dormancy, where would I put my plant because I don't have a garage or any cold rooms? Would it be ok in a warm bedroom or no?

In other words my plant has gone downhill due to cold weather and I need help so I can get it a full recovery before it dies. I have currently brought it indoors for no to keep it warm,

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By xr280xr
Posts:  2807
Joined:  Wed Jun 22, 2011 3:29 pm
#281472
Hi Joe-The-King. Flytraps don't like sudden shifts in their environment such as big changes in humidity or temperature. If it was growing indoors where it was warm and you suddenly moved it outdoors where it froze, it's not surprising the leaves would die off and the plant could even die with too harsh of a freeze. However, if a flytrap is growing outside where the temperature naturally decreases as the seasons change, it can withstand freezes pretty well. Which of these cases was yours? It's normal for a flytrap to lose many of its leaves when it becomes dormant.

Bringing your flytrap back into warmth, only makes it harder on it. A VFT will respond to cold by beginning to enter its dormant state. This allows it to "rest" before its next growing period in the spring. You've given your flytrap the queue that it's time for dormancy but then brought it back indoors where it's warm telling it, no it's actually time to grow. That's hard on it. You should probably focus on allowing it to just go dormant rather than trying to make it grow back.

It does need cold to go dormant. A warm room won't work. Outdoors near your house will be warmer than away from it. You can insulate your pot to help protect the rhizome from freezing. A larger pot also helps with this. You can also cover it at night to protect it from frost, which isn't required, but can make it easier on the plant.

As long as you make sure it's still getting enough light, it will probably very slowly grow back a couple leaves during dormancy.

Post back with a picture of it and your location or climate info for possibly more accurate advice.
By Joe-The-King
Posts:  74
Joined:  Mon Jun 20, 2016 8:44 pm
#281508
xr280xr wrote:Hi Joe-The-King. Flytraps don't like sudden shifts in their environment such as big changes in humidity or temperature. If it was growing indoors where it was warm and you suddenly moved it outdoors where it froze, it's not surprising the leaves would die off and the plant could even die with too harsh of a freeze. However, if a flytrap is growing outside where the temperature naturally decreases as the seasons change, it can withstand freezes pretty well. Which of these cases was yours? It's normal for a flytrap to lose many of its leaves when it becomes dormant.

Bringing your flytrap back into warmth, only makes it harder on it. A VFT will respond to cold by beginning to enter its dormant state. This allows it to "rest" before its next growing period in the spring. You've given your flytrap the queue that it's time for dormancy but then brought it back indoors where it's warm telling it, no it's actually time to grow. That's hard on it. You should probably focus on allowing it to just go dormant rather than trying to make it grow back.

It does need cold to go dormant. A warm room won't work. Outdoors near your house will be warmer than away from it. You can insulate your pot to help protect the rhizome from freezing. A larger pot also helps with this. You can also cover it at night to protect it from frost, which isn't required, but can make it easier on the plant.

As long as you make sure it's still getting enough light, it will probably very slowly grow back a couple leaves during dormancy.

Post back with a picture of it and your location or climate info for possibly more accurate advice.
Image
That's from a few days ago and as you can see many leaves have died, I'm in Kent, England and it's been pretty cloudy so not the best light and it was really cold about 0C now it's like 10C.

Also if you could give me a link to a insulate
Cover of something that's a good size for my plant? Thanks

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By xr280xr
Posts:  2807
Joined:  Wed Jun 22, 2011 3:29 pm
#281532
Ah, yeah, it didn't like that at all. I think it's ok, though! It looks like the new growth at the center is still healthy.

That's a very small pot. I wouldn't want it freezing in that one. It would benefit from a larger pot, in general, but especially in harsh temperatures. As far as insulation, I have done things like wrapping a folded towel around pots to help insulate them and covering them at night to keep the heat from radiating out the top. If the bottom of the pot is exposed or against concrete, it will lose heat there too. Some people have found styrofoam they can wrap around pots or sit them inside. Matt sells some insulated pots at the store here, but just having more soil/moss around the plant will help.

So my advice would be:

- Move it into a bigger pot
- Keep giving it the standard, good care. As much sunlight as possible. Keep the soil moist, but not wet - this is especially important when the plant has a setback like yours, and when it's cold. A larger pot will help with this too. If you get a lot of rain in your area, a well-draining media (like peat moss, with a lot of sand and/or perlite - all unfertilized) might work better for you than sphagnum moss. Make sure the pot also has good drainage at the bottom.
- Allow it to stay cold. The temperature forecast for next week will actually be perfect for it. No freezes. That should allow it to continue to make the shift to dormancy which will actually lessen the blow caused by the shock it's had. It will settle in rather than exerting itself to spring back. If you do have a freeze come before you think your plant is ready, you could put it in your refrigerator overnight. Not something growers usually do, but it would be better than moving it into a warm room.

Good luck! Keep us updated with pictures and we can try to help you keep an eye on it.
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