FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I am wondering if my vfts are out of dormancy early. I usually keep the house at 62 degrees. It's been dipping down to 8 degrees as of late, so I've not been able to bring them outside. I turned the coal stove on a week ago and now they're just weird. Well, they've been growing faster, taller, and with more traps. I accidentally jostled a trap the other day and it snapped shut quick. My husband forgot to turn off the lights a few times this last week, as well as turned them on way too early. Did I mess up their dormancy? Will it hurt them? What do I do?

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I think you have to put them to a colder part of the house.


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fluffy123 wrote:I think you have to put them to a colder part of the house.


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I just don't have one. No where where they will get any light.

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Buy a timer for your lights. They are like $3-4 at Walmart. Or you can buy an astronomical timer for a little more that will turn your lights on and off at sunrise and sunset. The main driving factor for VFTs dormancy is the photo period. You need to have a regular light cycle so that they don’t get confused as to what time of year it is. If you are going with the cheap timer just set it every couple of weeks to what your sunrise and sunset times are.

KategoricalKarnivore wrote:Buy a timer for your lights. They are like $3-4 at Walmart. Or you can buy an astronomical timer for a little more that will turn your lights on and off at sunrise and sunset. The main driving factor for VFTs dormancy is the photo period. You need to have a regular light cycle so that they don’t get confused as to what time of year it is. If you are going with the cheap timer just set it every couple of weeks to what your sunrise and sunset times are.

Great. I've been keeping them as on a light schedule as much as possible. Hopefully they'll slip back into a dormancy period again. Can I ask a matter of opinion? If it's 40 to 50 degrees out, cloudy, and maybe lightly raining, ok to leave them out? Or would it be more beneficial to have them under the lights?

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Cross wrote:Great. I've been keeping them as on a light schedule as much as possible. Hopefully they'll slip back into a dormancy period again. Can I ask a matter of opinion? If it's 40 to 50 degrees out, cloudy, and maybe lightly raining, ok to leave them out? Or would it be more beneficial to have them under the lights?

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If your winters are warm enough my opinion is outside all year. My VFTs stay outside year round. They have already gotten freezing temps a few times this year and covered in sleet once too. Don’t move them around. Pick a spot and keep them there, whether that’s inside or out, but they don’t take too kindly to being moved to different conditions constantly.

The ones in the first and second pics don't look like they ever went dormant, they just look light-starved with how spaghetti-shaped they are.