Overwintering VFTs in Extreme South Texas?

Overwintering VFTs in Extreme South Texas?#58555

By limeslide -  Fri Jun 11, 2010 2:51 pm
Posts:  296
Joined:  Fri Mar 26, 2010 2:53 am

- Fri Jun 11, 2010 2:51 pm #58555

I'm not very knowledgeable about VFTs, so I'll go ahead and ask you all some questions for this coming fall. So, I was reading Matt's FAQ pages and started readng about dormancy. I read,

Now, what if your plant gets above 55 F, above 60 F, or even above 70 F? Will this trigger your plant to come out of dormancy prematurely? Don't worry too much as long as the plant doesn't stay at that temperature for an extended period of time (more than a few days). In fact, the length of the photoperiod, the amount of time the plant is receiving light during the day, seems to be driving factor as to when a Venus Fly Trap awakens from its winter sleep.

I was like "What?", since I planned on leaving my Sarracenia, Temperate Sundews, and VFTs outside to overwinter, thinking photoperiod is a prominent factor of dormancy. The mean winter temperature here is 70F(60F?). We got an 80F Christmas last year, so now I'm a tad bit worried. I don't like placing plants in fridges, because they can get mold and die, from stories I've heard. Any ideas on this?
I live right between Hardiness Zone 9 and 10 BTW.

Last edited by limeslide on Mon Aug 02, 2010 7:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Overwintering VFTs in Extreme South Texas?#58567

By Matt -  Fri Jun 11, 2010 3:58 pm
Location:  near Festus, Missouri
Posts:  22523
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- Fri Jun 11, 2010 3:58 pm #58567

limeslide wrote:The mean winter temperature here is 75F. We got an 80F Christmas last year, so now I'm all worried.

Unless 75°F the low temperature you experience in winter, you don't really have much to worry about if the temperature occasionally reaches 80°F during dormancy.

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Re: Overwintering VFTs in Extreme South Texas?#58586

By limeslide -  Fri Jun 11, 2010 4:41 pm
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- Fri Jun 11, 2010 4:41 pm #58586

Matt wrote:
limeslide wrote:The mean winter temperature here is 75F. We got an 80F Christmas last year, so now I'm all worried.
Unless 75°F the low temperature you experience in winter, you don't really have much to worry about if the temperature occasionally reaches 80°F during dormancy.

It's constantly 80F here in winter. 75 is a day low.

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Re: Overwintering VFTs in Extreme South Texas?#58617

By Matt -  Fri Jun 11, 2010 8:14 pm
Location:  near Festus, Missouri
Posts:  22523
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- Fri Jun 11, 2010 8:14 pm #58617

limeslide wrote:It's constantly 80F here in winter. 75 is a day low.

That's the low temperature at night time? Where do you live? I didn't think that there was anywhere in the mainland United States that stayed above 75F all year; not even Texas and Florida. If 75F is your night time low, yeah, you're probably going to have to do something else for dormancy. Though you could try leaving your plants outside in winter and see how they do. Perhaps they'll get a "light" rest and be fine the next growing season.

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Re: Overwintering VFTs in Extreme South Texas?#58666

By limeslide -  Fri Jun 11, 2010 10:59 pm
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- Fri Jun 11, 2010 10:59 pm #58666

Matt wrote:
limeslide wrote:It's constantly 80F here in winter. 75 is a day low.
That's the low temperature at night time? Where do you live? I didn't think that there was anywhere in the mainland United States that stayed above 75F all year; not even Texas and Florida. If 75F is your night time low, yeah, you're probably going to have to do something else for dormancy. Though you could try leaving your plants outside in winter and see how they do. Perhaps they'll get a "light" rest and be fine the next growing season.

75 is a low in the day.
I'll try to do that. It usually gets to the low 70s/high 60s at night. It gets to the 40s at times when there is a cold front. We got light frost one time, but the mean temperature low is 75.

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Re: Overwintering VFTs in Extreme South Texas?#58682

By Matt -  Sat Jun 12, 2010 12:19 am
Location:  near Festus, Missouri
Posts:  22523
Joined:  Mon Apr 21, 2008 11:28 pm

- Sat Jun 12, 2010 12:19 am #58682

What city is it that you live in? I'd like to look at the average temperatures for it. Oh wait...judging by your IP address, you live in Harlingen, TX. Here is the weather averages for there:

It looks like you're a bit off on your estimates if that's where you live. The average low in December and January is 50°F and 48°F and the average high is around 70°F. That's a bit warm, but I think it would be good weather for dormancy time for flytraps (I tried to keep my greenhouse above 40°F last year and it would get up into the 70s or 80s on a sunny day). And the record low is only in the teens! That's awesome. I think you live in a nearly perfect place for growing flytraps outside year round.

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Re: Overwintering VFTs in Extreme South Texas?#58713

By limeslide -  Sat Jun 12, 2010 3:53 am
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- Sat Jun 12, 2010 3:53 am #58713

Cool, thanks Matt! Where'd you find that BTW?
I actually live in McAllen, but Harlingen is close by. I don't think there's a big difference in temps here to over there.

Hehee~ Thank you.

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Re: Overwintering VFTs in Extreme South Texas?#58715

By Matt -  Sat Jun 12, 2010 5:12 am
Location:  near Festus, Missouri
Posts:  22523
Joined:  Mon Apr 21, 2008 11:28 pm

- Sat Jun 12, 2010 5:12 am #58715

limeslide wrote:Cool, thanks Matt! Where'd you find that BTW?

weather.com has averages for nearly all US cities. Here it is for McAllen:
http://www.weather.com/outlook/driving/ ... h/USTX0854

I just remembered that I've actually been to McAllen, Texas before...many years ago when I was in college. Seems like a dream almost now.

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Re: Overwintering VFTs in Extreme South Texas?#58720

By limeslide -  Sat Jun 12, 2010 5:36 am
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- Sat Jun 12, 2010 5:36 am #58720

Cool. Thank you.

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Re: Overwintering VFTs in Extreme South Texas?#58778

By Steve_D -  Sat Jun 12, 2010 6:43 pm
Location:  New Mexico US
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Joined:  Tue Nov 18, 2008 5:06 pm

- Sat Jun 12, 2010 6:43 pm #58778

Matt wrote:I think you live in a nearly perfect place for growing flytraps outside year round.

I agree. With those average temperatures, you could (and probably should) leave Venus Flytraps outside all winter, all during dormancy from perhaps late November through some time in March. You don't have to worry about hard freezes, and the nighttime temperatures are low enough to accommodate dormancy nicely.

The only things I would do during dormancy is to make sure that the soil doesn't stay too wet for too long, and try to put the Venus Flytraps in a place where they will get a few hours of morning light but be shaded from the hottest temperatures of the day. This cool shade, along with the nice nighttime temperatures, ought to work very well for the Flytraps.

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