FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I was wondering when do the plants start hibernating, how do you know when they're going into hibernation, and which ones actually go into hibernation?

My Sarrs are starting to brown on the hoods as well of some of my neopenthes pitchers and cephalotus. My sundews are not dewing as much yet my drosera multifida is budding. I don't know if it's them starting to hibernate or if it's because I moved them to a new location or am I doing something wrong. I am so confused. >.<

Well it is called dormancy, and not hibernation. I can't really give you much info because I have no reference to where you live. Pictures would also be penifical.

My Sarrs are starting to brown on the hoods as well of some of my neopenthes pitchers and cephalotus

Nepenthses don't require dormancy just keep them on a corner of a windowsill and spray them every once in a while.

Nepenthes, tropical sundews (D. Capensis is an example) and warm temperate pinguicula do not go into dormancy.

I don't think heliamphora and bladderworts have a dormancy period.

Venus fly traps, sarracenia, many dorsera species (you'd have to check online as per individual), mexican and cold temperate pinguicula and cephalotus go into dormancy. The time they go into dormancy varies depending on where in the world you live.

Dormancy is triggered by a change in light levels (aka photoperiod), prey, water levels and temperatures. Mexican pinguicula do not need drastically lower temperatures to go into dormancy and appear to be more sensitive to lower temperatures than other carnivorous plants.

Some drosera will produce gammae nearing Autumn, these grow as tiny buds that can be removed and replanted. I don't know much about them yet as I have not had gammae produced so far. Mexican Pinguicula can be identified as going into dormancy when they grow more leaves which are non-sticky, non-carnivorous and stack unto eachother.

Most cold temperate pinguicula species die back and form a hibernacula which looks like a bulb.

Venus fly traps and I believe sarracenia can die back and growth will be slowed. I have no experience with cephalotus dormancy and cannot provide information.

I'm a bit tired so I apologize for not being able to come up with more info for you. Hopefully someone can correct any errors I made and give you much more information. Good luck!

Haha, thanks Spruill, I don't know why I keep thinking of my plants like bears needing to hibernate or something.

Anyways, I have been wondering, how do I know when they (VFT, Sarr, and dorsera) are going into dormancy? And when should they be going into dormancy? I live in the Bay Area which is in the "9 zone", yet I also read that temperatures should be below 50F, which is a problem, since the lowest it gets here is 47F and that's only in the mornings. The rest of the day is around 75F. I'm betting it will get colder later on in the Winter, but not by that much, and problem never constantly below 50F.

Heres a good topic to read about flytrap dormancy with pictures. http://www.flytrapcare.com/phpBB3/venus ... -t3142.htm

The browning of your pitchers sounds like you may need to raise the humidity a bit. I've just got a cephalotus so I don't have any experience with it, but from what I've read when they go dormant they just slow down in growth and produce more non-carnivorous leaves. Really not much of a dormancy.

Everything else is pretty well covered above.

Good luck with your plants.

Sorry for some reason it didn't like the address copy and paste it and take out the space between the / venus