FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hello,

i am probably the newest addition to the forum

i am buying a year only VFT some 25 seeds and a ready mix to jumpstart my new addiction

ive read all the beginners guides here and i have some questions that will probably sound silly to you but i just want to be sure.
so here it goes:

1) i live in winnipeg and its very cold here. will the winter dormancy can be achieved by putting the plant near the cold window? its average -16 outside goind to be -30. at my place its usualy 20-25celcius and its always colder near the window and he will get some light...not much.

2) we dont get much sun in here in the winter. should i use a timed for specific amount of hours lamp to light my plants? A "CFL" or those "special plant bulbs" or nothing at all what is better?

3) the ones im buying alive they are bare root and dormant ((from http://www.keehnscarnivores.ca/ by the way)) what is the best way to not shock them into their new surroundings? im buying the soil-mix from the same place to give them what they have been growing in all along.

4)this one is pretty much simple but just to make sure- watering my plants with melted snow(in the microwave or oven, not heated just melted) is good right...? snow i have lots of here

any other tips i would love to read

thanks in advance guys.

Welcome to the forum! Im relatively new too but here's what I know,

1+2: You should be fine leaving your VFT on your window sill over winter. Because of the lowered temps (coming through the window) as well as low light levels your VFT will naturally go into dormancy, no fluorescent lights required. Just be sure to water sparingly, so thst the soil is not soaked and is not dried out - cold and wet = fungus and rot.

3: Pot them as normal I would guess, soak your new VFT in RO rain water or distilled water for about 30 mins, rise the soil out well with the same type of water and plant em up! (may need expert approval on this)

4: As far as I would guess snow should be ok (as long as it's fresh top layer snow), just leave it in a container in your house and let it melt, no need to nuke it

Hope this helps!

my window is facing the morning sun.. should i cover the window with something so it will not get direct sunlight in winter times?

Stas wrote:my window is facing the morning sun.. should i cover the window with something so it will not get direct sunlight in winter times?

That won't be necessary, flytraps handle direct sunlight very well (in most cases direct sunlight is actually the best kind of light you can give them). Also, a window alone should slightly reduce the intensity of sunlight, so as far as light goes, your flytrap will be fine on a windowsill

thanks i think i have all i need to start the plants are on the way.. mail delivery...

ive been setting them a spot on the window.. got a digital temperature reader to be sure what is the temperature there....14-18 C will be ok for young VFT to continue dormancy, or i better go 5-10 C the thing is that the temperature depends on conditions outside and closeness to the window(window layers opened)..