FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Well just got my starter traps yesterday, they look great. Living here in NC (metro Charlotte area), I'm wondering with the milder winters here if they would be fine outdoors year round? I keep my bonsai out on their benches, the orchids come in when the nights hit 40 consistently. Of course tonight will be in the low 20s, but since they're native to the state, unless there's an ice storm or something, outside year round? With a quick rush into the garage if need be?

Thanks for any input. Looking forward to chatting with you all.

Regards,

Russell
Matthews, NC USA

Veenruss wrote:Well just got my starter traps yesterday, they look great. Living here in NC (metro Charlotte area), I'm wondering with the milder winters here if they would be fine outdoors year round? I keep my bonsai out on their benches, the orchids come in when the nights hit 40 consistently. Of course tonight will be in the low 20s, but since they're native to the state, unless there's an ice storm or something, outside year round? With a quick rush into the garage if need be?

Thanks for any input. Looking forward to chatting with you all.

Regards,

Russell
Matthews, NC USA

Hi Russell,
Welcome to the forum.
You'll find a lot of nice folks here.
There are some good information pages here: Http://www.flytrapcare.com
All the FlyTrap care and feeding info that's fit to print.
I'm a Drosera guy, myself, but I'd say that your FlyTraps should be good outside year round.

Just my two cents worth.

Good growing,
Mike

Thanks Mike. It was sort of the way that I was leaning....a few days on the sill to acclimate, wait for the sleet to pass, then I'll get them out on the back patio. Should be good for them seeing how it gets around 6-7 hours of full sun per day.

I've surfed around several sites, this included, and I agree, they've been very helpful.

Russ

welcome! I'm only a hop over in Greensboro, most of our fly traps in this our first dormancy/winter with them are in Styrofoam cups outdoors on a covered porch, or in a 6x6x8" tall planter

I cover them with a heavy canvas sheet on nights its been below freezing, and otherwise just make sure to not let them dry out. we will see how that method goes this year some people will say to an unheated room/garage but this was my decision for this winter.

have you checked out the Mcmillan Gardens/Greenhouse at UNCC?

https://gardens.uncc.edu/gardens-and-gr ... reenhouse/

we went for the first time a couple months ago (kid/myself/partner) it was awesome not a ton there but they well some nice plants also for pretty reasonable!

Hey neighbor. Yeah, outside they went, back to somewhat milder temperatures and sunny days. In the process now of finding a good sunny spot given how the sun comes over the house this time of year......

I've been to the greenhouses up at UNCC once, but that was literally 20 years ago. My son is there now; sounds like I need to make another trip.....

Thanks for the reply. Hope you have a great holiday season.

Russ

Veenruss wrote:Hey neighbor. Yeah, outside they went, back to somewhat milder temperatures and sunny days. In the process now of finding a good sunny spot given how the sun comes over the house this time of year......

I've been to the greenhouses up at UNCC once, but that was literally 20 years ago. My son is there now; sounds like I need to make another trip.....

Thanks for the reply. Hope you have a great holiday season.

Russ

awesome! Larry Mellichamp just retired from running it not that long ago from what I read, most of the plants we purchased there were some of the complex hybrids him / others produced between there and UNC Chapel Hill. was a cool spot! keep an eye out also they do a spring and a fall plant sale there tht is fairly big. I wasn't able to make it to it this year but it sounds like a cool lil thing for native plants and when we visited I got a preview of the carnivorous plants they had prepped/were prepping (they were just behind a rope so I asked them to check them out) the plants we bought (I think they were $6-8 each for what we got) were beginning to get ready for winter, but they had some beautiful stuff upcoming for sale. worth keeping an eye out!

I have heard of the plant sales there but have not made it yet, probably because I was working (I do week on/week off, so I miss a lot of weekend things, like the past 5 or 6 Repticon shows.....). But definitely is something I hope to get to some day.

Russ

I have my plants on the porch. I brought them in for 2 nights but the temps are back up. So they are outside. My drosera are out there also. and some cephalotus. So far everything looks fine. Its Fall so they will look like Fall plants.

I got some new plants last week from the fly trap store. They weathered to 39f a few days ago and seem ok.

One thing I would try to stress is these plants Winter dormancy in the ground. The ground insulates them. They are not insulated above ground in pots. That said, an outside bog would be more consistent with the natural conditions that the fly traps live in.

Howdy other NC neighbor. A bog planting is in the works, but in the springtime. I have some pitchers on the way, going to try a group setting. I agree with the in ground insulation, as I've done that with my bonsai in the past. Now, if we're going to get a bad sleet or freezing rain or something, I usually just bring everyone in the garage for the night until the storm passes, then back out they go, and that's worked for the past 10 years +.

Everyone has been outside and so far all is well, it's now just a matter of following the sun and trying to figure out the sunniest spot for the longest time in my yard. I haven't really had to follow that with the bonsai, they stay on the benches year round with no issues, so I just haven't paid any attention to it yet.

Thank you all again for the insights, I really appreciate it.

Russ

supposed to be a hard freeze tonight. I feel like I am being a little wreckless not having my plants in a green house. I spoke to someone last week who lost almost all his fly traps from a surprise freeze. But, as yall know, it doesn't freeze a lot here. I'm expecting Spring in 2 months and I had on shorts yesterday. At this point, I don't see a problem throwing the fly traps into a cool garage if its going to freeze. Technically a fly trap becomes cold hardy but it needs time to do it. if it comes from a green house, it hasn't had time to acclimate to the cold weather.

I sort of wish I looked at the weather before leaving for work last night...agreed, hopefully they have acclimated enough.

Russ

Hopefully your plants are fine.

I don't like doing it this way but I brought my plants in. supposed to be 21f this morning.

if you have a garage with a window or a room with a window where you can turn off the heat, that would work. Ice and snow are actually insulaters. no water, no wind and cold air is much worse on a plant because the cold can get to the plant.

What plants did you buy?

Got the starter set of several traps. I have a pitchers and trap setup on the way, should be in next week.

Yah they were pretty frozen this AM, at least the sphagnum was, so we'll see what they look like next week. Didn't dip below freezing til the early morning hours, and it was 32F by 9AM, now in the mid 40s. And it'll be in the 60s next week, down here anyway. Unfortunately my garage has no windows, and the empty bedroom in the house is filled with snakes and tarantulas and orchids and whatnot so it's cool but definitely not cold, doesn't get below 65F in there. But they're in the garage next time for the night if it gets below 30......

Russ

https://www.homedepot.com/p/NuVue-RowGr ... 4wcdtVAM2A

row covers. i thought these were cool and cheap idea.

have you tried these yet?