FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I live just outside of Chicago and have brought in my VFT for the year. I have to do this because of the extreme cold. Don't they go dormant because of the shortened light anyway? Back to the problem, everything is still green but the growth has slowed dramatically. Is it in shock or is it going dormant? Thanks

Probably dormant. Leafs don't always go black and die off. I have a couple that haven't but they are definitely dormant.

As mentioned, a number of leaves can be retained through dormancy. They are just shorter and closer to the soil, forming a rosette.
You don't have to bring it inside, you could stick it in a shed or garage and line a storage container with some reptile heating cable. Or just do fridge method dormancy. I don't personally believe in the short photoperiod dormancy after trying it for 4 years and getting unfavorable results. The temp needs to be around 40*F-50*F for a while in order for them to get a good rest. Mine are all currently in my unheated garage and I'm in chicago as well, I won't turn on the additional heat in their storage containers until it's falling below 33*F (which happens to be tomorrow night as I'm checking my phone...). All that being said, even if your plant does not go fully dormant this winter while inside your house, it's fine, it takes about 3 years of "skipping" dormancy or having it too warm before it starts to affect them.

I just brought mine inside my garage last night with an inch of snow on them. Wish I would have taken pictures, I wasn't thinking. Cool sight to see.

But like I was saying I have a few like my G16 cultivar that hasn't lost any traps, still has all the traps it had all summer. They are definitely dormant though. I can tell because the summer traps have fallen over and the new growth has halted, kind of like being in suspended animation.

Thanks, guys, appreciate the advice. Unfortunately, I lost my VFT's to the fridge method last winter. That being said the traps are much smaller and closer to the ground. I may just keep it inside until the spring, see how that works.

AceMan47 wrote:Thanks, guys, appreciate the advice. Unfortunately, I lost my VFT's to the fridge method last winter.

I don't do fridge either after having a rot problem but people say it's ok if you spray them down with fungicide before placing them in there.

Fieldofscreams wrote:I just brought mine inside my garage last night with an inch of snow on them. Wish I would have taken pictures, I wasn't thinking. Cool sight to see.

Same here whne the first snow of the season hit a few days ago.

I brought my VFT's inside the house the night before but neglected all of my Sarracenias as I didn't really believe the weatherman that any snow would stick.

^^thats exactly what mine looked like. Wish I would have taken pics of it.

The leaves are now much smaller and closer to the ground. Although, its still growing slowly and occasionally catching food. It's in a south windowsill and in a room at 66 degrees Fahrenheit.