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Ask questions about how to grow and care for Venus Flytraps

Moderator: Matt

By tommyr
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Posts:  1748
Joined:  Mon Nov 02, 2009 1:38 am
#347851
First of all remove the covering on it. Secondly, it is getting too late for dormancy now so forget about that for this year. This fall/winter it will need to start getting yearly dormancy. Acclimate it to as much Sun as you can give it until it's warm enough to place it OUTSIDE for the growing season. These are not houseplants.
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By Matt
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Posts:  22523
Joined:  Mon Apr 21, 2008 11:28 pm
#347857
I agree with tommyr. Remove the covering, give the plant full outdoor sunlight and let it adjust to the natural growing seasons. Even in winter, flytraps need full sun.

It will be just fine this year and will likely "sleep" a little bit right now as the days are still fairly short. As long as it is given good care, it will settle in just fine. Be sure to give it the following:
- Full sunlight outdoors
- Low-mineral water (distilled, rain or reverse osmosis

If it is still freezing and frosting where you live, it can be kept in the sunniest windowsill until freeze or frost passes, but be sure to get it outside as soon as feasibly possible.

Good luck!
By Benny
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Posts:  530
Joined:  Thu Jan 16, 2020 9:46 pm
#347877
Thank you guys for your advice! :D
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By ManFromAnAntiqueLand
Posts:  12
Joined:  Sun Jan 26, 2020 2:27 am
#348273
I keep my fly traps in the garage, where it's averaging around 45F each evening. They receive no light. I live in Denver. The days are getting longer slowly, but evenings are still anywhere from 20-30F, almost always below freezing, and sometimes dipping into the teens.

I thought about putting them back in the sun soon, maybe in a few weeks, but taking them inside (it's 60 in the house at night) at night. Or should I wait a couple more months until it stops freezing at night?

Thanks!
By tommyr
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Posts:  1748
Joined:  Mon Nov 02, 2009 1:38 am
#348389
sanguinearocks101 wrote: Mon Feb 03, 2020 12:49 am I know about a guy that puts his venus flytraps in the fridge for their dormancy and doesn't give them any light at all. But I would recommend using a light on a timer to give them light.
I've been doing that for over 12 years now with NO problems at all. A few weeks ago I started waking mine up and re-potting some as a matter of fact.
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By Artchic528
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Posts:  662
Joined:  Sat Aug 15, 2015 8:13 pm
#354188
I take the lazy growers approach and just leave my plants outside. Seeing as I'm practically in the native areas Flytraps already grow, it works perfectly, and as an added bonus, they don't need any special reintroduction to sunlight. Best of any world if you ask me.

Here in Charlotte, NC the winters are cold, but not cold enough to freeze the ground solid. If I were living farther north, I'd definitely had made a dormancy area in my garage.
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By ApgarTraps
Posts:  79
Joined:  Mon May 28, 2018 2:22 pm
#363939
Artchic528 wrote: Thu May 14, 2020 5:52 pm I take the lazy growers approach and just leave my plants outside. Seeing as I'm practically in the native areas Flytraps already grow, it works perfectly, and as an added bonus, they don't need any special reintroduction to sunlight. Best of any world if you ask me.

Here in Charlotte, NC the winters are cold, but not cold enough to freeze the ground solid. If I were living farther north, I'd definitely had made a dormancy area in my garage.
Me too: in North Georgia, it gets below 20F (-7C) a few times each winter, and my potted plants freeze solid. I'm talkin' the whole pot is a block of ice. They do fine.
By tommyr
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Posts:  1748
Joined:  Mon Nov 02, 2009 1:38 am
#364081
Artchic528 wrote: Thu May 14, 2020 5:52 pm I take the lazy growers approach and just leave my plants outside. Seeing as I'm practically in the native areas Flytraps already grow, it works perfectly, and as an added bonus, they don't need any special reintroduction to sunlight. Best of any world if you ask me.

Here in Charlotte, NC the winters are cold, but not cold enough to freeze the ground solid. If I were living farther north, I'd definitely had made a dormancy area in my garage.
Well that's not a "lazy growers' way, it's the LUCKY growers way and the BEST way to grow CPs. A lot of us can't keeps them outside. You're one of the lucky ones.
By csmith19788
Posts:  7
Joined:  Thu Sep 24, 2020 12:00 pm
#365922
This will be my first dormancy (bought the plant in July) and just had some questions. I grow mine indoors and I'm wondering if anyone has any tips for putting it into dormancy. I can put it outside for a couple of the months but I'll have to bring it back in, in January and February. It gets below freezing for an extended period here. My indoor setup has a growlight that I have set on a 12hour timer. I can adjust the timer to eight hours starting in November and then lessen it for December and January. We keep the thermostat at 65 for a majority of the winter so we're not paying an exorbitant amount in electricity. I have it sitting in a water tray and then I also spray with water once or twice a day, just for some slight humidity. Should I continue with the tray and misting for dormancy or should it just be a tray? Is the 65 temp, mixed with decreased light, enough to push it into sleepytime?
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By sanguinearocks101
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Posts:  1665
Joined:  Mon Jan 06, 2020 1:56 am
#365927
Top watering is best. The only benefit of tray watering is convenience. I’d just stick it outside, keeping it inside all year round is very bad for it. 65 degrees is not enough, I’d say mid 30s to low 40s but it may be a bit higher than that. What zone are you in?
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By Panman
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Posts:  6322
Joined:  Wed Mar 04, 2020 8:41 pm
#365956
You should be fine for outdoor dormancy. You just need to provide plenty of protection from freezing and thawing. I am in 7b (south Atlanta) and my bogs are outdoors year round. In the winter I pile 6 inches of leaves on top of them and uncover them when frost has passed in the spring. The other option you have is to put it in an unheated garage. I will do that with some of my individual potted plants. They won't need to worry about light until they come out of dormancy in the spring.
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