FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I bought a VFT at a local grocery store in mind-September (I'm in Maryland in the metro DC area - Zone 7, I think). It's a very small plant and looks like it's in a normal dormancy state. Would it be okay to repot it now, or would it be better to wait until it comes out of dormancy? It looks like it's currently potted in peat, but I'm not sure if it's a good quality.

It's also been much too cold to leave it outside. I hope it's not too warm for it indoors (I keep the thermostat on 65 degrees).

Monkeypoint wrote: ↑Fri Jan 28, 2022 9:32 pm I bought a VFT at a local grocery store in mind-September (I'm in Maryland in the metro DC area - Zone 7, I think). It's a very small plant and looks like it's in a normal dormancy state. Would it be okay to repot it now, or would it be better to wait until it comes out of dormancy? It looks like it's currently potted in peat, but I'm not sure if it's a good quality.

It's also been much too cold to leave it outside. I hope it's not too warm for it indoors (I keep the thermostat on 65 degrees).

Repot it near the end of winter or early spring. You can't keep it indoors, that is way too warm for it to go dormant. Research fridge dormancy.

Monkeypoint wrote: ↑Fri Jan 28, 2022 9:32 pm I bought a VFT at a local grocery store in mind-September (I'm in Maryland in the metro DC area - Zone 7, I think). It's a very small plant and looks like it's in a normal dormancy state. Would it be okay to repot it now, or would it be better to wait until it comes out of dormancy? It looks like it's currently potted in peat, but I'm not sure if it's a good quality.

It's also been much too cold to leave it outside. I hope it's not too warm for it indoors (I keep the thermostat on 65 degrees).

What are your lows for this week. For temperature. You might be able to keep them outdoors.

Dragonslayer126 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 28, 2022 9:45 pm

Monkeypoint wrote: ↑Fri Jan 28, 2022 9:32 pm I'm in Maryland in the metro DC area
[snip]
It's also been much too cold to leave it outside. I hope it's not too warm for it indoors (I keep the thermostat on 65 degrees).

What are your lows for this week. For temperature. You might be able to keep them outdoors.

A quick Google of "weather forecast washington dc": A flytrap wouldn't be happy outside in this weather, especially after it spent all winter indoors.

Skipping dormancy for one winter won't bother the plant. However, it will need a real dormancy next winter.

MikeB wrote: ↑Sat Jan 29, 2022 3:01 am

Dragonslayer126 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 28, 2022 9:45 pm

Monkeypoint wrote: ↑Fri Jan 28, 2022 9:32 pm I'm in Maryland in the metro DC area
[snip]
It's also been much too cold to leave it outside. I hope it's not too warm for it indoors (I keep the thermostat on 65 degrees).

What are your lows for this week. For temperature. You might be able to keep them outdoors.

A quick Google of "weather forecast washington dc":
7-day forecast for DC.jpg
A flytrap wouldn't be happy outside in this weather, especially after it spent all winter indoors.

Skipping dormancy for one winter won't bother the plant. However, it will need a real dormancy next winter.

Dang that weather is almost as bad as mine. I hate fridge dormancy.

Yeah - I didn't think so. I just ordered a cold trap from Amazon. I'm hoping that will be sufficient for next winter if in addition to the cold trap I insulated them really well with burlap (I bought 2 more). They are in Styrofoam cups.

Monkeypoint wrote: ↑Sat Jan 29, 2022 3:34 pm Yeah - I didn't think so. I just ordered a cold trap from Amazon. I'm hoping that will be sufficient for next winter if in addition to the cold trap I insulated them really well with burlap (I bought 2 more). They are in Styrofoam cups.

During dormancy, flytraps don't have to be very cold, just reasonably cool: 35-55°F / 2-13°C.

MikeB wrote: ↑Sat Jan 29, 2022 4:52 pm

Monkeypoint wrote: ↑Sat Jan 29, 2022 3:34 pm Yeah - I didn't think so. I just ordered a cold trap from Amazon. I'm hoping that will be sufficient for next winter if in addition to the cold trap I insulated them really well with burlap (I bought 2 more). They are in Styrofoam cups.

During dormancy, flytraps don't have to be very cold, just reasonably cool: 35-55°F / 2-13°C.

My rule is anything above 60 is bad and anything below 20 is bad (for dormancy) I know that they can survive between those because it's been that cold for me when I had them outdoors in winter.