FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

What effect does temperature have on TC? Is there a min/max range recommended? What about temperature fluctuations?

Reason I'm asking is because I managed to kill off the last surviving of my 1st attempt cultures over night... I had the cultures stored in my reptile room that had an ambient temperature that fluctuated from 22C at night and during inclement weather to around 30C during sunny days. We had some cool weather for the last couple of days so temperatures averaged around 23C. Last night I added a new heater to the room for the reptiles and coming winter. Room ambient increased to average 28C. This morning my culture was brown, dead and gone while it was still looking good last night...

ewertb wrote:What effect does temperature have on TC?

Same as it has on plants out of TC. Too cold and they won't grow at all or will grow slowly. Too hot and they can cook to death in the containers.

ewertb wrote:Is there a min/max range recommended?

72°F to 82°F (22-28°C) is where Dionaea seem to grow the best.

ewertb wrote:What about temperature fluctuations?

That's fine as long as it's within the reasonable range.

Temperatures are a tricky topic. Some wish to grow things on the cool side especially with temperate perennials. Others like to grow warmer and adjust the medium so that vitrification (a.k.a. water soaking) is not a problem. I like Matt's temperature range for flytraps which is similar to the temperature kept by most commercial growth rooms. Flytrap cultures can be cold stored for a few weeks when not actively increasing them, but the temps of the average fridge are too cold. Of interest, is that temperature swings in the growth room should be minimized as large swings increase condensation and air exchange which can lead to higher incidents of airborne contamination.