FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Matt wrote:Probably. In large enough pots, flytraps can stand temperatures down into the teens. I kept some plants outside in half wine barrels all winter here last year and the lows were down into the teens a few times. The pots didn't freeze solid though because daytime highs were almost always above or near freezing. All of the flytraps, even the teeny tiniest ones came back.

But flytraps will do better if you keep them a bit warmer (lows in the mid 40s to low 50s at night is ideal) so they can grow a bit during dormancy.

Thanks, Matt. If I can't go into the garage, I'll need to buy the plants a refrigerator. The squirrels ate most of each 7-year-old VFT, and only one of the two grew another trap here in my room. The other plant is still green, though. Thank God, my Clayton's Red Sunset has been living indoors, where the squirrels can't get at it.

tommyr wrote:Yes if the temps do not go below 35F.

Thanks, Tommy. Earlier today, when I shopped online for a dorm-size refrigerator, a salesman said that he didn't know of any refrigerator with a settable thermostat. If I can find a fridge with one, I'll set the thermostat to about 45 degrees.

Bill McEnaney wrote:

tommyr wrote:Yes if the temps do not go below 35F.

Thanks, Tommy. Earlier today, when I shopped online for a dorm-size refrigerator, a salesman said that he didn't know of any refrigerator with a settable thermostat. If I can find a fridge with one, I'll set the rhermostat to about 45 degrees.

Not sure about SMALL fridges but normal sized have a knob for cooler/colder settings. Get a thermometer and check the temps and the highest and lowest settings if YOU fridge has such a control.

tommyr wrote:Not sure about SMALL fridges but normal sized have a knob for cooler/colder settings. Get a thermometer and check the temps and the highest and lowest settings if YOU fridge has such a control.

I'll do that. I told the salesman that I didn't need a freezer. He didn't say whether any cube-like refrigerator would get cold enough to freeze anything.

Bill McEnaney wrote:

tommyr wrote:Not sure about SMALL fridges but normal sized have a knob for cooler/colder settings. Get a thermometer and check the temps and the highest and lowest settings if YOU fridge has such a control.

I'll do that. I told the salesman that I didn't need a freezer. He didn't say whether any cube-like refrigerator would get cold enough to freeze anything.

Ask to look at the manual to the fridge you are considering. It SHOULD list the temperature(s).

The Paradisia I got a week or two ago already seemed to have been going dormant. Now there's only one green petiole left on it. Should I put it into the refrigerator from now until February after I spray it with Captan and ziplock-bag it?

Hi i have a question! I am going to have a baby VFT. And i really want it to go dormant. I have a basement it could be in. But do it need a special lamp? Or can i just go get a normal lamp and use that? Please answer soon...

No special lamp needed. Although MY VFTs do not get light during dormancy at all. If you use a light use a CFL or standard shop lights.

I just bought my traps last week. I did not know about dormancy, I do now. I think my traps are going through this dormancy now. How do I take care of them during this time
1.How often should I water them i.e.(once a day , everyday , twice a week)
2.is now a good time to re-pot them if so can I get exact measurements of how much peat moss and other ingredients to use
p.s how do attach pics

VFT dormancy confuses me, everyone. I know that during dormancy, VFTs grow slowly, and someone here seemed to tell me to expect to see new growth on dormant plants. The nurseryman I usually buy from thought my Paradisia was trying to hibernate when all but one petiole blackened. Sadly, that last one died, so the plant looks dead. Should I check the rhizome before I decide whether to refrigerate the plant. I'd hate to shock any of my plants, especially now after I've potted clumsily. Although I've learned a lot from you, my new hobby still frightens me because I don't want to harm the plants.

brandye22 wrote:1.How often should I water them i.e.(once a day , everyday , twice a week)

There is no definitive schedule for watering. Watering should be done when the soil is just moist and approaching being dry. This varies greatly depending on growing conditions.

brandye22 wrote:2.is now a good time to re-pot them if so can I get exact measurements of how much peat moss and other ingredients to use

Flytraps are best repotted in the spring, but can be repotted any time of year without significant problems. As for the soil mix, we prefer to use 5 parts peat, 3 parts sand and 2 parts perlite by volume. A 50/50 mix of peat and sand or peat and perlite works fine too.

brandye22 wrote:how do attach pics

See here: http://www.flytrapcare.com/phpBB3/shari ... 16530.html

Bill McEnaney wrote:The nurseryman I usually buy from thought my Paradisia was trying to hibernate when all but one petiole blackened. Sadly, that last one died, so the plant looks dead. Should I check the rhizome before I decide whether to refrigerate the plant.

Sounds to me like the plant is likely dying, not going dormant. When entering dormancy, flytraps lose their larger summer leaves, but retain all of the low-lying leaves and continue to produce wide, low-lying leaves with small traps. If the plant doesn't have any leaves, it's likely dead or dying.

Matt wrote:Sounds to me like the plant is likely dying, not going dormant. When entering dormancy, flytraps lose their larger summer leaves, but retain all of the low-lying leaves and continue to produce wide, low-lying leaves with small traps. If the plant doesn't have any leaves, it's likely dead or dying.

The rhizome still looks whiteish. But if the plant is dying, it probably was already doing that when I got it. I can't tell whether my first Royal Red is dying. The good news is that the new one "bit" me and reopened the trap it bit me with.

wow this is an awesome article. Thank you so much.

Everyone,

I thought my Clayton's Red began to hibernate or died. After I noticed a green, healthy-looking, trapless leaf, I moved the plant to my desk to let it "sunbathe" in front of the "200-watt" grow light. The leaf reddened, and it keeps growing along with another red leaf. Should I have left the plant near my transparent door to let shortening days promote dormancy? I don't want to force the plants to grow fast when they should get ready to hibernate. And it's hard to believe that it's okay to refrigerate them now when the abrupt temperature change would shock them.

Hello,
I'm new to owning Venus Fly Traps and am confused as to whether I'm killing mine or if it's entering dormancy. Being late October, it would stand to reason that dormancy is the cause of my plant's decline, but it doesn't seem very healthy looking, so I'm unsure.
Here are the conditions of the plant up until now:
*Bought at a nursery about two weeks ago
*Transplanted after three days to terrarium along with a mini fern. I water all with a tiny bit of boiled tap water.
*After one week the plants all seemed happy, and the humidity in the terrarium seemed about right
*4-5 days later, I noticed a slight layer of mould growing along the soil (cactus variety) in the entire terrarium. I removed the cover, and removed as much mould as I could. All this time and currently, plant seems just fine. One trap at most starting to turn black
*Yesterday, many of the smaller leaf stems starting to turn black, and leaves with traps look wilted and slightly yellowish. I read that the amount of light it is getting may not be enough, 800 lumens 12 hours a day. I move the light closer to the plant, and water slightly with distilled water, still with the cover off.

Today my plant doesn't look any better than it did yesterday, and may look a bit worse, as in, more limp and wilted. Is there something I'm doing drastically wrong? Could temperature or humidity be causing this at all? I also checked the rhizomes (turns out there's three tiny plants) and they look alright. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
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