FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I read over your page and it was really helpful, but i just hav two questions. When i have my VFT go dormant, should i leave it in its pot? and whats the difference between hibernating my VFT and haveing it go dormant? thanks!!! i really wuf lov the help!!

Yes, you can leave it in the pot.
Dormancy is the term used for plants, and hibernation is the term used for animals.

Hello I am a beginner in the VFT world, I did have one a while ago but it died on me. I bought another one at a garden/nursery and I have been keeping it the plastic pot it came in, placed in distilled water in a small tray. I've read alot of info on this site and it has been helpful, but I am still confused on the dormancy of my plant. I have been leaving it outside since I bought it in July. It is now September here in Michigan and I am wondering how and when I should store my VFT. The place I got it from said to cut back all the leaves, put the bulb(corm) in a ziploc bag(not sealed) and place in the refrigerator for about 60 days. Then after 60 days take VFT from fridge and repot in Canadian peat, put pot in distilled water in sunlight. Some posts on here have said not to put it in the fridge. I do not have a garage/shed to put it in either. Please advise on how best to help my plant go dormant. Thanks!

Once temps get down to around 35-40 degrees F. regularly do the zip lock bag thing. Drain the excess water from the pot first and hit it with a spray or 2 of a sulfur based fungicide. I leave mine in the fridge for 3 months.

I have a question, this seems like the perfect thread.

I live in Key West, FL (Hardiness Zone 10) in the Spring-Summer it's generally in the 80-90's (100's with heat index/humidity). Now during winter, it can get in the 50-60's but it's "USUALLY" not until later in the year, sometimes not till January, so knowing the avg temp is 80-90 would 70's be enough to put my flytraps into dormancy?

I can put them inside also if that benefits at all, I would just like someone to point me in the right direction.

Edit: I ask this, just because it's getting to be that time of year and I don't want to skip dormancy if it's going to kill my plants in the long term.

Thanks.

I think that flytraps will probably have a sufficient dormancy period in Key West to do fine. Perhaps you could try them outside all year this year and let us know for sure?

Matt wrote:I think that flytraps will probably have a sufficient dormancy period in Key West to do fine. Perhaps you could try them outside all year this year and let us know for sure?

That is probably what I'll end up doing and update as I go if they go into dormancy and so forth then post on here
Thanks.

This entire site, and especially this article, have been extremely helpful to me. I bought my first fly trap this summer, and I had no idea they were such complex little things.I got 'him' because I had alot of flies in my apartment and thought he might help with pest control, and even if he didn't, he would be a unique thing to have as a pet. His name is "Chomper" and he has done an excellent job of catching the flies and other little bugs. I was very surprised at how well he did and he grew super fast the first few months. I didn't know what I was doing, but I planted him in a decorative glass jar with the peat moss stuff he came in, and kept him near the window. My windows are stained glass, so they let not so intense light in, and they're old, so its a little drafty. He stayed really warm all summer, but now that its getting cool outside, his little mouths are going black, and it seemed like after he would catch a bug, they wouldn't open back up and be healthy. Reading through this site, I will now change a few things...like not watering with tap water...oops and maybe I'll let him stay by the window so he can continue to get cooler and cooler and go dormant. I didn't know they did that, and I was a little sad because I thought he was going to die. And I'll stop triggering his traps...I thought it was really cool when he would "bite" but I guess that's not so healthy for them either. I'm sure everyone reading this thinks I'm a dork, but it's a learning process! And I'm lucky I found this site before I threw him away for "dying". You guys are awesome! Thanks for all the awesome advice on Chomper care!

This forum has also helped me alot Thanks moof!

Hi. I just bought my first VFT one week ago. I've read about dormancy and I've tried to keep it cool and low on water. Still it seems as if it has not entered dormancy. New traps are growing and the traps still close when I feed it with insects. Have it entered dormancy? What should I do?

TheLilledal wrote:Hi. I just bought my first VFT one week ago. I've read about dormancy and I've tried to keep it cool and low on water. Still it seems as if it has not entered dormancy. New traps are growing and the traps still close when I feed it with insects. Have it entered dormancy? What should I do?

Flytraps grow new traps and the traps work even when dormant. If you provide it natural light and keep it cool, it will go dormant naturally.

AliBoo wrote: I'm sure everyone reading this thinks I'm a dork, but it's a learning process!

Don't worry; a lot of carnivorous plant lovers and growers are dorks to some degree. In fact, I think a lot of people are dorks in private or with close friends or family, regardless of how they act in public. And the process of learning almost always involves mistakes, but your new plants will thank you for the mistakes you learned from the old ones.

I'm a dork, a nerd, you name it, I've been it! Welcome to life!

I have to ask this.... if you live on a hot weather in which winters usually have temperatures between 5 up to 20 degrees celsius, do you need to hibernate them on the fridge? Also if you hibernate on the fridge, how do you do the watering part??? And in case you have to do such how often should you take them out to water them? Also does the fridge have to have certain specific conditions on temperature or just "normal" temperature it usually has???

thanx

You can acclimate them a little at a time like you would hardening off plants in the spring to put outside. Once in the fridge (mine are in zip lock bags) you drain off the excess water then bag it. Watering is usually not required the rest of the winter. I DO check on mine every month for fungus and water.