FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Just to clarify a few things for people just starting. Here are some tips.

-First off LED lighting must be labeled as a LED grow light. I typically recommend yescom 225, spider farmer, etc. I do not recommend fluorescent grow lights as they are costly and inefficient.

-Some plants respond well when done properly others do not tolerate indoor lighting at all. More on this below.

-The more space in a grow area the more the light intensity spreads out. A grow tent or something over the grow area to keep the light inside the grow area makes a big difference (obviously nothing transparent).

Plant recommendation list for temperate zones

Recommended or optional: Heliamphora, Nepenthes, Cephalotus, Tropical Pinguicula, Tropical Drosera, some Warm Temperate Pinguicula, Terrestrial Utricularia, Brocchinia, Darlingtonia
Not recommended keep outside if possible: Sarrecenia, VFT, Temperate Sundews, aquatic bladderwort, aldrovanda

For tropical climates without a cold dormancy

Grow under lights: Nepenthes, Heliamphora, Terrestrial Utricularia, Tropical Drosera, Tropical Pinguicula (must reduce light during winter months), Brocchinia
Grow outside in cool highland conditions only: Highland Nepenthes (use semi shade), Heliamphora, Brocchinia, Tropical Drosera, Tropical Pinguicula?
Grow outside in hot and humid tropical regions: Lowland Nepenthes (partial shade required)
Do not grow without a dormancy method available: Cephalotus, Sarrecenia, VFT, Cold Temperate Pinguicula, Temperate Drosera, VFT, Temperate Utricularia, Darlingtonia, Aldrovanda

First off, thanks for this.
If lights are on 18 hours a day now, what do we cut that back to for light dormancy?

Lilyofthevalley9 wrote: ↑Thu Aug 24, 2023 12:32 pm Just to clarify a few things for people just starting. Here are some tips.

-First off LED lighting must be labeled as a LED grow light. I typically recommend yescom 225, spider farmer, etc. I do not recommend fluorescent grow lights as they are costly and inefficient.
<snip...>

Uh oh, nobody told my local d. capillaris that their light must be labeled as a "grow light"...they're just underneath some trashy 3-panel LED garage lights.<sigh> My tiny brevifolia seemed to have struggled under the garage lights, too...

Panman wrote: ↑Thu Aug 24, 2023 2:00 pm I use Wyze Smart Switches and set the schedule to 1 hour before sunrise and 1 hour after sunset.

Panman, which one of the Wyze switches are you using. Do they have an astronomical clock feature?

I've toyed with the idea of an astronomical clock for a while. Seems that most astro clock switches offered are outlet box types of switches but I could easily stick one in a box with a couple of pigtails coming out of it for portable use.

I use tuya compatible smart plugs.

Lilyofthevalley9 wrote:-First off LED lighting must be labeled as a LED grow light. I typically recommend yescom 225, spider farmer, etc. I do not recommend fluorescent grow lights as they are costly and inefficient.

I actually strongly recommend ignoring any sort of "grow light" branding when shopping for lights. It's usually meaningless and mostly a marketing ploy to jack up the price vs conventional lights. Unusual light spectrums some grow lights use (like the dreaded blurple) can actually be actively harmful to some plants too. What you should pay attention to is if the light spectrum is something that's comfortable for your eyes (which is far more important than any minor benefit the plants might gain from a special light spectrum) and power efficiency, which isn't always easy to determine.

So I understand winter dormancy needs to be from October through February. But, Is that the end or beginning of the months?

Do these smart plugs require a constant Wi-Fi/ Internet connection or once you set them up through your phone do they run disconnected from the Internet? My setup where I keep my plants in the old trailer has no Internet connection, just cellphone service.

andynorth wrote: ↑Thu Aug 24, 2023 8:03 pm So I understand winter dormancy needs to be from October through February. But, Is that the end or beginning of the months?

Andy, I would look at the plant’s native territory and try to provide a dormancy similar to that. Some of the CPS down here along the gulf coast require dormancy but it may only be for a couple or three months of wide temperature swings and seldom any really cold extended periods. I think some of them key off of decreasing/increasing light levels and periods. I let my d. filiformis, flytraps, and sarrs “overwinter” in a room in the trailer with only distant window light and no heat. When I started seeing new growth coming up I brought them back to warmth and lights. I let them pick the time period.

Intheswamp wrote: ↑Thu Aug 24, 2023 10:38 pm Do these smart plugs require a constant Wi-Fi/ Internet connection or once you set them up through your phone do they run disconnected from the Internet? My setup where I keep my plants in the old trailer has no Internet connection, just cellphone service.

Depends on the device: wifi, bluetooth or zigbee.

I use the below smart light and I love it. Coupled with the app, I am able to control when to turn fan on/off and all aspects of lighting. In the spring when I pull my plants from dormancy and if germinating any seeds I run at 100% for several weeks. Once I know all is good I cut it back to 75% before putting outside. I am thinking of cutting it to 50% for any plants that only require light dormancy. Does this sound like a feasible plan or should I be doing something different? This past Spring my plants outgrew my shelf space in my greenhouse before our torrential rains of the PNW subsided long enough that my plants would not be water logged and could actually get a little sun. I believe it was early June.
https://www.amazon.com/VIVOSUN-Integrat ... deae8f9840