FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I live in a tropical country (india) . And I have a baby vft . Monsoon , the rainy season begins here around June and ends around september end . So in this period I had to keep it under a high power cfl because outside was too cloudy . It did well.
However I heard it needs dormancy period too in winter. How does dormancy work in tropical countries for vft ?
I do knw they aren't tropical plants as such.
But winter is the only time when sunlight comes in my southern facing window. I don't have a window any other side of my apartment
So I was thinking of putting it in southern facing window where it could get max sunlight from october onwards till feb-march.
But will that skip its dormancy ??

Its never to cloudy. Even with clouds the plant will get more light than you can artificially create.

You could leave your plant outside all year without doing anything for it.

Your going to need to slowly reduce the amount of light it receives each day and if you can the temperature a little bit too. This should trigger it to go into dormancy. I would not recommend placing it in the fridge right away because such a sudden temperature difference will kill your plant when its been use to hot sunny days. I would suggest reading up on it online and seeing what others have done so you dont do the same mistakes they have done. There is alot out there on vft in the tropics so dont worry you will be able to find out exactly what your plants need. Someone else on this forum can probably help you out alot more than me.

You can skip the first year of dormancy without any problems. If I were you, I wouldn't worry about it at all for now and see how your plant does. Depending on your latitude, it might go dormant anyway, and then at least that problem is solved.

^ so dormancy doesn't occur in tropical countries?

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cilantro wrote:^ so dormancy doesn't occur in tropical countries?

No, it may occur. VFTs can enter a more or less dormant state from light cues alone (no significant temp change). I have wondered if VFTs can enter dormancy with only temp and no light cues but IDK.

Contrary to what just about everyone from temperate weather countries say, Venus flytrap plants don’t always need a dormancy period, they do need it in temperate countries, in their winter there is a lot less hours of sunlight and no bugs to eat and temperatures drop too, so it is best to do what the plants do in nature when this happens: rest and wait in a dormant state. But I live in Indonesia, where there is warmth and 12 hours of sunlight, and loads of insects all 365 days of the year, practically the same sunrise and the same sunset time all year round, therefore the plant is never subject to any poor conditions stress at any given time, humidity maybe considered high for them, but they easily adapt, all you need is pick a spot of your garden where there is plenty of airflow and light, and there will never be any need to artificially “make a winter for them”, you just let them enjoy their permanent summer, this is specially easy here in Bali as temperatures never reach 90 degrees Fahrenheit. No dormancy in the tropics. When I was living in Europe, I am originally from Spain, you need to do this, but here, like retired people like me, plants just thrive all year long throughout the permanent summer we live in (mind you that we don’t have a proper monsoon here, as here there is always a bit of breeze but not huge winds that can send your pots flying to the next door neighbour! )

Huntsmanshorn wrote: ↑Sat Sep 29, 2018 6:26 am

cilantro wrote:^ so dormancy doesn't occur in tropical countries?

No, it may occur. VFTs can enter a more or less dormant state from light cues alone (no significant temp change). I have wondered if VFTs can enter dormancy with only temp and no light cues but IDK.

Sunset and sunrise are all the same throughout the year in the heart of the tropics: no changes. They never go dormant and they thrive. While plants in their latitude of origin need a rest, these don’t: their energy sources are permanently available all year round (light and bugs). In fact, they permanently grow