FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hey guys, I just ordered a few plants that are coming next week and I was wondering if my plan for dormancy is good enough to keep them alive through winter.

Right now I have S. purpurea, S. purpurea dracula and S. judith soper outside on my balcony, in their individual pots in a bigger pot with no drainage. Where I live during winter, all nights it's below freezing, lowest it gets is -6 C and during the day it never goes below freezing, around 2-4 C. Next week I'm planing to make a mini bog in that long pot they are in in the photo and put all the plants in it to protect the rhizomes better from freezing. I cover the plants every night with a tarp because the temperatures are already below freezing during the night.

From what I've read, S. psittacina and VFT can't survive in freezing temperatures so IDK if it's a good idea to put them in this mini bog. Some people say they have no problem freezing every day, others say that they will die if they freeze. My other option is to keep them in a room that has 16-19 C during the night. Or maybe the fridge method, but I don't think I can make enough space in the fridge.

I attached a photo with how the plants are now. The bigger pot they are in is the pot I plan to turn into a bog.

All of them are in 1:1 ratio of peat and perlite and I added the sphagnum on top only for aesthetics.

Bicyclemaster wrote: ↑Sat Nov 25, 2023 5:38 pm From what I've read, S. psittacina and VFT can't survive in freezing temperatures so IDK if it's a good idea to put them in this mini bog. Some people say they have no problem freezing every day, others say that they will die if they freeze.

They can survive below-freezing temps, but don't expect them to be happy about it. I stopped growing Sarracenia psittacina at my location (plant hardiness zone 8a) because they didn't like my winter weather. My S. rosea plants put up with it, but they aren't fans, either.

Bicyclemaster wrote: My other option is to keep them in a room that has 16-19 C during the night. Or maybe the fridge method, but I don't think I can make enough space in the fridge.

That temperature range is too warm. Venus flytraps are happy with 2-13°C / 35-55°F. S. psittacina would prefer 7-15°C / 45-60°F.

Do you have a cold, sunny windowsill in the house? If so, that might be sufficient. From dusk till dawn, close the curtains for the window. That will trap a pocket of cool air between the glass and fabric. You'll probably have to open the curtains during the day to prevent the sun from heating up the pocket. Keep the plants away from heat sources (registers, radiators, baseboard strips, etc.). The cooler temps and shorter photoperiod should do the trick.

My cold windowsill is the one that's 16-19C. It's the inside of my balcony. I can open a window there so it get colder, probably 10C, but it's kind of hard because I have my turtle tank there. I'll try experimenting if the heater in their tank can keep up with the cold.

I was thinking that they might be fine in a little below freezing if they get covered, but I know that you have mor experience...

I think I've found a way to keep the plants above freezing during the night. I found one of those isolating bags for keeping drinks cold and if I put the plants in there at night, it should keep them above 0C. From what I've tested, the temperature in the bag stays 5 degrees higher that what's outside. Plus it protects from the wind.

This might sound crazy but I visited a guy yesterday that uses a combination of heat pads under his shelves and bubble wrap (yep) on the sides, back and front of his shelves. They are in his garage and he said the day temps hit in the 90's and night time in the upper 60's to low 70's. It looks stupid as all get out but if you are not concerned about aesthetics it is an option.

MikeB wrote: ↑Sat Nov 25, 2023 8:23 pm

Bicyclemaster wrote: ↑Sat Nov 25, 2023 5:38 pm From what I've read, S. psittacina and VFT can't survive in freezing temperatures so IDK if it's a good idea to put them in this mini bog. Some people say they have no problem freezing every day, others say that they will die if they freeze.

They can survive below-freezing temps, but don't expect them to be happy about it. I stopped growing Sarracenia psittacina at my location (plant hardiness zone 8a) because they didn't like my winter weather. My S. rosea plants put up with it, but they aren't fans, either.

Bicyclemaster wrote: My other option is to keep them in a room that has 16-19 C during the night. Or maybe the fridge method, but I don't think I can make enough space in the fridge.

That temperature range is too warm. Venus flytraps are happy with 2-13°C / 35-55°F. S. psittacina would prefer 7-15°C / 45-60°F.

Do you have a cold, sunny windowsill in the house? If so, that might be sufficient. From dusk till dawn, close the curtains for the window. That will trap a pocket of cool air between the glass and fabric. You'll probably have to open the curtains during the day to prevent the sun from heating up the pocket. Keep the plants away from heat sources (registers, radiators, baseboard strips, etc.). The cooler temps and shorter photoperiod should do the trick.

Im in 8a as well. I just ordered a psittacina. I plan to mulch with some pine needles but just how cold have they gotten for you?

Growing psittacina and VFTs in the UK, in in-ground, high mass bogs, zone 8B ish, the VFTs handle the cold (I've had them down to -16C ) but are slower to get going in spring, but the psittacinas don't like the longer periods of freezing. However your VFTs have probably been grown in a greenhouse and have never been anywhere near freezing, so acclimation will be a problem.

Certainly, the plants you have already will stand freezing in your proposed minibog quite well, and the VFTs will next year once they have had a season to get used to 'normal' growing patterns. However the psittacinas, in my experience, never will stand any lengthy frozen period, I've never managed to keep them outdoors (again in a high mass bog) for more than two winters.

You will need to keep your new plants above freezing at least for this winter season, to be safe. Your idea of insulated boxes may work although they will still freeze in long periods of low temperatures, but if you cover the box to stop additional transpiration, by virtue of reducing air flow over the foliage, you may get away with it, if as you say it is 5C above the surrounding temperature at all times, (even after a few days of below 0C temperatures?).

Cheers
Steve

Sasquatchdonut wrote: ↑Tue Dec 05, 2023 1:04 am Im in 8a as well. I just ordered a psittacina. I plan to mulch with some pine needles

One note: psittacina plants keep their pitchers during the winter. They would like to get some sunshine at that time.

Sasquatchdonut wrote: but just how cold have they gotten for you?

Cold snaps here can drop to 18°F / -8°C at dawn, with the temperature being below freezing for 10+ hours. Fortunately, these don't happen often. My psittacina's seemed to be unhappy about the long, cool stretches where the nighttime lows would drop to around 28°F / -2°C and the daytime highs would struggle to reach 45°F / 7°C by late afternoon. It was even worse if they were sitting in the cold, dry, north wind.

If I had the space, I would have brought those plants in the house and parked them in a south-facing window. I think they would have been fine with that.

I live in zone 8b (before the now updated version) and do nothing for dormancy other than tone down the watering. We get lows of around 20F

Just to mention, in regards to keeping the plants from freezing. If you're putting a box over them then a low (read that as LOW) wattage *incandescent* light bulb might work for you. Something like an old Christmas tree light bulb or a nightlight bulb. Paint it with some heat-resistant black paint or wrap in aluminum foil to block the light. Experiment to be sure you're not going to toast the plants inside of the box. I've got a 90+ year old friend of mine that uses a string of old Christmas tree lights draped through two or three low-growing satsuma trees to keep them from freezing...the trees make a bountiful harvest here in south Alabama with winters dipping down into the 20's and sometimes the teens and below. I've used incandescents for keeping plants warm and pipes from freezing. Just a thought.

ETA: I use the incandescent lights in an uninsulated, opened-ended garage to shelter plants in during freeze spells...I don't put the bulbs or plants in a box, but place the bulbs low among the plants and let the radiant heat strike the pots, jugs of water, etc., the heat rises around the plants. Below 20F, it can get a bit dicey, but so far...so good. I guess placing the bulbs around the plants is similar to my friend's Christmas tree lights. Btw, her satsuma trees do grow on the south side of her house, right up against it.