Best way to force dormancy.

[richardhole]

Hello

I received some Venus Fly Traps in the mail a couple of days ago that I purchased bare rooted and wrapped in sphagnum moss. The grower from Melbourne does not let them go into dormancy and keeps them heated all year round. At the moment, days in Melbourne are shorter than at my place. So I thought I would purchase them now in mid winter and put them in the fridge for about a month before potting them just before spring. This is because my winter temperature average range is between about 13 and 21 degrees but may be higher this year due to the forecast. We only rarely get down to 5 for a minimum and I have seen winter maximums in the high 20s. Winter minimums are often as high as 17 degrees. I am at Tolga which is at 757 meters altitude and near Cairns.

I have put Venus Fly Traps in the fridge before without adding fungicide and they grew all right when they came out apart from one time when the fridge froze them. So I will try to keep the temperature above 5 and have a thermometer to check the temperature.

The plants have been in the mail for a week and in the dark so in that situation it may be best not to increase light much before I put them in the fridge.

However, since I receive the plants I read www.flytrapcare.com/venus-fly-trap-dormancy that states that you need to be careful when forcing Venus Fly Traps into dormancy as it is best to do it gently and that it is best not to leave them in the fridge if possible. I also read that they still prefer some light when dormant.

What I have done is plant the VFTs like normal but close together in a tray in sphagnum and put the tray in a clear plastic bag to allow light to them. At the moment I am leaving them in heavy shade in the greenhouse or fully shaded side of the house of a day where there is no sunlight. I plan to put them in the fridge for about 8 hours late in the afternoon and take them out late at night. Do you know how critical light is in dormancy? I may not get around to putting them in the fridge every day so that would mean they would also get a longer photoperiod on some days. I am not sure if that would be a problem? I value your suggestions. Would the amount of light I plan to give them about right?

Also, I thought it may be best to leave the bag ventilated as there is heavy condensation in it. Would that be better?

Regards Richard.

[jerrytheplater]

I let my VFT enter dormancy naturally by leaving them outdoors for the first few light frosts. I then move them to an unheated garage until the temps are forecasted to fall substantially below freezing. Then I depot my VFT and cut off the leaves and roots. I store them in the refrigerator in sealed plastic bags of moist sphagnum peat moss in the dark till time to repot in mid spring. They are totally in the dark unless the door is opened.

[pdaneu]

Hi, I am not understanding because now in Australia is in summer and you are in winter.
The problem to cultivate dionaeas in south hemisphere is that seasons are inverted.
Well, I think that you could not put the plants in refrigerator your seasons is very defined.

I live in Sao Paulo-Brazil and the seasons is not defined in next winter I will put my dionaeas in a system of cooling using peltier cells.

Cheers,

Paulo

[piranhaplanter]

Dec 15, 2017 3:17:12 GMT jerrytheplater said:

I let my VFT enter dormancy naturally by leaving them outdoors for the first few light frosts. I then move them to an unheated garage until the temps are forecasted to fall substantially below freezing. Then I depot my VFT and cut off the leaves and roots. I store them in the refrigerator in sealed plastic bags of moist sphagnum peat moss in the dark till time to repot in mid spring. They are totally in the dark unless the door is opened.

Jerry, ehy do you cut the roots? Does it have any adverse effect on the plant? I am co sidering your method howevor i may just keep them in tge unheated garage in some containers to insulate from the average -40 -50 celsius temps.

[piranhaplanter]

Jul 6, 2017 15:52:06 GMT richardhole said:

Hello

I received some Venus Fly Traps in the mail a couple of days ago that I purchased bare rooted and wrapped in sphagnum moss. The grower from Melbourne does not let them go into dormancy and keeps them heated all year round. At the moment, days in Melbourne are shorter than at my place. So I thought I would purchase them now in mid winter and put them in the fridge for about a month before potting them just before spring. This is because my winter temperature average range is between about 13 and 21 degrees but may be higher this year due to the forecast. We only rarely get down to 5 for a minimum and I have seen winter maximums in the high 20s. Winter minimums are often as high as 17 degrees. I am at Tolga which is at 757 meters altitude and near Cairns.

I have put Venus Fly Traps in the fridge before without adding fungicide and they grew all right when they came out apart from one time when the fridge froze them. So I will try to keep the temperature above 5 and have a thermometer to check the temperature.

The plants have been in the mail for a week and in the dark so in that situation it may be best not to increase light much before I put them in the fridge.

However, since I receive the plants I read www.flytrapcare.com/venus-fly-trap-dormancy that states that you need to be careful when forcing Venus Fly Traps into dormancy as it is best to do it gently and that it is best not to leave them in the fridge if possible. I also read that they still prefer some light when dormant.

What I have done is plant the VFTs like normal but close together in a tray in sphagnum and put the tray in a clear plastic bag to allow light to them. At the moment I am leaving them in heavy shade in the greenhouse or fully shaded side of the house of a day where there is no sunlight. I plan to put them in the fridge for about 8 hours late in the afternoon and take them out late at night. Do you know how critical light is in dormancy? I may not get around to putting them in the fridge every day so that would mean they would also get a longer photoperiod on some days. I am not sure if that would be a problem? I value your suggestions. Would the amount of light I plan to give them about right?

Also, I thought it may be best to leave the bag ventilated as there is heavy condensation in it. Would that be better?

Regards Richard.

Open the bag once a fay and blow in it. If you keave it open the plants will dry out. Ive made that mistake once. Ive made many mistakes in the past haha... Let the pots dry out a bit before you stick them in The fridge. If your in A warmer zone give them less light and a cooler environment the key is less light and a gradual temp change in my experience. You dont need amy light during dormancy howevor when they sleep they do photosynthesyze so if you can manage to give them 4 hours of light a day great, if not, great.
But do not just through them i. The fridge or youll shock them. You have to dry the soil out a bit as i said or you will run into root rot if you are leaving them in pots like i do. I simply stick a ziploc on top and use a rubber band to seal it. You must open it daily to avoid white webs due to the moisture.