Care of VFTs kept outdoors in the UK in Winter

[Kess]

It's usual to cut down the watering of indoor VFTs during winter dormancy, but I've got some planted in a bog garden outdoors and wondered if I should cover them to protect them from excessive rainfall (they're getting drenched at the moment!). Does anyone know?

Thanks.

[Alexis]

The idea behind keeping them damp, rather than wet in winter, is to prevent mould and botrytis. These can thrive in wet, stagnant environments, such as in a greenhouse.

In the open, where there is plenty of air movement, the risk is very much reduced, so it's not problem for them to be wet. They'll experience plenty of rainfall in winter in the wild.

It's worth pointing out that they won't grow in permanently waterlogged areas though ie. where they're actually underwater for weeks on end. It's wet at the moment, but I assume your bog garden has some drainage so that they're not submerged?

[mantrid]

what I have noticed about VFTs overwintering in wet rather than damp soil is that the leaves die back more. Ive noticed to that when kept just slightly damp almost dry they can overwinter without leaf loss