5hort5 Posted October 31, 2013 Report Share Posted October 31, 2013 (edited) Hi, Due to the wind at the moment my collection is in the garage and with the weather forecast I suspect they'll be there for a while yet as my polycarbonate greenhouse just can't stand upto it. There is a small window in a door but apart from that the lighting is very poor so I was thinking about buying one or two of these: http://www.growell.co.uk/eco-lights-compact-fluorescent-lamps-cfl.html Eco-Lights - Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL) Has anyone had experience of using them as supplementary light? Do you think red or blue would be better (or both)? Or should I not worry as winter is here and the dark won't effect them? Or other :-) If anyone thinks this maybe a good idea I may leave them in the garage for the whole winter to protect them from the frost. My collection is a mixed bag of fly traps, sundews and sara's, probably 30 or so plants. Many thanks Si Edited November 1, 2013 by 5hort5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexis Posted October 31, 2013 Report Share Posted October 31, 2013 "Or should I not worry as winter is here and the dark won't effect them?" They can't make use of any light below about 6C anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dennisB Posted November 1, 2013 Report Share Posted November 1, 2013 Hi if you leave them in your garage with little or no light over winter they will die. Put your sarracenia outside. they won't mind the cold. I also grow vfts outside all year with no ill effects. They are in a large half barrel and I cover them with fleece when frosts/snow is forecast. They survived -12 degrees in our last bad winter. You don't say which sundews you have but unless they are temperate species (which will be happy outside) put them on a sunny windowsill. Hope this helps. Dennis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexis Posted November 1, 2013 Report Share Posted November 1, 2013 Why will they die Dennis? Some people out them in a dark fridge for dormancy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredG Posted November 1, 2013 Report Share Posted November 1, 2013 Fridges are dark? Every time I open mine the light is on. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexis Posted November 2, 2013 Report Share Posted November 2, 2013 :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manders Posted November 2, 2013 Report Share Posted November 2, 2013 Its unlikely to be 4C or less all winter in a garage and the plants will try to grow. I agree with Dennis and no light will kill them. I also keep vfts outside all winter with no protection and they are fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikel Posted November 2, 2013 Report Share Posted November 2, 2013 We get hard winters in Durham, down to -17 C a few years back, so i have overwintered mine in a garage, for the last 3 years. Vfts on the windowledge , and Sarracenia on the floor nearby, all wintered well, a couple of cases of botrytis due to ventilation probs on the sarracenia, vfts were really good. I put them in November time, back in the greenhouse in March. I did try a few in the greenhouse for the winter , lost a nice leucophylla and the flavas took an age to grow in Spring and then pitchers were smaller than expected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazgoodman Posted November 2, 2013 Report Share Posted November 2, 2013 From my experience Sarracenia are fine overwintered outside, in fact it ensures that the plants enter dormancy. I just make sure that they are not too waterloged. I actually think that they benefit from being outside in winter. I cant imagine sticking all my plants in the fridge for the winter.. does any one actually do this? Baz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ada Posted November 2, 2013 Report Share Posted November 2, 2013 Hi Baz,5hort5 Our plants have to be a bit tougher up north.We don't get the warming effect of being surrounded by sea. Some plants don't even look the same plant when grown "up north" as to down south. Most sarras and vft's will survive being frozen in the greenhouse up here but they don't thrive! they survive. The trick is to grow the plants that do well in your own growing conditions and this can take a while to find out. ada Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimscott Posted November 3, 2013 Report Share Posted November 3, 2013 Last year I had them in an 80 qt cooler, shut, in the garage. They still managed to freeze but when I pulled them out for spring, they looked like this: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5hort5 Posted November 3, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2013 Thanks for all the comments, the main questions was around light though not temperature. My plants have been fine outside and tbh the green house is ok but it suffers two problems. The main one is the wind and when windy has a tendency to deconstruct itself so to keep my plants in the garage for windy periods or maybe over winter all I may need is light, hence the question about those lights on the first post. Any thoughts on those? If you were wondering the second issue is damp, the garage is far better there as well. In the spring summer etc it's fine as I leave the door part open but when windy .... See above ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
North West Neps Posted November 4, 2013 Report Share Posted November 4, 2013 Last year I had them in an 80 qt cooler, shut, in the garage. They still managed to freeze but when I pulled them out for spring, they looked like this: They grew like that in total darkness ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ahrens Posted November 5, 2013 Report Share Posted November 5, 2013 I used to put my Sarries in a lock-up garage over the winter. I live in a flat and it is just too warm over the Winter for good dormancy. The fact that the garage was dark made absolutely no difference. If you go down this road, you need to keep the Sarracenias almost bone dry or they will go down with the dreaded grey mould. Every two weeks, and you need to be consistant with this, take the plants out of the garage and stand in half an inch of water for five minutes only. You will feel the pots and it feels like the bottom inch is heavyish with water, with the top surface completely dry. I kept S,oreophila going for years doing this. Of course, I don't have a garden, so this was an option for me. The fridge method may have worked but I didn't ttry it. These days, I put my S.oreophila in my wife's greendhouse, which reminds me, I must do that shortly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimscott Posted November 5, 2013 Report Share Posted November 5, 2013 Yes... total darkness, occasional freezes, occasional checking in on them, and no water added. They came through just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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