Yossu Posted October 29, 2015 Report Share Posted October 29, 2015 (edited) Hello, As my regular reader will know, I only really got into this hobby in the spring, so this will be my first winter with CPs, and I'm unsure what to do. I have read too many conflicting ideas about which plants go dormant and which don't, and would like some advice. First off, here is my modest grow list... Dionaea Muscipula Dionaea Muscipula Dionaea Muscipula Dentate form Dionaea Muscipula Microdent Dionaea Muscipula 'Red-green' Dionaea Muscipula Sawtooth Drosera Aliciae Drosera Binata Drosera Capensis Drosera Capensis 'Narrow Form' Drosera Madagascariensis Drosera Nidiformis Drosera Spatulata Heliamphora heterodoxa x minor Nepenthes Bloody Mary = Nepenthes Ventricosa x Ampullaria Nepenthes Ventrata (Alata x Ventricosa) Sarracenia ´Kateřina´ Sarracenia 'Chelsonii' = Sarracenia Purpurea x Rubra Sarracenia flava var. cuprea x purpurea ssp. purpurea Sarracenia Maroon (hybrid involving Purpurea) Sarracenia minor Sarracenia Purpurea ssp Venosa Utricularia Longifolia Do all of these need dormancy? I'm fairly sure the VFTs do, and always thought Drosera did as well, but I was reading The Savage Garden last night, and he said that with few exceptions, the rosetted subtropical ones (which includes aliciae and spatulata) don't. I've also heard that some Sarracenia don't. Is this true? If so, which ones? Please can anyone clarify which of the plants listed above do and don't require dormancy. Assuming we've got that sorted, I understand that when the plant shows signs of going into dormancy, I move it somewhere cold, but protected from frost. We have an unheated room at the back of the house which I guess would be fine for this. I can put them there, and keep them moist but not standing in water. Is that correct? For the ones that don't go dormant, do I just leave them where they are? They are all currently on my dining room windowsill. Finally, I am about to experiment with artificial lighting. I presume the dormant ones won't be involved in this, as they will be out in the cold, but what do I do about the others? I guess I reduce the photoperiod to match the length of the day, but do I reduce the wattage as well, or leave that as it is? Sorry to ask so many questions, but this is a whole new part of this hobby, and I don't want lose what I've built up over the past few months. Thanks for any help you can. Edited October 29, 2015 by Yossu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dennisB Posted October 30, 2015 Report Share Posted October 30, 2015 Hi Yossu all of your sarracenia, all of your VFTs and d. binata have a winter dormancy. I keep mine in unheated, well ventilated greenhouses and kept moist rather than standing in water. This is to reduce the likelihood of botrytis. Although they don't go dormant, d. capensis, and d. spatulata can be treated in the same way. I also keep sarracenia and VFTs outside all year here in sunny S Devon where they have been down to -10C. Nepenthes are tropical. They will need winter heat and, if possible, 12 hours of light and high humidity as will U. longifolia. Your heliamphora will be OK on a warm, frost free window sill as will the other drosera. hope this helps Dennis 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S Krelbourn Posted October 30, 2015 Report Share Posted October 30, 2015 Dennis I am in exactly the same position as Yossu, this being my first winter with sarracenia, can you elaborate on what constitutes moist rather than wet? Should I be looking at half the weight for a pot compared with it being stood in water? (If this makes any sense.) Regards Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ada Posted October 30, 2015 Report Share Posted October 30, 2015 Phil, a damp patch under the pot,no water dripping out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dennisB Posted October 30, 2015 Report Share Posted October 30, 2015 Hi Phil what I do is stick a finger in the pot and, if it feels dry, I give it a water from the top. You can also usually tell by the colour of the peat. If it is dark it should be OK - if it is lighter give them a drink. None of this too critical and the frequency will depend on how much sunshine there has been. The idea is just to reduce watering to help keep the dreaded botritis at bay from November to February when temps and light levels are low. Having read my previous post I suppose you could say that psittacina and purpurea do not go truly dormant in that they will keep (most) of their pitchers over winter. The same is true of the late season pitchers produced by leucophylla and rubras. They will still be OK in an unheated greenhouse though. cheers Dennis 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hud357 Posted October 30, 2015 Report Share Posted October 30, 2015 Hi Yossu all of your sarracenia, all of your VFTs and d. binata have a winter dormancy. I keep mine in unheated, well ventilated greenhouses and kept moist rather than standing in water. This is to reduce the likelihood of botrytis. Although they don't go dormant, d. capensis, and d. spatulata can be treated in the same way. I also keep sarracenia and VFTs outside all year here in sunny S Devon where they have been down to -10C. Nepenthes are tropical. They will need winter heat and, if possible, 12 hours of light and high humidity as will U. longifolia. Your heliamphora will be OK on a warm, frost free window sill as will the other drosera. hope this helps Dennis What he said. Though I would put S. Purpurea (and hybrids of same) outside in the full force of a Manchester Winter (though not in trays - you get too much water). A few years ago I lost some previously hardy plants, VFT's and some of the more delicate Sars, by keeping them outside. So if it looks like another 10/11 type Winter then bring such plants indoors for the duration of the (extra) cold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S Krelbourn Posted October 30, 2015 Report Share Posted October 30, 2015 Thanks for the advice Ada, Dennis and Hud. The inactivity of the dormancy is getting to me already - roll on March! Regards Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hud357 Posted November 1, 2015 Report Share Posted November 1, 2015 The inactivity of the dormancy is getting to me already - roll on March! Get yourself some more plants! I'm looking at a bunch of sorry looking Sars but having to look over some Orchid flowers (and flower stems) to do it. If you have a garden as well then by getting a range of plants you can have something going on year round. There's nothing more heartening than having Orchids bloom in Dececember followed by Snowdrops in January ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yossu Posted November 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2015 Hi Yossu all of your sarracenia, all of your VFTs and d. binata have a winter dormancy. I keep mine in unheated, well ventilated greenhouses and kept moist rather than standing in water. This is to reduce the likelihood of botrytis. Although they don't go dormant, d. capensis, and d. spatulata can be treated in the same way. I also keep sarracenia and VFTs outside all year here in sunny S Devon where they have been down to -10C. Nepenthes are tropical. They will need winter heat and, if possible, 12 hours of light and high humidity as will U. longifolia. Your heliamphora will be OK on a warm, frost free window sill as will the other drosera. hope this helps Dennis Thanks for the reply. Please can you explain what you mean when you say "Although they don't go dormant, d. capensis, and d. spatulata can be treated in the same way."? If they don't go dormant, why would I need or want to treat them as if they did? Also, if I understand you correctly, the following don't go dormant... Drosera Aliciae Drosera Madagascariensis Drosera Nidiformis Is that correct? Finally (for now anyway!), how do I tell when they are going dormant? Right at the moment, they all seem to be growing quite well, especially the Droseras, which are throwing up new leaves all over the place. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yossu Posted November 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2015 Having read my previous post I suppose you could say that psittacina and purpurea do not go truly dormant in that they will keep (most) of their pitchers over winter. The same is true of the late season pitchers produced by leucophylla and rubras. They will still be OK in an unheated greenhouse though. Similar to my first reply to you, please can you explain more about this. If they don't go dormant, can I just leave them where they are and enjoy them? I want to do what's best for the plants, but if I can keep them where I can enjoy them, I would prefer. Thanks again for all the advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexis Posted November 1, 2015 Report Share Posted November 1, 2015 They don't go dormant in the wild, but if you give them frost they will die back to the roots and come back in spring. Most people leave them to die back to save having to keep them inside on windowsills (they won't grow much because it's so dark in winter anyway!) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yossu Posted November 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2015 They don't go dormant in the wild, but if you give them frost they will die back to the roots and come back in spring. Most people leave them to die back to save having to keep them inside on windowsills (they won't grow much because it's so dark in winter anyway!) So am I safe keeping them inside? As I just posted, I've set up a lighting experiment, so can put them under those, where they'll get plenty light. I can reduce the photoperiod, so it simulates a winter day. Even if they don't grow, but don't die back, I would still like to keep them inside, as they look nice! Thanks for the reply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yossu Posted November 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2015 OK, so going on advice about the Sarracenias in another thread, and what has been said here, it looks like the following should be put out for the winter... Dionaea Muscipula (all) Drosera Binata Drosera Capensis Drosera Spatulata Sarracenia (all) ...and the following can stay indoors... Drosera Aliciae Drosera Madagascariensis Drosera Nidiformis Heliamphora heterodoxa x minor Nepenthes Bloody Mary = Nepenthes Ventricosa x Ampullaria Nepenthes Ventrata (Alata x Ventricosa) Utricularia Longifolia Does that sound right? Thanks again for all the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yossu Posted November 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2015 Hmm, just noticed that www.growsundews.com says that D. spatulata doesn't need dormancy. Is that right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S Krelbourn Posted November 2, 2015 Report Share Posted November 2, 2015 Hud357 I know all about the pleasure ( obsession) of orchids in the winter, but I'm not getting into heating the greenhouse again! I have some phalaenopsis, cattleyas and stanhopeas but they never seem to grow as well in the house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deltatango301 Posted November 6, 2015 Report Share Posted November 6, 2015 I am the same as you new to all this. Hampshire Carnivorous Plants Told me that all the ones wintering in the greenhouse no heat should Have Capillary Matting put in the saucers and keep that damp Mine are all done for over wintering. I have 1 Nepenthes Ventricosa Which I am keeping in the conservatory on matting with a minuim Temperature of + 10c Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredG Posted November 6, 2015 Report Share Posted November 6, 2015 The capillary matting is unnecessary. It's not like you have to look after a few thousand plants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deltatango301 Posted November 6, 2015 Report Share Posted November 6, 2015 (edited) The capillary matting is unnecessary. It's not like you have to look after a few thousand plants.Not yet Fred but perhaps a couple of ten thousands plants after finish building my 40ft X 12ft greenhouseOnly joking Fred Edited November 6, 2015 by Deltatango301 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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