VFT

Does anyone keep these little pets? I have three and want to know if I can put them in the crisper drawer of the frig. to go dorment? Yesterday I was stalking flys for them. They all have names: #1 I have had for almost 2 years and her name is Sadie, #2 only had for a short time name is Soda Pop, #3 only for a few months name is Sunny. I keep them in the house sitting in a window.

Hey makshi! What are you doing back here with the carnies? Are you interested in going soggy? Glad to see you.

They're temperate. Frig is the last choice for your zone but it would work. I'd just stick them in your unheated garage for the winter and keep them damp not moist. They'll be fine and are probably very ready for a rest after having been on your window sill.

Cute names. We have one named Crunch because it snapped down on a daddy long legs and all the legs to the spider were sticking out. The others don't have names but they have tags.

Stalking flies, eh? Once you branch out and end up waving plants over a composter loaded with fruit flies for your pinguicula, you will know for sure you are a carnie.

I find them very interesting. They seem to like where I have them. I don't have a compost pile or I would be there with you. What temp. do you think is best for the dorment period? I like the name Crunch. Where was he when I was trying to get a large spider in my room this morning.

I sort of cheat because we have a garage that is heated and is set to kick on when temps drop below 38F. Basically, we don't allow the temps in the garage to go below freezing. I would think that anywhere around 40F should be fine but please know I have a fw outside in a bog and they have frozen solid and come back. They do have a very heavy layer of pine needle mulch on them. The plants overwintered in the garage do much better than the plants in the bog. Dionaea is a native southeastern plant and they probably don't like it this far north outside all year round.

Your babies may like where you have them now but think of what would happen to a mini oak tree on your window sill if it wasn't allowed to drop its leaves in fall to have a rest over a period of time. It would burn out. Same concept as expecting a palm tree to do well by us year round planted outside. Some plants are temperate and some plants are tropical. Sadie, Soda Pop, and Sunny are temperate plants. Give em a rest Mom!

Well I am going to give them a rest but don't know where. Garage will get to cold, house not cold enough and the basement is so dark and not sure how cold. Where to go.

Once a plant goes dormant, the premise is that it is no longer photosynthesizing. I like to overwinter in areas where there is natural light because I think it helps reduce the risk of fungal attacks. I also train oscillating fans on the overwintering plants if I can but I don't need to do that in the garage because there is good air exchange out there with opening and closing the garage doors. Let me tell you another little trick if you have nice deep window wells- I've overwintered Sarracenia in them. Yup, I did and they lived. I loaded the plants down into the window wells and then covered them up with a few bags of leaves and it worked. I was out of space and couldn't think of where else to go with them. You could try splitting up the little family and try one in the garage, one in the basement, and one in a window well or in the garage. If you go the frig route, I'd probably just dust the roots with a powdered sulfur, repot the plant, then stick the whole kit and kaboodle in the frig and simply watch it to make sure it doesn't dry out over the winter. You'd want the soil to be damp, not moist.

Do they need to go dormant?? Cuz I bought a little set from Lowes that has venus fly trap, pitcher plant and sundew but none of the cultivars were labeled.. Do all carnies need to sleep??

No not all. I think I am familiar with that mix you have. I recently saw Drosera adelae, Sarracenia "Judith Hindle", and a VFT all together in one of those little plexiglass coffins at Lowes last weekend. That's about the equivalent of selling a Larch, and Oak, and a Palm Tree together in the same planter and expecting them all to live.

The Sarracenia and the VFT need a rest. If you have D. adelae in that mix, that doesn't need a rest.

Equilibrium, thanks for the info.. or rather bad news.. LOL.. Plexiglass coffin.. Does that mean I need to separate them for the three to survive?? Or can I have the derosa go dormant anyways??

Do you have a camera to post a photo of the actual plants you bought so everybody can have a look see?

If you did buy a Drosera adelae and you allow it to go dormant at the temps required by the other two... it will never wake up. Another decent analogy would be planting a caladium or a gladiola bulb in our zone 5 yards and expecting them to shoot up growth the following spring. They won't do much but die back and turn to mush in the ground because they aren't meant to be grown outside year round. That's why people who plant caladium and glads always dig them up in fall and store the bulbs to re-plant outside the next year. Look on the bright side, D. adelae can be planted in its own little pot and you can bring it inside pot and all.

Gosh those little dears are a pain in the ___. Why the sulfur? Where do you get powdered sulfur? Don't make me wish I left these at the growers. :)






Lamb's Ears

Lucky you, it's cheap and you can pick it up at any garden center. You could probably pick it up at K-Mart or Home Depot too.

Why did you type the words "Lamb's Ears"?

Well it is a clue for the bingo game on the av site. They are supposed to find it for the answer. Is it okay? Everyone else can just ignore it.

LOL..."ELEPHANT EARS"

Just kidding...Diane I love your clues and ths Bingo Game has been a blast!

Didn't hide it well enough for some.

Just popping in to find the clue. How ya doin, all? lol

*bump*
Oh, excuse me.

*crawling on my hands and knees looking under tables and chairs*
HERE IT IS!!!!!

*running to my Bingo card*
I don't have it.

*sigh*

This message was edited Sep 15, 2007 2:32 AM

LOL