VFT has been in the fridge since 11/11/08.When should I bring it out?Edge
Can VFT come out and play?
You could probably take it out now.
I took one out last week and the rest come out by this weeks end.
Nice to see another of my questions answered. I was curious about that too. Mine has been in the fridge with it's soil still intact.....just pulled out of the plastic pot with it's soil from last year as was/is. Should I break it off, rinse it, leave it, or what? Do I cut off the top growth of last year? Put it back exactly where it was in the original hanging mini-makeshift bog? Several days ago I pulled it out of the crisper and placed it where it will occasionally see light and sprinkled it with water. Last average freeze date is 6 weeks away still although the day temps are reaching into the high 60's with very dry wind. Most of my other outdoor wintered stuff is just emerging and it seems a month early to my "feeling".
Leave it! Cut off the dead stuff but leave the rest. If it's a VFT put it in a tray with DISTILLED or RAIN water only. 1 inch of water in the tray. Full Sun is fine in Tx. I would think.
In Texas, I would leave it outside year round. But I guess it you lived in an apartment, putting it in the fridge for dormancy would be good. I should probably put mine in the fridge, but I don't have enough space. At least this year, we had a cold winter, so that really has helped my VFT and Sarracenia (getting my first blooms this week!).
Hello Everyone,
My VFT has been outside for 6 weeks with no new growth emerging. How long does it typically take for growth to develop? I'm concerned I may have killed it.
Is the old green growth still there? Do you have any green stuff? If you do, I think you are fine.
What are your average temperatures for the last 6 weeks? Mine have just started taking off.
What is your soil recipe? I find many vendors use pure pear moss or sphagnum moss, and I think that it keeps the plants too wet. If the plant shrinks, I usually find it is too wet or that there are contaminates killing the plant (like fertilizer).
If you have no green stuff, and it has been six weeks, I would take the VFT out of the soil and look at the roots. If you have a white rhizome, you are okay. If it is brown/black and mushy or dried out, you may have lost your plant. Before you do something as drastic as this, you may want another opinion. That's what I would do. If the roots are black/brown with white tips it is fine.
Starsplitter7,
There is no green growth at all. Average temps have been 70 to 75 highs and low 40's night. We have seen days as high as 88 and had a freeze of 28 with wind. I left it out since the "Nebraska Bog" survived.
Last year it sat out in full Texas sun in the original container (looks like peat moss and sand) and made a mini hanging bog with peat moss and horticulture sand and topped it off with long stemmed sphagnum moss. With only distilled water all summer and fall it continued to have new leaves forming one after the other. I never offered it anything to "eat" chemically or insects. There were 5 or 6 times the traps caught their own dinner. I will check it's rhizome and go from there. Thanks for the suggestions.
The only thing I can can think is if the temps were high, and then dropped below freezing with wind, the plant may have died. It can't take freezing temps if it was already out of dormancy. The freezing winds cause a lot of problems, because they dehydrate the plant. That's one of the reasons my plants are in big pots, to give them a little protection if I get freezing winds. It could be too that if it was starting to come out, then got hit with the cold, it slowed its growth again, and that if it is out in the sun and heat, it will come back.
I would certainly look at the rhisome. It you look at the rhisome, you will know. If it is mushy it is dead. If it is firm with white tips it is good.
starsplitter7,
I took out the rhizome yesterday for inspection. It wasn't completely mushy, but it looked rotted to me. I have replaced it with a new little plant and hope next year it winters (or I learn how to) winter it correctly. I'm thinking I should have left it outside all winter.
Thanks,
Linda
I keep mine outside and keep them moist, but not as wet as in winter. Every year they look dead to me, and every spring they pop back. You're cooler than I am, but NC is close to your temps. I would leave them outside and put them in a big pot with some mulch. I have 3-4 plants per 5" inch pot. Keep it out of freezing winds. To be safe, keep it in a garage or a basement.