>I live in Minnesota...and I would like to know if anyone has any
>suggestions on dormancy.
>I have cut back on the lighting. I went from a 4 lamp fixture to a 2
>lamp fixture; I have also cut back on water.
Although light intensity from the sun drops greatly for us here in the
temperate areas during winter you might do much better by maintaining
a 4 lamp system and reducing the number of hours it is on.
> What can I do to get them into dormancy?
As John Walker said, things also need to be cooler.
>The plants are flytraps, sundews, pitcher plants;
I still like to reference an article by Frederic W. Case Jr.
published in "Bulletin of the American Rock Garden Society" Vol. 50
No. 3. The title is "Carnivorous plants for Bog Gardens" and begins
on page 205. He lives in central Michigan and grows Dionaea, some
hardy Drosera, hardy Pinguicula and Sarracenia out doors in his
artificial bog and I don't mean just during the summer!
Here in the Puget Sound basin most experienced growers grow these
plants out doors, and while it is admittedly milder here than in
Minnesota it does get to 17 deg. F. in winter most years and colder in
some. My experience is that plants need to be protected from freeze
DRYING during cold spells rather than just freezing. When there is
snow there is no trouble but when he ground is bare the plants need
some cover to keep the moisture from being sucked out of them by the
wind. The other things I watch for is the state of their dormancy
during freezing. Plants that are fully dormant can be frozen without
injury, but here the winters are longer than necessary and a bit
vague. Our summers are bit short also. This means that we can have
some freezing here when the plants are not yet dormant or after their
dormancy requirements have been satisfied and they have began their
spring growth. It is then that damage is most likely to occur.
It is probably a bit late for all this, this year, but now is the
right time to start your research for next year. One of the best
things you can do for your plants is watch the weather reports on the
news paying attention to those regions where your plants come from.
You might find it handy to cut out the weather maps from the news
paper when something major is happening that you will want to
reference later. That way you can see just how cold it does get in the
plants native range. Also use Ivo's book list and the Inter Library
Loan system for those publications which are out of print, or
unavailable at your local Library or book store.
krs
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# I.C.P.S. C/O Kevin Snively | Secretary/Treasurer I.C.P.S. #
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