Re: Questions about dormancy, etc.

Steve Clancy (sclancy@sun1.lib.uci.edu)
Wed, 23 Oct 1996 14:45:39 -0700 (PDT)

Richard, I also live in SoCal (Irvine, Calif) and also grow VFTs and
Sarracenia. In the past, I have bagged up my VFTs (after letting the
soil dry out a little to avoid mold) and have placed them in the back of
the fridge for about 2 months. They survived just fine. Over the past
few years, I've just left them outside, protected them from getting too
soggy in the rain, and this also seems to have worked for both types of
plants. It usually gets down to the low 40's and rarely to the 30's
where I live. This seems to work better for me.

--steve

Steve Clancy, M.L.S., Science Library, University of California, Irvine
P.O. Box 19556, Irvine, CA 92623-9556 U.S.A.
714-824-7309 * http://sun3.lib.uci.edu/~sclancy * sclancy@uci.edu
*---------------------------------------------------------------------*
"Is there a center for someone who never knows what's going on?"

On Wed, 23 Oct 1996, Richard White wrote:

> A couple of questions, from someone who is fairly new to all of this:
>
> 1) I have a number of VFTs in a terrarium setup, which are several years
> old. I have not allowed them to go dormant in the past two years, and am
> aware that they will start to decline in vigor unless I do. As I live in
> So. Cal, it's difficult to get the cooler temperatures I'm told they
> prefer by simply putting them outside- would my best alternative be the
> refrigerator? If so, how exactly do you prepare them for this? I've been
> told keep them damp, not wet, and treat them well with fungicide
> beforehand. What type of fungicide is recommended, and do they plants
> need any light during the dormancy period?
>
> 2) I also have a S. Purpurea, a S. Wrigleyana, a D. Capensis, and a D.
> Multifada Extrema. I'm assuming that I should winter the Sarracenias by
> placing them outside, or in the fridge with the VFTs- what about the
> Droseras?
>
> 3) I'm having a mold problem with one of my pitchers. I tried using a
> mild peroxide solution a while back, and flushing the plant immediately
> afterwards, which worked fairly well, but had the unfortunate side effect
> of almost completely wiping out the live sphagnum it was planted in. Are
> there any fungicides I can use that won't destroy the sphagnum as well?
>
> Many thanks in advance for anyone who can help me out with any of this.
>
>