I keep my VFT in a propagator, but it was on a north facing windowsill, not
getting enough sunlight, and growing spindly. I put it on a south facing
sill in full sun a few days ago, but it looks cooked. The moss was quite
warm and smelly and some of the as yet unformed trap leaves are going brown.
I think it's had it. Please advise anyone?

Marcus

"Marcus Fox" wrote in message ...
I keep my VFT in a propagator, but it was on a north facing windowsill, not
getting enough sunlight, and growing spindly. I put it on a south facing
sill in full sun a few days ago, but it looks cooked. The moss was quite
warm and smelly and some of the as yet unformed trap leaves are going brown.
I think it's had it. Please advise anyone?

Marcus

Keep it on the south facing windowsill, but take it out of the
propagator. They need sunlight more than warmth. Mine all live happily
outside.
Have a look at http://www.sarracenia.com/faq.html for plenty of useful
info.

Alastair

Xref: news7 uk.rec.gardening:132430


"Alastair" wrote in message
m...
"Marcus Fox" wrote in
message ...
I keep my VFT in a propagator, but it was on a north facing windowsill,
not
getting enough sunlight, and growing spindly. I put it on a south facing
sill in full sun a few days ago, but it looks cooked. The moss was quite
warm and smelly and some of the as yet unformed trap leaves are going
brown.
I think it's had it. Please advise anyone?

Marcus

Keep it on the south facing windowsill, but take it out of the
propagator. They need sunlight more than warmth. Mine all live happily
outside.
Have a look at http://www.sarracenia.com/faq.html for plenty of useful
info.

Alastair

I have moved it outside into a position that is normally in full sun for
most of the day. Unfortunately today has been cold and windy with heavy rain
showers. (Notts)

Marcus

Marcus
I keep mine on a hot window sill but it's always standing in a saucer of
rain water! It's doing fine!

Badger


"Marcus Fox" wrote in
message ...
I keep my VFT in a propagator, but it was on a north facing windowsill,
not
getting enough sunlight, and growing spindly. I put it on a south facing
sill in full sun a few days ago, but it looks cooked. The moss was quite
warm and smelly and some of the as yet unformed trap leaves are going
brown.
I think it's had it. Please advise anyone?

Marcus

In article ,
(Alastair) wrote:

Mine all live happily
outside.

Er, I thought they were frost-tender?

Steve Harris - Cheltenham - Real address steve AT netservs DOT com

In article , Steve
Harris writes
In article ,
(Alastair) wrote:

Mine all live happily
outside.

Er, I thought they were frost-tender?

Not venus fly traps. I've grown mine outside over the winter with no
trouble.

The sundews you get in GCs come from warmer climes and won't survive our
winters, but we have our own insectivorous plants - 3 species of sundew,
two of butterwort and another thing beginning with u whose name I
forget.

--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

On Tue, 1 Apr 2003 17:06 +0000 (GMT), Steve Harris wrote:

Er, I thought they were frost-tender?

North Carolina, where the V.f.tr. is native to sphagnum bogs, can
get some pretty cold winter weather. I don't know just *how*
hardy they are, but they're definitely on the hardy side of the
tender-hardy line. [I hope that makes sense -- possibly, I've
just written one of the least meaningful sentences ever to
ornament urg.]

Under natural conditions, they go dormant for the winter, dying
back to not very much at all.

Still, if I lived in Ottawa, Ontario (winter temperatures -30F
are common) I would not risk a V.f.tr. outside.


--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

The sundews you get in GCs come from warmer climes and won't survive our
winters, but we have our own insectivorous plants - 3 species of sundew,
two of butterwort and another thing beginning with u whose name I
forget.

Utricularia - bladderworts.
There are also some pitcher plants that were introduced to peat bogs
in Ireland which have flourished.

If you're interested in finding out more, as well as the link I posted
before, check out 'The Savage Garden' by Peter D'Amato. A marvellous
book covering all species of carnivorous plants. You can get it from
Amazon.

Alastair

"Marcus Fox" wrote in message ...

I have moved it outside into a position that is normally in full sun for
most of the day. Unfortunately today has been cold and windy with heavy rain
showers. (Notts)

Marcus


That's no problem. My Dad also lives in Notts and keeps his one
outside too. It's in a sheltered spot, bit of a suntrap admittedly.

Alastair

In article ,
(Kay Easton) wrote:

Er, I thought they were frost-tender?

Not venus fly traps. I've grown mine outside over the winter with no
trouble.

Ah, the The International Carnivorous Plant Society FAQ is wrong then.

[http://www.sarracenia.com/faq/faq2460.html says "Dormancy temperatures
should be chilly but not freezing. Do not let your plants freeze!!]

Steve Harris - Cheltenham - Real address steve AT netservs DOT com

In article , Steve
Harris writes
In article ,
(Kay Easton) wrote:

Er, I thought they were frost-tender?

Not venus fly traps. I've grown mine outside over the winter with no
trouble.

Ah, the The International Carnivorous Plant Society FAQ is wrong then.

[http://www.sarracenia.com/faq/faq2460.html says "Dormancy temperatures
should be chilly but not freezing. Do not let your plants freeze!!]


Wasn't it Venus fly traps we were talking about, rather than Sarracenia?

www.carnivorous-plants.co.uk/dionaea/grow.asp
is surely more relevant.

This says it will withstand low air temperatures but avoid frost, and I
guess this is probably true of where I overwintered mine - tucked in
next to the waterfall of our pond. Survived winter and was growing well,
then the whole caboodle got swiped by a bird gathering moss for a nest!

The suggestion to try it outdoors came from a chap on one of the
carnivorous plant soc stands at one of the big garden shows. I had lots
of seedlings, so nothing to lose.

--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

In article ,
(Kay Easton) wrote:

Wasn't it Venus fly traps we were talking about, rather than
Sarracenia?

Indeed we *are* talking about VFT and the page I mentioned refers to
them but has no reference to Sarracenia.

Steve Harris - Cheltenham - Real address steve AT netservs DOT com

(Steve Harris) wrote in message ...
In article ,
(Kay Easton) wrote:

Er, I thought they were frost-tender?

Not venus fly traps. I've grown mine outside over the winter with no
trouble.

Ah, the The International Carnivorous Plant Society FAQ is wrong then.

[http://www.sarracenia.com/faq/faq2460.html says "Dormancy temperatures
should be chilly but not freezing. Do not let your plants freeze!!]

Steve Harris - Cheltenham - Real address steve AT netservs DOT com
There are no hard and fast rules on this. I think it could be related
to the fatc that the US can get harsher winters than the UK. When it
gets below freezing it can stay there for days on end, while in the UK
we often get strong frosts but then a thaw during the day.
I guess it's safer if the plants don't freeze, but a bit of frost is
unlikely to kill them.

Alastair

In article , Nick Maclaren
writes

Probably, but I think that I may have lost my Pinguicula grandiflora
from frost, and that is slightly hardier than any Venus fly-trap I
have heard of. And it wasn't even a hard winter - nothing below -8
Celsius :-(

But you're in Cambridge!
I'm in W Yorks, which may well have milder winters
--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

(Nick Maclaren) wrote in message ...

Probably, but I think that I may have lost my Pinguicula grandiflora
from frost, and that is slightly hardier than any Venus fly-trap I
have heard of. And it wasn't even a hard winter - nothing below -8
Celsius :-(


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

My Ping has survived two winters outdoors now. Including the nasty
cold snap we had in early Feb, which affected much of South East
England. It is just sending ut it's first leaves now, and when I
looked at it a couple of days ago seemed to have caught it's first
flies already. )

Alastair