Question
I bought 2 dente flytraps from you guys back in January and they looked very healthy. I placed them in the same unheated room on a very cold balcony along with my other flytraps, pitcher plants, some red dragons and a white-top pitcher that i also bought from you at the same time.

I began repotting all my plants in time for spring this weekend and noticed the dente's looking a bit dry. Upon digging them out i noticed that the bulbs were brown and mushy. What i don't understand is how both plants died like this when all my other plants being in the same room are fine including the smaller and younger looking red dragons.

BTW, a flytrap i bought from Florida around fall suffered the same fate - becoming dry and rotting along with some younger VFT that I had in the same pot.

How can these plants not survive dormancy when they were protected? Also how is it that a healthy plant entering dormancy not be able to acclimate to a cold room and dry up?

Some other info:

I live in new york city.
The temperatures range from 20's into 30s.
The last few weeks there been crazy extremes - 20's and the next week 60s.
I watered every 2 weeks.
The unheated room is covered and is not exposed to freezing winds.
I did not mulch the pots.
They were still in the same 3 inch pots that you delivered them in.

Answer
Hi Neil,

Despite the fact that all of your plants received the same growing conditions, a couple things jumped out at me.  The first is fungal infection.  Fungus is a serious and common problem during winter dormancy.  It's most common when folks over winter their plants in artificial conditions, such as indoors or in a shelter, rather than keeping them outside.  You mentioned that your plants were in an unheated room on your balcony.  While this is great to protect your plants from the freezing wind, it can be a place where fungus can grow.  This is compounded by the fact that the temperature also fluctuated wildly.  

Throughout the winter, it's really important to spray the plants with a sulfur-based fungicide when you store your plants.  You should also check up on them periodically and look for fungus or early signs of rotting.  It's also acceptable to spray them occasionally as a safety measure.

The other issue that jumped out at me was the infrequent watering.  I'm not sure how the soil felt, but it should always be moist to the touch.  If the soil ever feels dry, you may risk losing the plants.  This is especially true if the temperature went below freezing in the unheated room.  A type of freeze-drying effect can happen if the flytrap wasn't properly hydrated before the temperature dropped.

So those are the two most important issues for now.  I like the idea of the unheated room, but I watering a bit more frequently to make sure the soil is moist all the time.  It doesn't have to be sopping wet like they are when sitting in water, but it should feel moist to the touch.  

Also spray your plants with a sulfur-based fungicide.  Safer?makes an excellent prepared solution.  Spray the tops of the soil and plant with a generous application.  You should also check your plants periodically for any signs of fungus.

I also recommend watching our instruction DVD, Grow Carnivorous Plants Volume 1.  We provide a lot of information about winter care and the main concepts you should know.
http://www.cobraplant.com/DVD

Good growing!
Jacob Farin