Question
Hi! I live in Ky, which is Zone 6. I really want to grow Darlingtonia Californica and some Sarracenia here, but I'm wondering if dormancy would be too long here since they live in FL, which is Zone 8-9. I am wondering if I could keep them outside all winter, like you said in your Ebook, without anything negative happening to them from prolonged dormancy. I'm not worried about arctic winds or extremely cold weather, but am concerned if a Darlingtonia or a Sarracenia Flava or something like that wouldn't get killed or stunted by the extra dormancy.

Thank you!

Answer
Hi Aslan,

You definitely have given this a lot of thought! Many growers are not attuned to such nuances of horticulture.  Fortunately, you don't have anything to worry about.  Oddly enough, sometimes folks in zones 7 and colder will grow larger plants than we do in zone 8.  This has to do with the quality of the summer season, rather than the quantity or length.  

In our climate, we have mild summer days and very cool summer nights.  In your region, you have warm summer days and often warm summer nights.  The temperature difference during the growing season is enough to give your plants a boost, even though the growing season might be slightly shorter.

The extra month of winter dormancy doesn't impact the growth of your plant.  What has a greater impact is what the plant experiences during the growing season.  We have customers in Michigan, Minnesota, New York and Maine who grow beautiful Sarracenia year after year.  As long as you take the necessary winter precautions and give the plants the proper growing conditions during the summer months, your plants will do just fine.

Good growing!
Jacob Farin