Question
The general guidelines of "wintering" sarracenias is weather below 20'F for more than a week, correct?  My garage, at its coldest sits at about 15 degrees, but its never for more than a day or two.  I've got about 20 pots of VFT's and N american pitchers, pot size is anywhere from 8-16 inches.  I've got the water about halfway up the pots, which of course freezes.... I'm wondering if i need to take any precautions besides basic insulation?  I've got a few clippings over the top of the pots, a plastic grocery bag to stop moisture loss, and old t'shirts,towels, etc. providing additional insulation.  The garage USUALLY sits about 30-40 degrees all winter, but when it gets -15'f (WITHOUT winchill) here in SD, the temp obviously dips into a potentially dangerous level.  Please advise if i'm wrong in my thinking.  Previous winters i wintered them in my garage fridge, which would completely freeze occasionally when temps got super low and i had a high survival rate last year.

Answer
Hi Darren,

What you're doing sounds good.  Keeping the plants under mulch or similar covering to cut that dehydration is key.  It also sounds like the garage periodically goes above freezing, and that helps also.  Just check for mold every couple of weeks if the temperature is above freezing, and treat if needed.

Ironically we just had 3 days where night temperatures were in the teens.  All of our outdoor plants are under plastic, or in cold-frames.  As many years as I've done this I'm always amazed at how they bounce back from freezing.

Good Growing!

Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.cobraplant.com