Question
QUESTION:       Hi. I have three venus fly traps, a doodlebug, a purple pitcher (It looks like
a Burke purple pitcher) and a Cape Sundew.  I bought them in July.  They are
young plants. When I got them they only had two or three traps and leaves.
     You probably don't remember me, but I was the one who had them
outside on my screened in porch this past summer.  I live in NJ.  I left them
them outside on my screened in porch up until the second week in October.
They had experienced cold temps. On somedays at night the temps were
down into the mid 30s.  They began to go I guess semi-dormant, b/c many
of their leaves had started to turn brown and some leaves died and the venus
fly traps' traps didn't work anymore.  
      I brought them inside my house, b/c it started to get really cold outside
(under 33 degrees and there was frost).  I was afraid to leave them outside b/
c the venus fly traps are in 4 inch pots (small pots).  The doodlebug and
pitcher plant are in 6 1/2 inch pots. I was also told to keep them in my house,
b/c I was moving them around too much- back and forth between my house
and the outside.
      My plants are all in my house now in my dining room under a 4' fixture
with 2 40 watt florescent tubes.  They are only geting light from this.  No
natural sunlight.  A few weeks ago they were getting some east sun too, but I
had to put curtains up b/c of the cold.  ural light only florescent?
      I keep my house at 64 degrees. Somedays it's very cold in my house and
other days it's warm.  I have the florescent light on them 12 hours a day. Is it
ok that they aren't getting any natural light?   
     A week after I brought them inside my house, the venuses began to grow
again. (not the doodlebug or purple pitcher plant).  My venus fly traps are
growing, but the new traps don't want to open.  The traps just sit there for
weeks and then eventually turn yellow and then black.  Do you know why this
is happening?
        I had my venus fly traps 10 inches from the florescent light.  A few days
ago I moved them closer. (7 inches way from the light now)  I did this b/c I
thought they may be having problems b/c of a light issue.
         Another thought I had why they are not growing properly is b/c I had
to repot them last month b/c of mold in their soil.  I got rid of all the soil
(even the soil on the roots),exposing their roots. Maybe I disturbed their
roots, that's why they're not growing properly.
       On one of my venuses- only ONE of its traps have gotten to the stage
where it has teeth on it, but it hasn't opened yet, either.  It's been sitting like
this for weeks.        
       Also, I stick my pointer finger or thumb in my plants' pots so see if they
need watering. Is this distubing them by doing this? Maybe this is why they
are not growing properly?
       One last thought I had why my plants aren't growing properly is maybe
how I am watering them.  I use distilled water.  They are in peat moss and
perilte mix.  I water them using the tray method.  I water them so that the top
inch or 1/2 inch of soil is bone dry.  Is this ok? I do this, b/c I was having a
problem with mold growing on the soil.  Since I have the top of soil bone dry,
there's no longer any mold.  I keep the top inch of soil bone dry on my
doodlebug  and sundew too? Is it ok for the top of the soil to be bone dry?
3/4 of the soil is moist to wet. Just the top is bone dry.
     My doodlebug doesn't look too well either.  A few days ago, the old traps
began to shrivel up and dry out.  This happened over night.  Did this happen
b/c maybe I am keeping the doodlebug's soil too dry? The top of the soil is
completely dry, but the bottom where the roots are is moist to wet. There is
new growth, though.  New leaves are beginning to grow, but very very slowly.
      Sorry for all the questions.  Thank you.


ANSWER: Hello Tracy,

What happened is that the plants went into a dormant state in the cold patio then they were moved inside into a warmer place with longer photoperiods. They think winter is over and are trying to grow again, but there is simply not enough light to provide them the strength to grow properly. Step the light back down to 8 hours a day over the next couple of weeks two hours at a time until the plants halt growth for the most part and then keep them cooler than 60 degrees. They should reenter dormancy and hopefully still have winter hormones left to protect their cells in cold weather.

The plant soil should be moist through and through, however; the problems you are having with leaves shrivelling up quickly are due to changes in humidity as well as too little water compounded by the plants trying to wake up in what they think should be spring. In spring, bog plants get a lot more water than they do in winter, so waking up to drier conditions and low humidity caused their leaves to dry out too quickly. The plant is generating new leaves that are more resistant to low humdity and the roots are now getting more water as they are probably growing deeper into the pot seeking more water.

You can remedy mold with a few preparations before potting your plants. Steam the soil in a microwave for a few minutes with a little water added to the dry soil. The steaming will evenly distribute the water and the heat will kill bacteria and mold in the soil. Let the soil cool and then pot it up. You should have very few problems with mold after that.

Christopher

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi.  All of my plants are under one 4' fixture.  This includes some cactuses
and cape sundews.  If I decrease the length of light to 8 hours, my other
plants won't be getting enough light?? A few days ago I decreased the light to
only 10 hours a day (I did this for maybe 3 days).  The color on my plants
began to fade (for example my purple pitcher plant).  I thought this meant
they weren't getting enough light, so I went back to 12 hours a day.  Can I
keep in on for 12 hours a day, b/c the fly traps appear to have slowed down
and their leaves are starting to turn yellow and brown around the edges?  
Maybe they are going dormant regardless of the light being on 12 hours?
Hopefully this doesn't mean they are dying.  
        I keep the temperature in my house close to 60 degrees. I keep it at 64
degrees.  Thank you  

Answer
Hello Tracy,

If you increase the light period to 12 hours again you will only stress the temperate plants and confuse their dormancy cycle. This is often what happens in temperate carnivorous plants found and bought from garden sections in stores. If they are kept warmer than 60 degrees they will try to continue growing as well, but will not have enough light to do so and will die. Best bet is to keep them on low light levels and keep them cold until spring.

Example:

My Venus Flytraps and Sarracenias were stepped down to 8 hours of light for two months and are now in ice chests at about 45 degree temperatures. The ice chests are closed at night and open by day in south windows, no additional light. They barely receive a few hours of very diluted light and are doing fine. The ice chests contain between 3-4 frozen 20 ounce water bottles that I replace every 12 hours. Winter in my region remains above 60 degrees by day for several days at a time so keeping them inside is often required to keep them dormant in a cold environment. The main thing is not to overcomplicate and not to stress out about them and they will do just fine so long as the basic requirements are met.

When I stepped down the light period for my plants I did so with one timer for all of them, including my Nepenthes and tropical sundews. I also have them in south facing windows which provided additional light so they would do well even with less artificial light for a month or two. I am now increasing the photoperiod of florescent light for them back up to 12 hours a day and then will further increase that to 16 hours in spring when I bring out my dormant plants.

I hope this information helps you with the dormancy requirements of your carnivorous plants.

Christopher