winter rest

Scott Brown (hsbrown@vices.Princeton.EDU)
Thu, 3 Oct 91 15:22:50 +1000

The weather is starting to get cool here in
New Jersey and will probably dip below freezing
some night in the next few weeks. Since this is
my first winter growing CP I am a little concerned
with how to properly rest the plants. I had almost
all of my plants outside for the spring and summer
and they did very well. I plan on leaving some of
the plants outside all winter such as S. Purpurea
which grows in the wild nearbye.

I don't have a greenhouse but just finished making
a large light rack where I currently have my orchids.
The rack is in my bedroom where the temperature will
not get too low because I have to live there. I have
2 options. Leave the plants outside where night temp
will sometimes fall below freezing, or inside where
the temperature will not fall below 50 F. Naturally
I don't want to kill any plants with the low outside
temperatures but I am concerned that the indoor
temperatures will not be low enough to start the
plants hibernating.

How low should the temp be to initiate hibernation?

I water my CP by leaving them in trays of water
which has worked well so far. I understand that
during the rest period, watering should be reduced.
Should I remove the plants from the water trays and
occasionally water-from-the-top, or would it be OK to
leave them in the trays with a lower water level?

I know different plants will have different needs
but I am just looking for some rule of thumb
ideas. I have mostly Sarracenia, Drosera, and
utricularia.

I am going to a wedding this weekend in Rochester NY
and planned on visiting Niagra Falls and Peter Paul
Nursery while I was in the neighborhood. I called for
directions to the nursery this morning and was told
that they are not open to the public due to insurance
problems. What a disappointment.

Scott