Guide to Bare-Root Fridge Method for Sarracenia and Flytraps
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ก.พ. 2025
- If you live in a region where the temperatures drop below 20F regularly or never drop into the 50-60F range consistently, you’ll need to provide winter dormancy for your temperate plants like Sarracenia and Venus flytraps an alternative way. Here’s a step by step guide to the Bare-Root Fridge method. To order plants or for more info check out our website at www.californiacarnivores.com
![บังเอิญมันได้อ่ะ - แอน อรดี [OFFICIAL MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/9fwjammKY4A/mqdefault.jpg)
![[Live] : ONE FIGHT NIGHT 28 วันนี้!! "พระจันทร์ฉาย vs เอลลิส"](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LfImEQqfARc/mqdefault.jpg)
Thank you guys so much for making this video. I was worried I wouldn't be able to put my flytrap into dormancy but this will help me out a lot
Love the title! Hoping I can watch it later ❤❤❤
Good video. For VFTs, in mid - October (zone 6) once the plants are well into the start of dormancy I drain off excess water from the pots, hit them with a SULFUR based fungicide and place in zip lock bags and pop them in the fridge for 3 - 3 1/2 months. I occasionally check them (once a month) for fungus and hit with the fungicide if needed. Late winter around February 1st I take them out and clean them up, repot any that need it, hit them with SULFUR based fungicide again and place in a south and west window and some under florescent and white 'daylight' LED lights until night time temps. regularly stay above freezing then slowly acclimate them to full outdoor Sun. I've been using this method for 13 years with no losses.
That’s great to read! How long do you usually take to acclimate them to the full sun?
@@California_Carnivores About 1-2 weeks depending on the weather. I start with 15 minutes and usually increase by 15 each day. Seems to work well. All my traps went in the fridge today. Will begin waking up early February under a 4 foot florescent shop light. I start transitioning them outside near the end of April.
To clarify, do you bare root those?
@@Navyenru No, they stay in their pots. As I take them out I re-pot those that need it first. I re-pot every 1-2 years.
Thank you
I live in an apartment and keep my sarrs on a windowsill (with some bigass grow lights, which probably makes me look insane to neighbors). I end up with pretty steady temperatures year round, though the plants do get chillier as I start opening windows in fall. I reduce photoperiod around then too. I've been doing bareroot fridge dormancy around Thanksgiving, and repotting in March. It's worked great for 3 years now.
My neighbors thought something was going on when they saw all the grow tents in my garage and the gentle pink glow of the lights coming through the windows 😂
I am so thankful for this video, because I ordered plants, they haven't arrived, and I live in Florida, so I have a little time to prep for these plants to take up the bottom drawer of my fridge for a couple of months.
Thank you! Im in N Mississippi and some winters are mild and some are subzero for weeks. So I knew you guys would be able to show me how to provide dormancy for my beautiful B52s I purchased!❤
I’m so glad this has been helpful for you! 😊😊😊
Thank you, Daniella; very informative!
Very helpful video! Thanks!
I'm in northeast Florida and it gets into the 20's. Rarely into the teens.
That would work for triggering dormancy 😊
Very nice video. Thanks. Same process for purpurea?
Yes :)
Should mine acclimate to temps before i put them in the fridge for deep dormancy. I already have a timer outlet that is reducing photo prriond.
Hello California Carnivores, I have put together a Carnivorous plant Q&A Google Classroom where first-time growers can comment questions about carnivorous plants. Reply if you want to be a part of it and I can add you. So far It's just me and QLD Carnivores.
P.S. Feel free to let me know if you have any questions about how it works or if you know any other carnivorous plant experts who would be interested.
Regards, Josh
Carnivorous Plants Sydney
I live in the southern border of Texas and I recently bought some bare root ones during the recent sale, I assume I should put them along with the rest of my vfts in the fridge as they arrive, my only concern is when would the correct time to take them out of the fridge would be. We normally have nights higher than 70 degrees Fahrenheit.l all year round.
I would put them in the fridge with your VFTs with they arrive and keep them in their for at least six to eight weeks. You can keep them in until the end of January for a resting period as long as they would normally have outside but that can also lead to fungal growth so you can bring them out sooner
Great video. Is it helpful to spray with a fungicide before bagging?
We don’t generally do that but you can. We find it to be more helpful to just check on the rhizomes every few weeks to make sure there is no fungal growth. If you do want to apply an antifungal, we use a preventative on other plants in the nursery called Actinovate AG
Now when you are rinsing them off is there distilled water in that hose?. Now I live in Chico and it's still fairly hot out. But like I said I keep it under a growing lamp . Now is there a reason why my traps take a long time to close. I have to hold a mealworm with the tweezers so that they don't squirm out.
Our water comes out of our well at almost 0ppm but for bare rooting you can use tap water, just give them a dip in RO water when you are done. Your flytraps may need more light if they’re closing very slowly.
Great video. What is your thoughts on sprinkling the roots with cinnamon (a natural fungicide/mold inhibitor) before wrapping the root system in sphagnum moss?
Also, do we wrap the rhizome/crown in damp sphagnum or leave it showing? 🌱
We haven’t seen that be too beneficial but you could run some experiments with it; wrap some plants with cinnamon and some without. You can leave the crown showing!
LOVE you videos! I live in south Florida. I was planning to out them in on Halloween. Is it ok to keep them there until Valentine's day or is that too long? Thanks!
You can leave them in that long but keep checking on them to make sure they look happy.
I just bought a bare root bulb scarecinea and I'm in Colorado should be coming tomorrow should I pot it up or put it in the fridge and also is it true on your third order from u guys do the customers get free things??
I would put it into dormancy now, so into the fridge! If you order a lot of rhizomes we usually add a free one and we also include stickers in every shipment 😊
Also, may I put various pants together in the same bag?
You can but you’ll want to jeep an eye on them so that they don’t mold or anything because of the increased moisture!
Should I use distilled water to clean the roots as well?
You don’t have to; just rinse with distilled when you are done
Very helpful. And do the bare root sarracenia you sell come wrapped in sphagnum or no? Also is it okay spray the brand "Safer" fungicide on the plant every 2 weeks?
Ours do not come wrapped in sphagnum as many people will just be potting them up right away. You can treat with fungicide and just follow the instructions on the package.
@@California_Carnivores ok
Instead of using a hose which is rough on the root system try using a bucket of rain or distilled water which is a gentle way of removing the soil from the roots
If I just got a sarracenia from you guys in October/November should I immediately do this? Are your pitcher plants entering dormancy around this time of year or should I wait a few extra months? Im still new at this but excited!
You can put them right in the fridge. They were already entering dormancy when they left us and they are ready for more!
I live in south FL, it doesn’t get that cold down here for very long at all. What’s the minimum and optimal amount of time I should keep it in the fridge?
I would do a minimum of 6 weeks. But if you can do more like 8-10 they’ll be happiwr
Hello I have 3 sarracenia pupurea rhizomes that I have been growing outside over summer. I moved them inside under my growlights for about a month now and theyve started to show new growth. If i tried to put them back outside to dormant will this negatively affect them? I live in zone 10b so cal on the coast. Should i use the fride method?
You should be able to place them outside in your area and achieve a nice dormancy! They’ll appreciate it even if they have a little shock going from inside to outside!
My sarracenia are huge and its my first winter with them, when the weather begins to drop at a consistent rate, should I cut them near the base and bag the rhizome? Since they're huge?
Yes, you can trim the pitchers off so and then follow this method if it will get too cold, or not cold enough, to leave them outside in your area.
should u spray the plant with fungicide when putting it into the bag ?
We don’t usually do that but it wouldn’t hurt to do it proactively
could you do an unheated basement for a Venus fly trap in ohio? or would that still be too cold for them. and you said to check them every month for mold or rot if you do notice any what do you do about it?
i was going to buy a venus flytrap bog garden today from you guys but since the plants are dormant do i leave them in their pots for the winter or still make the bog and let them rest there?
How and when you overwinter them depends on your climate and winter conditions; in colder areas, some growers may already be prepping them for winter, while milder winters may have a couple more weeks before frost hits hard. If you live in a temperate area where winters don't typically get below freezing, you can pot now and don't have to worry about using this refrigerator method.
I bought a bunch of bare-root Saracenias from you guys. They are still in their bags. I live in Southern California (OC). Should I even bother potting them, or should I just stick them in the fridge until next year? Thanks.
In your area, you can pot them up and pot them outside for winter!
So for sarracenia, I leave it in the fridge same as Venus flytraps?( around 3-4 months, 12-16 weeks)
Yes!
So I live in MI, I brought them inside recently to put under my grow light but I am going to put them in the fridge for dormancy. I recently got new plants, and some of them are still acclimating. Should I wait till they acclimate to put them in the fridge, or should I just put them in the fridge around halloween.
Going into the fridge will negate much of the acclimation process so it’s totally fine to get them and then immediately do the fridge method!
@@California_Carnivores Thank you! So i can just throw them all in the fridge after halloween? Sounds good
@@t97990 yes!
Should I do this method with a VFT I’ll be receiving in October? I’m in Fresno, CA and it’s been well above 50 degrees at night.
As long as your nights throughout the winter season from October to February will drop into the 50-60s, you shouldn’t need to to do this. In most areas of California, our winters are perfect for leaving flytraps outside in!
I’m north of Berkeley so close to y’all. Do y’all do this to ALL of your VFT and Sarracenia? I’m wondering if I can just leave mine outside.
they will be fine outdoors year round where you live, provided you keep them in full direct sun and always sitting in a tray of water
Here in the Bay Area, you can safely leave yours outside year-round for the most part. We do get occasional frost, but you can bring them inside overnight or cover with a cloth and that will be enough.
When they get out of dormancy can I just put them in the same exact pot that they were in before?
Use fresh soil and you may want to pot them into a pot one size bigger.
Do you think that I could just put the whole pot in the fridge for the flytraps?
Some people do. You’ll need to check the pot frequently for mold or fungus
I live in central Florida (Polk) should I leave my plants outside ?
If your night wills routinely get down to 50-60 degrees then they can be outside for winter dormancy. If your nights won’t drop into those lows, I would use the bare-root fridge method.
wish I had a distilled water sink and hose, I'm jealous lol
it is not distilled I don't think
This is actually a great point. You can use a regular garden hose for this process, even if your water tests above the ideal threshold! I would give a final rinse with distilled water and make sure the sphagnum is soaked in distilled, but otherwise, a regular sink or hose is fine for the bare-rooting process. As long as they don't sit in that water it shouldn't hurt them.
I'm in SoCal and plan to do the fridge method. Can you tell me how long they should stay in the fridge? I want to make sure they get enough rest. 🙂
in socal you can leave your plants outdoors year round
Roughly from Halloween to Valentine's Day, checking once a month or so to make sure there is no mold or rot.
@@California_Carnivores After reading a few other comments and your replies, I'm wondering if I even need to do the fridge method. I live in San Bernardino if that helps any. Our winter weather fluctuates between cold (no snow but maybe a light frost on occasion) and hot (swimsuit weather). What would you suggest I do for my VFT?
@@butterflygrooves1 To trigger dormancy the plants need night time temps in the 50-60’s pretty consistently. It’s okay if you have swings into hotter or colder temps occasionally. If you’re nights are cool enough, you can leave them outdoors. They are also okay if there’s a brief freeze.
im in a tropical climate when should i do dormancy
You can pick any time of year!
@@California_Carnivores can i wash my sarracenia roots with tap water because it has white dust thingy and it already killed 3 of my sarracenia
pls help
@@lemoneater6690 you can use tap water to wash the roots!
i live in cypress california and im not that good at researching. if you can tell me if the temps here are okay for my plants i just ordered from u guys to go dormant outside it would mean so much.
They need to be exposed to night time temps in the 50-60’s regularly to go dormant. If your temps drop lower than 25 all the time, they will get too cold. If they stay in the 60-25 range all winter, the plants can stay outside all winter long.
Life sphagnum is expensive and not environmentally friendly. Could I use paper towels to wrap them up or will that just kill my plants?
Paper towels can mold really easily, we don’t recommend them. If you want to use them, check them once a week and change them if you see any signs of mold. It’s really best to use the sphagnum if possible; these plants evolved in sphagnum peat bogs and are specially adapted.
@@California_Carnivores, thanks for the reply. And how about leaving them in the old pots with the regular CP soil mix? Could I put the whole pot in a bag, leave it in the fridge and repot it when I take it out a few months later?
@@somedude7040 I do know some people do it this way but we’ve never experimented with leaving them in the pots as it can lead to rot.
What are the proper temperatures for temperate cp, that doesn’t get too cold or that doesn’t get cold enough
Below 25F degrees is too cold for them. Between 25-60F is what will trigger dormancy, and if the nighttime temps stay over 60F mainly, it won’t be cold enough to trigger dormancy
I sure hope this works fingers crossed 😅
Is 6 weeks in the fridge enough to induce flowering in Sarracenia? :)
Yes, six weeks is the minimum!
Newish grower here, I bought a Drosera Filiformis 'FL Giant' not too long ago, (I think its been close to 2 months now) and since day one of arrival, it has been declining, and I am almost sure it is dead. I went onto some forums and they said it could just be starting an early dormancy, so I have done this fridge method, (I put it in the fridge yesterday). Is there any chance it could have suffered root rot during shipping? The roots seem to look and feel fine, but the potting mix seemed to have an odor, so I do not know.
Drosera filiformis is a temperate sundew, so what you are seeing is most likely normal dormancy. We've been adding dormant tags to our temperate sundews for a couple of months now! With some plants, that hibernacula can be hard to see and feel, so try to have faith. It's not uncommon for the soil to have an anaerobic smell; this is normal and not a cause for alarm. :)
I'm about 30 miles from California Carnivores. My FL Giant started to die back and go into dormancy about a month ago, even though we were still having gorgeous warm weather here. My Butterfly Valley sundew/drosera went into dormancy during a spell of 100+ degree weather in late summer (poor thing, it really didn't like the heat). I think your plant will be fine! The hard part will be waiting for it to break dormancy and start growing again.
Should I just spray with fungicide every month?
No, apply it once at the beginning if you are concerned about this. Then check your plant every few weeks.
@@California_Carnivores okay well my fungicide is coming on Tuesday but I put my plants in the fridge today for dormancy. So is it alright to just spray it when fungicide right when the fungicide comes? Or can I only spray it right before I put it in the fridge?
@@monke1919 you can apply it when it arrives
@@California_Carnivores alright I just applied it to all my sarracenia and my flytrap in the fridge
Is it ok to cut off all the pitchers? Some of my plants are a big “rats nest” of vegetative growth
Yes! You can cut back Sarracenia pitchers this time of year
Is the plant haunted? It whispers at 2:39 :)
That's just me (Alison here!) muttering at my camera for not focusing properly. 😂
What is the minimum temp required for dormancy in VFTs?
They need nights in the 50’s ideally
@@California_Carnivores thanks!
Can it be dried sphagnum moss?
You’ll need to add moisture to the sphagnum moss. It can be purchased dried. Then soak it in water, squeeze the excess out.
@@California_Carnivores so when I want to use it for my plants I just soak it in distilled water?
@@monke1919 yes!
Can I use damp paper towels instead? In the fridge process. I live in Michigan
Why bare root? Can I put it in with the pot?
Some people do put them in the fridge in the pots but there is a greater chance of rot. If you do, be sure to treat with a sulfur based fungicide and then check them frequently because you may need to reapply when they’re in the fridge.