Page 5a.
 

2008 - Year 15

"A Year in the Life" of my CPs - part 2
 

Wow, 15 years! 

I first tried documenting "a year in the life" of my CPs back in 2004-2005
(see page 2)
but because of photo hosting problems, I never finished it.

Now I would like to try again! 

As I type this, it is January 2008..my plants are still slumbering away in the middle of
their winter dormancy. but when they come out next month, I will start a detailed look at
their life cycle for an entire year.

Im going to divide this "year in the life" into four indivudual pages, one page for each
season.

Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

stay tuned! 
 
 
 
 
 
 

February 15, 2008.
Day 1 of "a year in the life" part 2 
 

SPRING has arrived again! 
well not really..its 25 degrees (minus 3 C) and snowing outside as I type this.

But Mid-February every year marks the official start of Spring for my Carnivorous plants!
they are finished with their 3 and a half months of winter dormancy.
They remain fully dormant every winter for the entire months of November, December, January, and half of February.

I am calling this "year in the life part 2" because I already attempted to document an entire year once before, 3 years ago. But I didnt get to finish it because of some photo hosting problems...you can read the first "year in a life", (which was really only half a year) here:

http://gold.mylargescale.com/Scottychaos/CP/page2.html

This time i'm going to document the entire year! 
From February 2008 to February 2009.
One entire Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter..until the cycle repeats again with next spring.

The year begins today, February 15, with the plants coming out of dormancy.

The photo above is the outside door to the basement..the plants spend their winter 
dormancy in the stairwell..I went out and shoveled off the snow so I could open the
doors (from the inside) because I also had some stuff to bring into the basement today,
as well as removing the plants from the stairwell.
 

Heading down to the basement..this is the door to the outside..the plants spend
the winter between this door and the "clam shell doors" out to the yard..it stays
a steady 33-37 degrees (1 to 2 degrees C) in the stairwell all winter...even though
the temps outside get MUCH colder.
 

Here they are! Three "mini bogs" wrapped tight in plastic. 
(I just used black plastic trash bags, sealed air-tight with tape)
 

Thats the temp the plants spend most of their dormancy in, 35 degrees F,
+2 celsius. Thats about the same temp as the "fridge method", and the techinque
is identical to the fridge method, except now im using the stairwell instead of the fridge,
everything else is the same however.
 

Above is the spot on the deck where the plants will live for the growing season..but not yet.

Unfortunately, even though my plants think that Spring begins today, the climate of Rochester, NY does not agree with their internal clocks. The VFTs and Sarracenia in my bogs are native to the South East USA, where they go dormant every winter, but they get a cool winter..a winter that is much milder (and much shorter) than the winters of the northern US and Canada. That is why those of us in these northern climates must use techniques like "The fridge method" or my cool stairwell for CP dormancy. Its just too severe to keep the plants outside all winter around here..they will die.

So the plants must stay indoors for several weeks before they can go outside for the season..until Rochester spring catches up with South Carolina spring..usually sometime in April. 

Open up the plastic and see how things look!
things look GOOD! 
everything looks healthy, green and alive!
there is some very light whispy mold, but nothing of concern at all..
nothing that has damaged the plants.

I always say that when using "The Fridge Method" the plants need to stay outdoors all season, straight through summer and into autumn, so that they get all the "dormancy cues" so they go dormant naturally..gradually decreasing temps, gradually decreasing photoperiod, so by the time they are ready for the "fridge" (or whatever dormancy location you choose) in late October or early November, the plants are already naturally dormant.."The fridge does not cause or create the dormancy, it merely maintains the dormancy that was already created naturally outdoors"..

This is all true.

But what about in the Spring then??
shouldn't the plants come slowly, gradually out of dormancy?
just as they went slowly, gradually, into dormancy?
ideally...yes.

but again, nature in Rochester, NY does not cooperate.
the plants simply cant go outside yet.
So they get a rather abrupt and sudden spring..they go from 35 degrees (1C) in the stairwell to 70 degrees (21 C) indoors pretty much instantly..(although it probably takes a solid 24 hours for the very cold peat in the pots to warm back up to room temperature.)
Its not ideal..but its all I have.

I just consider it a very sudden warm spring! 
that sometimes happens naturally outdoors too..
you can go from 40 degrees one day to 70 the next.

I have been bringing my plants out of dormancy this way every spring for 15 years now..
it works fine.

Here is a look at all three bogs!

My entire CP collection is in those three "mini bogs" except for three plants.
In the photo above is my D. binata, on the left, and a lone S. flava 'veinless'.
I have left the S. flava in its own pot, because it grows oddly every year, with strangely curved and somewhat deformed pitchers..im not sure if something is wrong with it or not,
so I keep it isolated from the rest of the Sarrs.

the D. binata and the Flava were also in the stairwell with the bogs..I also have a pot of
D. capensis that does not get a winter dormancy.

And thats all for today! 

In a few days I will put the green chicken wire back on, before the plants start growing,
and I will put the drain tubes back on and give the plants some new water.
(I bought a few jugs of distilled..I wont have my rain collector set up again until the plants can go back outside.)

I though it might be cool to have this in two places, (actually three!)...it is located here, on this webpage you are currently viewing, and it also exists in the form of a discussion thread at terraforums, and a thread on CPUK..
Since its difficult to respond to a webpage, I like also having this "year in the life" in the
form of a discussion thread, so people can participate, ask questions, discuss..whatever! 

thanks,
Scot
 

February 17, 2008
Day 3.

I went out to the shed and got the green chicken wire covers for the minibogs.

Up until last spring, the CDs kept birds away..but last Spring I encountered one robin
who refused to be scared away..I suspect she was gathering materials for a new nest.
she picked out a lot of the spagnum every day, ripping out plants in the process..
so I had "take it up a notch" and devise some new protection.

So I went to Home Depot and found "green chicken wire"..its regular chicken wire,
but coated in a green plastic or vinyl..I cut the wire into circular shapes, and pin them down.

Im not thrilled with the look..I would prefer not to use the wire at all..
but the protection of the plants supercedes aesthetics.

Soon the plants grow up through the wire, and by mid-summer you hardly notice it.

I also installed the drain hoses..the drains are located about 3" down from the surface.
so the bogs stay saturated with water 3" from the top..
I didnt devise any method for checking the water level, because I dont consider it terribly
important...I simply add water whenever I feel its needed...every couple days or so.
maybe every day during summer heat waves.
I just fill the pots until water drains out the tubing.

I created a rain water collection system last year...I will write more about that
when it comes time to set it back up in the spring...
For now im just using store-bought bottles of distilled water.
 
 
 

March 1, 2008.
Two weeks into "a year in the life" part 2

Not a lot happening so far..but thats to be expected.
It takes a week or two for the plants to even realize spring has arrived.

Although the VFTs are putting out new growth already,
and one Sarr is putting up a flower stalk!

I can also tell by now that all plants survived dormancy this year..
no fatalities. (which is normal too..plants rarely die with a dormancy of 35-40 degrees.)

Here are some new pics:

Thats the D. binata clump..which seriously needs to be repotted.
I will do that this spring.
 

Unfortunately I have no idea what variety of Sarracenia is sending up that flower stalk.
I can readily ID all my Sarrs when they are in the middle of the growing season..
I know what kinds of Sarrs I have..
but in this state, with just cut stumps, I cant tell them apart! ;)

The only ones I know right now are the big S. 'Leah Wilkerson' clump,
because I just know what that one looks like, it stands out.
And the S. rubra ssp. alabamensis AL-02 
(the flower is neither of those)

I always say I want to give them some kind of ID tags..
maybe I will try that this year..

Thats it for now..I will update again in 2 weeks.
still no real signs of spring outside..
 
 
 
 
 

One Month Update! 
March 16, 2008

The first two weeks, nothing much happened..
but the second two weeks, there has been an explosion of growth!
and one sarracenia flower has opened!

Many VFT traps are already open, and some flies have appeared in the house..
my theory is the new flies were "born" from the bogs, because they appeared right after the bogs came out of the the basement..not many flies, 4 or 5.
my wife has been feeding the flies to the VFTs!

No open sarracenia pitchers yet, but lots of pitchers pushing up.

As you can see, there are sadly zero signs of Spring outside yet..
still no snowdrops, no crocus, (the earliest bulbs to appear)
and still snow on the ground.

The D. binata clump is well on its way.

the one big Sarracenia flower has opened!
normally I dont let any of my Sarrs or VFTs flower at all..
I just cut off all the flower buds as soon they appear, because I dont care about growing anything from seed right now, and flowers just sap energy from the plants that could otherwise be put into trap production.

But this year I let this one flower open because my wife has never seen a Sarr flower before! now that she has seen it, it will be snipped off..
(maybe put it in a vase!)

Maybe if my Leah Wilkerson flowers, I will try some cross pollination with something else.
And a friend of mine also has a ICPS alabamensis..we have wanted to cross our two alabamensis, but they never flower at the same time..so thats not happening anytime soon either...

later today I will cut off all remaining Sarr and VFT flower buds.

And thats the one-month update!
things are coming along nicely..

still anywhere from 2 to 4 weeks before they can go back outside.
 
 
 

March 20, 2008. 
According to that thing called "the calendar", today is the First Day of Spring.
yeah right. 

Around here the calendar is just a guideline..Winter doesnt pay much attention to the 
official start of Spring at the Spring Equinox...Winter holds on for weeks after that, and Spring
is always late every year..(if going by the calendar.)

So here it is, The Spring Equinox..the "official" start of Spring..
Spring herself is still somewhere far south of here..we wont expect to see her for two to four more weeks..Old Man Winter isnt done yet..

Night-time lows still in the 20's.. (-7C) That high of 40 (+5C) is nice though!
This is the time of year we start to see 40's during the day finally..

but still too cold for the plants to go outdoors yet..
 
 
 
 
 
 

i..t.s......e...v...e..r......s..o.........s...l....o...w....l....y............g..e....t...t..i...n...g.........w...a..r...m...e..r...
 
 
 
 

April 1, 2008. 
6-week update.

Finally its really Spring! 

As I said on the last page, "officially" Spring begins with the Spring Equinox, 
which was a few weeks ago.
But here in Western, NY, the calendar doesnt hold much sway with the seasons..
the seasons do what they like, and pretty much ignore the calendar.

As a life-long New York stater, I have my own views on when the actual seasons are! 
according to my calendar, Spring begins today! April 1st!
because March is the fifth, and last, month of Winter.
check it out:

Here are some pics for the First day of Spring..

First, the "outdoor report"..we have actual signs of Spring outdoors!
The snowdrops popped up about a week ago..the first actual flowers of Spring.

And the daffodils and tulips have broke the surface..flowers are still weeks away however,
but its a good sign!

Still a bit cold for the CPs to be out though..

Notice that bright fluorescent green of the VFTs..thats actually a bad thing..
it shows they arent getting nearly enough light, there should be lots of Red coloration in there! Windowsills might SEEM bright, but they arent..and these are even SOUTH facing windows that get several hours of direct sun a day! its the most possible natural light I can give them indoors! but even with some direct light, its still not nearly enough..the sun is filtered through layers of glass, and they dont get the all-day duration, because the sides of the windows cause the plants to be in shade for much of the day..
yes, the plants are doing ok..but they could be even better..they really need to be outside..
soon..soon..

The binata seems happy!
 

The VFT's have been open for business for weeks..even catching some bugs!
but so far only three Sarracenia pitchers have opened...thats ok, no hurry.
 

And thats the update for April 1st...6 weeks into the growing season.
When can they go outside??
sometime in the next one to three weeks hopefully..
I have been watching the forecasts, and I will put the plants outdoors when I first
see a 5-day forecast that shows every night-time low above 35 degrees F. (+2C)
basically, nights above freezing..not quite there yet..but soon:
 

hmmm..actually, those night-time lows look pretty good!
a low of 30 forecast for next Sunday..thats slightly below freezing, and would probably
bring some frost with it,
but the plants could handle one 30-degree night just fine..

but..

im not ready to trust it yet..
temps that warm this early in the spring could easily be just a fluke..
snow and freezing temps is not uncommon in April.
I think that forecast is just a tease! ;)
its very likely there will be still be temps in the 20's in April..

The next update will however probably be the day they go outside! imghttp://gold.mylargescale.com/Scottychaos/icon_smile_big.gif" >
as I said, one to three weeks should do it..
 
 
 
 
 

April 6, 2008. 
7-week update.
 

The day has arrived! The plants are going outside for the season! 
It's a week or two earlier than most years, but I will take it!
Here is the forecast for the next 5 days:

Every nightly low is above freezing,
days in the mid 50's to mid 60's (7-13C)
and nights 35 to 45 (2-7C)

Yes, we could still get freeze, frost or snow, but I will deal with that
if/when it happens..meanwhile, the plants will be happy to be outside.

So out they go:

Above is a look at the drain hoses coming out of the pots.
 
 

The rain water collector is back out!
I made this last spring..its very simple.
its a plastic storage bin from Target..cost around $5.
I cut a hole in the cover for the downspout, then a larger hole in the side for the drain.
the drain is a large piece of PVC "elbow"..very cheap at Home Depot.
the excess water flows out the drain, hits the concrete "splash block", which then carries the
excess water away from the foundation.

I also installed a valve at the bottom of the bin, to dispense  the water when its needed.
The idea was that I was going to install a piece of clear tubing to that valve fitting,
and when I wanted to collect water in a jug or bucket I would simply put the tube in the buclet and
turn the valve...well, I never actually used it!
because I discovered it was much easier and quicker to simply lift up the top of the bin and submerge the bucket right
in the water! so the valve turned out to be unnecessary engineering..oh well.

Last year I also attempted to build in some mosquito proofing to the bin.
I installed a piece of nylon screening (window screen) to the PVC drain pipe elbow,
sealing the edges with aquarium silicone sealant..didnt work.
the sealant didnt hold well, and I also discovered that if any mosquito larva DO attemt to live in
the bin, the next rain will wash them right out the drain! so mosquito-proofing was also totally unnecessary.

I forgot to take a "before" photo before I set up the bin, but during the off-season I just install the regular downspout attachment, looks just like this one on the other side of the garage:

soaking up the sun! :)
 
 

Calvin spent most of the day outside today, helping us with lots of early-spring yard chores.
 

The last two pictures are close-ups of some leaves..I will use these to demonstrate "the burn"..
which begins very soon..here are some UN burned leaves, right after the plants went outside:

 

these are the leaves that grew indoors during the last 7 weeks..
they will soon burn in the intense sun.
the "burn demo" is next..in a week or two.
 
 
 
 
 

April 11, 2008. 
8-week update.
 
 
 

Its time to talk about...THE BURN!
the infamous CP sunburn.

"the burn" happens every spring to my CPs..and it often happens to new plants that arent used to full sun.

Lets say you buy a new VFT from Home Depot or Walmart (please dont ever buy anything at Walmart..Walmart is Evil) but lets say you did anyway..a VFT or Sarr that comes in the little pot with the clear plastic cover...you know the ones.

those plants have been growing inside somewhere for months before you buy them..they havent been getting nearly enough light..
they are not acclimated to full, direct sunlight..and they NEED full direct sunlight!
so what can you do?? well..you put them in the full sun.
but those leaves that are on your plant when you buy it and bring it home are wuss-leaves, they cant handle the sun..
they BURN in the sun!
they get a literal, brown sun burn..its pretty obvious.

The same thing happens with my plants every spring...because they have been indoors since February, they are not acclimated to full-sun outdoors..they are going to burn too.

Some people say you should "acclimate slowly" to avoid the burn....hmmm, maybe, but I dont buy it. IMO those leaves cant handle the sun no matter how slowly you acclimate them, as soon they spend one hour in direct sun, they are toasted.
so I never bother with "slow acclimation"..I just stick my plants in their "summer spot" and let the Sun have at them. yes, some of the leaves burn..it cant be avoided. IMO it does not harm the plants at all. a few burned leaves does not a damaged plant make.
yes, it harms those particular leaves, but one individual VFT or Sarr plant is made of many individual leaves..(or pitchers) over the course of the growing season..sacrificing the early indoor wuss-leaves to a small burn is IMO a small price to pay for the greater benefit of getting the plants in the full-sun they require for the rest of the year...its just another price to pay for doing business at this latitude. Any and all new leaves that appear
from now on can handle the full sun, because they were "born" into the full sun..the new leaves do NOT burn.

So my plants have been outside 6 days now, sitting in full direct sun.
lets take a look at that sunburn:

yeah, it looks bad, but I honestly dont think it does any long-term harm to the plants..
because the WHOLE plant is never burned..just the parts that are directly facing the mid-day sun..
and the back sides are never burned. and new leaves quickly appear that do NOT burn..
as soon as a good stand of new pitchers is up, I cut off the burned leaves...
my plants have received this burn every spring for 15 years, they are still happy and healthy..
I compare it to a human sunburn..its unpleasant, but its far from fatal..

here are some "before and afters"

Those are UNburned leaves..photo taken mere minutes after the plants went outside last weekend..thats how the leaves grew growing indoors for 7 weeks..(and remember, those leaves did actually recieve direct sunlight through the window!)

The same leaves, 6 days later.
 
 

VFTs unburned.

Same VFTs 6 days later.

The VFTs dont burn quite as badly..
and also notice some of the GOOD red coloration has quickly appeared as well!
(in addition to the obvious brown of the sunburn.)
The VFTs and pitchers had none of the Red coloration when growing indoors..they were solid green. So after only 6 days in the sun, they are already "coloring up" nicely.
 

Before..indoors..very very green, hardly a hint of red. (and those are mostly Judith Hindles! they should have lots of red!)

After..most of that red-brown coloration to the pitchers is the GOOD coloration..its not all burn.

yes, the burn happens..its very real..but in my case, there isnt much that can be done about it..its ugly for a few weeks, but the plants quicky adapt and start putting out the "strong leaves" (as opposed to the wuss-leaves) that soak up that direct harsh sunlight just fine. In another month, the "burn season" will be but a memory, and the plants will be very happy they are out in the direct sunlight.
 
 

April 15, 2008. 
8-week update.

When I put the plants out on the deck 9 days ago I said:

 "Yes, we could still get freeze, frost or snow, but I will deal with that
if/when it happens..meanwhile, the plants will be happy to be outside."

sure enough..the expected "April Freeze" has happened..not a big deal though.
Sunday night the overnight forecast was for 32F 0C, with the next few nights after that forecast to be below freezing..so I carried the bogs into the garage. There they will sit until  tomorrow (Wednesday) afternoon. I could carry them back outside for the days, bringing them in at night, but its still pretty cold when I leave for work in the morning, so I just dont bother! ;)  they will be fine in the garage for 3 days. Here are those low temps:

Those lows of 29F and 26F (-2 and -3C) are cold enough to warrant bringing the plants in from the cold...yes they could probably handle it fine if I left them out in the cold, they get cold-snaps like that in the wild..but I figure if I can protect my plants from freeze and frost, I should just do it! 
its better to not let them freeze if you have the option...If I had plants outdoors in an in-ground bog, they would just have to take their chances! 

If the night-time lows are in the mid-30's, but not below freezing, 35F 2C, I dont bother to bring them in or protect them..mid-30's is fine for leaving them outdoors.

Tomorrow afternoon (Wednesday) I will put the plants back on the deck..and the forecast for Wednesday onward shows nice and warm..nightly lows back in the 40's and 50's..
(7-12C)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

To Page 5b, Summer - year in the life 2008 continued.
 
 
 
 
 

back to my main CP page.
 
 

back to my main page.
 
 

Quick jump to individual pages:

Page 1 - The beginning of my CP hobby.
Page 2 - "The Fridge method" and "Year in the life, part 1"
Page 3 - Native CP's of central & western NY.
Page 4 - 2006-2007

Page 5a   - 2008 and "Year in the life part 2."  the beginning, spring 2008 (you are on this page)
Page 5b - 2008 and "Year in the life part 2." - continued. - Summer2008