This winter has been quite adventurous so far. Tropicals are easy as long as they fit in terrarium BUT these temperate one would be easy during their dormancy If you had so small a collection to fit in a fridge or if you had a perfect stabile over wintering place. And by perfect I mean a place with temperatures around 0-5C degrees.
Lets sum up things that have happened. I had to put / take my plant to dormancy in 14.10.2015 because we had a sudden drop of temperatures (from ~5C to -10C). Before that my plants were outside and they had a -8C hit without proper protection ( I was at school not around my plants I just told my parent to cover them with light cloth). During that night many of my Darlingtonia and Sarracenia growth points froze and I was schocked when I came home the next day.
My collection have grown from 2 sarr collection to over 100 plants. At that time in October I hadn't time nor space to prepare our basement where I had over winterized my plants before. So,, plan B. I took them to my grandparents cellar. Temperatures were 14C there (too high) but I hadn't a choice. We have been visiting my grandparents every weekend since then.
That "freezing period" of October last about 1 or was it 2 weeks and then we came back to warm temps. During November our nights hit 5C and days 11C. That's over warm! I had thought that temperatures would drop and cool my grandparents cellars (because of freezing weather) but I just stayed warm 13-14C. Andd as you could imagine my plants continued growing since temps were quite high. Also in November, 3-4 weeks after I took the plants there appeared an aphid problem. All of my flytraps were infestated by aphids!! I sprayed them 2 times with pine tree soap but since I was able to do the treatments 1 time a week I decided to bring all the flytraps home with me. So at the beginning of December all the flytraps were brought back.
The flytraps were still in their individual pots. I had thought growing plants in ther own pots would receive more professional look. However now when the plants were at the verge of aphid infection and they were in bad shape I had to act. I had brought sphagnum from Turku one weekend from our cousins land (I had a permission). Therefore I decided to repot them in small "tubs". Its sometimes better to think things from plants' perpective. After repotting I took the tubs outside where they spend 3 weeks before the next "freezing period" started a few days ago. I eventually let the pots freeze in -6C temps before noticing that...
I checked the tubs yesterday and my purps that I had grought also from my grandparent cellar. Now they are haning in our cellar witht the temps around 9-11C. I spotted one sarr of mine making a flower stalk at my grandparents so I brought it indoors hoping to get it awake.
Tomorrow my temperate plants have been in "forced" dormancy for 11 weeks. Meaning they would have only one week left before the minimum 12 weeks dormancy is dued! Jeez!! How am I able to wake when up when its middle of winter here in Finland?! When thinking more closely I simply but my plants too early dormant. I see people that have that point of time being in this month. Last year in 2014 I put my plants dormant late November.
Learnt: Do not be impulsive. If I had looked a few weeks I would have kept my plants home and take them eventually back outdoors.. Looks like I tend to make myself a new learning point every winter..
All thumbs up now I manage to keep my pack of cards together!
Äääsh menipä pitkä aika tuohon enkunkieliseen sepustuksees :'D Totta tosiaan tää talvi tuntu taas tälläseltä koetukselta mun hermoille. Suomen ilmasto ei pysty päättämään pitkäksi aikaan olisiko syksy vai talvi. Lämpötilat pomppii ekaks pitkään plussaa yötä päivää, sitten mennään pakkaselle ja sit tulee pitkä lämmin kausi jonka jälkeen ollaan taas joulun jälkeen päästy rapsakoihin pakkasiin.
Lokakuussa tuli äkilliset pakkasen jonka takia pihalla olleet kaverit jääty eikä ollut aika eikä tila viedä niitä meijän kellariin. Suunnitelma B eli kasvit vietiin mun isovanhemmille 60 km päähän. Noh, tuo lokakuinen pakkasjakso kesti vain joku viikko kaksi jolloin palattin taas plussalle. Olin ajatellut, että nyt se talvi tule, asteet kääntyy pakkaselle ja isovanhempien kellari kylmenee. No eikä. Kasvit jäi jumiin kellariin kuin ne olis hyvin voinnu viettää vielä kuukauden pihalla. Oikeasti, lämmöt oli marrakuussa vielä yölläkin jotain 7C ja päivällä 11C. Vasta orkideanäyttelyn päätyttyä marraskuun lopussa tuli seurava lyhyt "kylmäkausi" jonka jälkeen oli lämpöset viikot kunnes toissa päivänä lämmöt laski päivälläkin pakkaselle.
Kärpäsloukkuihin tuli kirjova eivätkä ne taintuneet kun käydään kerran viikossa isovanhemmilla niin 1 krt viikkoon mäntysuopaa ei oikeasti tehoa. Niinpä toin kaikki kärpäsloukut joulukuun alussa takasin Lahteen, istutin yksittäisruukkujen sijaan pariin isoon muovikaukaloon ja iskin pihalle. Siellä ne ehti viettä melkein 3 vikkoa ennen kuin piti ottaa pari päivää pois sisälle ja viedä (nyt) siivottuun kellariin.
Kyllä välillä joutuu ressaamaan kasvien takia. Viikon päästä kasveille on tullu täyteen vähimmäistalvilepo, eli 12 viikkoa/3 kuukautta. Seuraavaksi mietitään mitä tehdään tammikuussa. Suomessa tuo kevät alkaa vasta maalis-huhtikuussa ja jos kasvit alkaa näyttelee jo heräämisen merkkejä niin jotain pitää keksiä.
Mitä tullut opittua: Älä hätäile aikaisista syksyn pakkasista. Tähtää asettamaan talvehditusajankohta marras-joulukuuhun. Jos omistaa 1-2 kasvia niin jääkaappi on hyvä talvilepopaikka mutta yli 100 kasvin kanssa joutuu säätämään..
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kiitos! :-)