that depends on the temperature. most tropicals like bright light, but warm conditions.

8 hours of artificial lighting can be sufficient in that factor. but i am not sure if the temperatures will affect your Drosera binata since it will go dormant. or your other plants with low temps but bright light.. it can be tricky.

you could remove your binata from your terrarium to a rather coolwer location while being dormant. Then back into your terrarium during the growing season. some people do this, but that's up to you if you choose this method.

what are the temperatures of your terrarium during the growing season?(now) and what are the temperatures in your terrarium during the winters??

let us know. see ya

What I do is keep D. capensis, the lanceleafed sundew, the "rosetted" (D. spatulata?), and butterwort on the window sill, open tray, all year long. They do fine. For the D. binata, which I now keep in a bucket, as a minibog plant, I take to the attic for the winter, right at a SW window sill. It is cold, but not too cold, and when late winter arrives, it wakes up on its own.

{{gwi:428437}}

my terrerium stays at around the low 80's with the rest of the house, which means come winter, all my temperates have to leave the terrerium and go into the store room where they'll be cooler. what I was going to do was if the other plants I plan on adding to the tank liked the shorter winter photoperiod, then I was going to leave the binata in there since it will still be low 80's into the 70's, but if the other plants didn't like that low of a photoperiod, then I was just going to make seperate accomadations for it so that it isn't as chilly as my temperates but won't be as warm as my tropicals and subtropicals.

So... any ideas, as to what to do with my Binatas, right now I've jsut really trimmed it back so that the new leaf will come in after it flowers, since it was just a bramble. but can I leave it in the tank over winter with the 8 hour photoperiod along with tropicals nad sub-tropicals that will get the same 8 hopur photoperiod or should I accomidate it seperatly so that they will get more light? can anyone help me or point me in the right direction?
~Matteo

hmmm.. i would move the binata to a rather different location that it has its needs for its required dormancy period. I wouldn't bother the rest of the plants that would be growing in the same terrarium as the D. binata. tropical plants also depend on temperature rather than just lighting alone.

you should follow petiolari's advice that he said above..

will do then, thanks you two
~Matteo

I wouldn't overwinter the Mexican ping in that terrarium. Generally speaking they want to be dry and have lower humidity at that time. I get mine down to 8hrs light and keep them at around 50 degrees, but in a terrarium without a cover.

I consulted the great CP Bible by our lord Peter D'Amato.

for the greenhouse styled terreriums he says to keep the plants on a 12 hour photoperiod for winter so that the mexican pings will succulent, the pygmys will produce Gemmnae and the winter species will do flower production. I'm going to keep my temperates in the store room where they can be colder for thier dormancies all the time, and I'll more then likely be clsoing ovv the vents to my room at night so that they get colder night temperatures. if worse comes to worse I'll move the ping in with the temperates but this one is the experimental ping, since it'll be my first.

How low can Mexican pings & pigmy sundews tolerate for the winter. I'm thinking about having them remain in my attic where the temps will be as low as the 30's, but not freezing.

I had my buckets of minibogs in the attic last winter, right by a SW window sill and they all naturally came out of dormancy throughout February & March.

FWIW, the lowest latitude in the Drosera binata complex's range wouldn't receive less than a 9 hour photoperiod at winter solstice. 8 hours may be overkill. 10 hours is likely to be more than sufficient.

I asked God (D'Amato) about the drosera Binata, I actually think I might be a smaller dichotoma form with pink flowers, I'll find out any day now, the buds are starting to open, and if it is then it will require a dormancy anyways because the small pink flowers do. but he said that since it was progogated in america it will be fine with my other american plants with winter conditions, so a little lower then 50 degrees on an 8 hour photoperiod.