By mini-fridge in room, do you mean a dorm room, as in college? There are a variety of ways of doing dormancy for the VFT's. It just depends upon where you live and what you have available (or not)to you. If you live in the South, it can remain outside all year long. If in the North, it can be left outside but heavily mulched and/or sunk into the ground. I have taken mine, which are in buckets (minibogs) to our cold attic, by a window, so that they woke up when nature told them to wake up. We moved and we don't have an attic anymore, so I sent my dormancy plants to a co-worker, in his cold garage. A few years ago, I placed two 2" pots of VFT's in the butter keeper of our fridge, as is, (strange that my wife tolerated it!). What I haven't done, but others do is spray with fungicide and put in a baggie in the fridge, for the winter. Personally, I think simple is best - cold, natural light, barely moist, and uncovered.

You don 't need lights in the fridge. Just put them in there and leave them alone. Check them every say 3-4 weeks to make sure they are moist. Since they are dormant they don't need the lights until spring.

If I may jump in to this thread......
I have one VFT that is ready for dormancy. My basement is quite cold, and I have grow lighs for dormant Plumeria's down there. I have the grow lights set for 8 hours a day on a timer. Will this work? Should I reduce the light even more, and then slowly adjust it up as spring approaches? Setting it outside as soon as Spring rolls around? Thanks for any advice, and sorry if I hijacked your thread :) Christy

they still are supposed to get light is what I've read and thats why if you can't provide a place outside with light and cold at the same time that you have to place it in the fridge and then put it in such a strong dormancy that the light isnt important... if you want to provide the closest to the natural setting you would at least get some light to the soil you just want decreased amounts... usually severely decreased...

My concern about placing the VFT in the refrigerator with light is that it could potentially encourage the growth of algae/fungus/mold; if you take that route, I'd agree with petiolaris to use a fungicide. I've heard that 14-16 hours of good artificial light is typical for nondormancy while 8-12 is perfect for dormancy (along with temperature). The petioles become wider during dormancy so that the VFT has more surface area to capture light with (as there's less sunlight per day in winter), so it does still need some light.

The plants would slowly make use of whatever light is available in winter during dormancy, but if their is none, the plants are primed to live off their rhizome reserves as Tommyr indicated. They do get snowed on and dead plants fall on top of them, cutting off light for long periods in winter, so no problem if lightless.

If you do provide some light, make sure it is 8 hours or less and farther from the plants than usual.. too much light for too long a period of time would confuse them and could make them break dormancy, particularly if a freak warm spell occurred.

Christy2828, that basement sounds just right for Flytrap dormancy, particularly if the temperature reaches about 45 degrees at night. If it fluctuates at around 40-50 degrees all winter, it would be just perfect. In spring, around February, give the Flytraps an hour more light per day each week until it is up to 12 hours a day at the end of February, then get it outside if possible.

Thanks very much :) Christy

Hi, I'm in Houston, TX and I've had a flytrap for about a year on my kitchen windowsill, still in it's original container (it was a cheap Home Depot one). I didn't give it a dormant period last year because I didn't know they needed one. But my flytrap is producing a whole bunch of tiny traps rather than large ones (it has just a few larger traps), which is a sign of dormancy, correct? So what do I do now? Just stick the whole container in the fridge, despite that it still looks green and growing, and forget about it till the end of January? Or please tell me the time I should take it back out. I'm not used to plants that require some period of cold, considering that doesn't really happen naturally around here. And I'm scared to accidentally kill it by sticking it in the fridge.

Oh, and I just watered it yesterday, so should I wait a few days before putting it in the fridge?

Also, when will it be necessary (if ever) to repot and how do I do that?

well yes the production of smaller traps ie a telltale sign of dormancy and thats how I knew when mine was approaching also... the growth should slow down alot also along with what it producing being smaller if you can't get a naturally cold area i.e. outside or maybe a cold garage or something along those lines then the fridge is the next best bet. if you plan on using the fridge technique you can if you'd like put the whole plant in there but there always concerns with as whats going to be my problem here shortly which is mold or fungus growing and if the plant is wet when you put it in the fridge you run the risk of roots rotting... so best idea would be to make sure that its damp and that you havnt watered it in a couple days before placing it in there... and you'll want to be sure that you check it ever so often to make sure theres nothing else other than the vft growing in your fridge... some people will cut the plant all the way down to the bulb and then wrap it in moss put it in a ziploc and then do that but that scares me wayyy too much when i have the fridge space available...if you've had the plant for that long and its a small 3'' pot or something a repot would probably make your plant very happy. repots are recommended in the spring after dormancy.

Christy: That would be fine.

Agentrdy: I didn't use fungicide, though others have done so. I just kept it from drying out and recommend that the plants be exposed to the air, to perevnt mold.

cmm899: Both approaches, though seemingly inconguous, have worked. We all have differing variables to deal with.

Marfisa: You have a couple options. You could actually have your plants outside for the winter. But if you feel better about a fridge, it would be wise to acclimate it from whatever tenps / light / himidity it is now toward what it would be in the fridge. Plants react when going from 70->40 F, in one fell swoop.

cmm889: Yes, it is in a tiny 3 inch pot which is inside a clear plastic cylinder with a removable lid. Franky, I'm surprised it's lasted so long and has been so healthy. It has always stayed bright green with a nice red color on the inside of the traps. Another one I had when I was a kid died pretty quickly (probably due to being watered with tap water and not distilled, which is what I use now). I'll repot next spring then.

petiolaris: I put my plant in the garage since a cold front just moved in and will leave it for a week or so to get used to cooler temperatures and give it some time to dry out before putting it in the fridge. I'll be sure to air it out every couple of weeks and check for mold.

Marfisa,

If you have a cold garage it would likely be perfect all winter.. the plant only needs to feel 45 degree weather for it to go completely dormant, then just make sure it stays cool, below 50 degrees, and in short periods of light (8 or less hours) if at all. If the garage has a small window, even better, just place it there and nature will take its course. In any event, I would keep the Flytrap in the window a couple more weeks (till after Thankgiving at least) to ensure that it is truly ready for dormancy, then chill it in the garage.. it should go right into dormancy till February that way. Water it a bit less, but always keep the moss barly moist all winter. Check on it every week or so to ensure it is moist and not being attacked by fungus.

Marfisa,

Oh, forgot to talk about repotting.

Get a 5 inch pot with drain holes and look for large bales of dry peat moss called premium sphagnum peat wrapped in plastic... they will be 1-2 foot cubes. Keep the unused portion dry and sealed up and it will last a long time. Also get some silica sand or unfertilized perlite, also sometimes sold in large bales. Usually the small bags of perlite and moss are fertilized and would kill your Flytrap. You can also just look online for carnivorous plant specialist nurseries that sell carnivorous plant soil mixes. They will mail you quarts or gallon bags of the stuff in a week or so and you will know it is the same stuff they use to grow theirs in... so no fuss with trying to find unfertilized stuff.

Mix 50/50 peat and sand or perlite if you do it yourself and add water until it is chocolate brown and damp, then pot it up. Press the sides of the Venus Flytrap pot and cup your hand over the plant and soil as you turn it upside down and knock on the bottom as needed to get the soil to loosen in a clump and fall out in your hand plant and all. You can then tease away the old moss and soak it in distilled water to get rid of excess old moss as needed, usually only needed if the old moss is very old or tainted by something. Dig out a small hole with your fingers or a spoon until it looks deep and wide enough for the roots and rhizome bulb and just ease the longest roots straight down. Make sure the crown of the plant will meet just at the top soil, not too far above nor too far below, and begin scooping soil in as you hold the plant straight up. As the hole fills in you can gently firm the soil down, but don't firm too much, just leave it a bit spongy and loose feeling so air can get in. By the time the soil is to the crown of the plant it should be just under the lip of the pot and the plant should be firmly planted... not drooping or flopping around. Add some more water to settle the soil and place a tray under the pot with enough depth for about an inch of water. that will be about it... Just repot in early spring before the plant is fully out of dormancy and it will wake up to a fresh pot.