Those temperatures will work just fine for your Sarracenia, not all of them brown up and die in the winter. A dormancy is just a rest, a time when they slow their growth way down. If their growth has retarded a great deal, then they should be all set. A deep dormancy, like the kind i give mine way up here in MA, is one in which there is no new growth at all. They seem to have some trouble getting started come spring, but ultimately do just fine.
Your Venus Flytraps, however, may need something cooler. Perhaps you could store them in your fridge for a while? Those should definitely experience some sub-freezing temps in their sleep.
LFS is a tricky subject, and its awesomeness varies from grower to grower. I use it as a dressing, or as a medium to grow some Bladderworts in. Also, my Drosera Rotundiflora grows best in pure LFS. But i have a Sarracenia Purpurea in LFS, and i dont think it is as happy as it could be, and so i'm going to try the standard CP mix (1:1 peat:sand) come spring.

Thanks for the feedback Icenine. Regarding the green LFS, I've read some posts here and in the orchid forum that seem to indicate that it will kill everything it touches. I really don't know what to believe. I took another look at the package of the brand I was using and saw that it didn't specifically say it could be used as a growth medium -- just as top dressing or basket lining.

Anyhow, I found a bag at a store that is labeled as a medium for orchids. It looks different from what I've been using so I'm going to give it a try. Meantime, I'm going to be using peat moss and perlite because I've yet to find a source for sand.

I forgot to mention I have a D. filiformis that does appear to be dormant. All the tentacles have dried up but the gemmae (?) is still green, so I expect it to revive when the weather warms up. I also have a D. kenneally that died back as soon as I unpacked it and planted it. I'm not so sure that one will be back in spring.

Hi
I have a similar problem but worse as I'm in s. florida.
Temps below 50 are measured in hours and have never had a week below 70.. Interestingly I've lost more plants to summer heat. So I grow them as winter annuals.
I sow seed in Nov and let them grow as long as they will.
I found the fridge method didn't work well as I suspect they need a cool down as well as a cold period.
Have heard that VFT can recycle on as little as 40 hours of below 45 but hasn't worked for me.
Certainly gets a lot colder than that in their habitat for sure.
I generally just stick with tropical species heck of a lot less work lol gary

Itecato9, it sound like you bough regular moss, since you describe it as green and the package said to be used only as a basket liner or top dressing. That is not LFS moss or more accurately long-fiber Sphagnum Moss use in growing mediums.

That green decorative moss is green because of the artificial green coloring they add to it, long-fiber Sphagnum Moss normally a light brownish color with some purple hues. People new in CP have made the big mistake of buying green decorative moss, either because they donÂt know how real sphagnum moss looks like or the sales clerk assures them it is sphagnum moss. ThatÂs why those forums you mentioned warn to stay away from that green decorative moss

Sphagnum moss is long and stringy and quite ÂfeatheryÂ, not green, compact, and short. Lowes or Home Depo do sell sphagnum moss in the orchid section but make sure it does say sphagnum moss and nothing else. Also, make sure it doesnÂt have any additives on the sphagnum moss like watering agent or fertilizer, which will kill your CPs. You want is pure LFS moss. DonÂt use that green decorative moss AT ALL as top dressing, the chemicals in it will kill your CP as it will leach from it and contaminate your medium when you water it.

If not sure what moss to buy, you can always purchase them from reputable carnivorous plant growers like California Carnivore, or Sarracenia Northwest. That way you will be sure what you purchased and also learn how real LFS moss looks like.

For your D. kenneally , this grow in moist warm environment, if you planted it next to your temperate sundews, you may have killed it.

Only pygmies produce gemmea, you probably mean the scaly leaf of the dormant sundew bulb.

Good luck!

Hi Gary. You know, a lot of people would love to have winters like we have. I'm glad that most of my plants don't mind, but I've had such bad luck with the flytraps that I'm tempted to just stop growing them. However, we get swarms of flies in summer, and it's gratifying to see a few of them caught in the traps. Maybe I should adopt your approach and just grow them from seed.

Hunter, thanks for the advice and tips about the droseras. I'm worried that this location just isn't right for lanata or adelae, but capensis, binata and "staghorn" seem to love it here. The jury's still out on gramnifolia and the pygmies.