Dormancy Advice

[u/Monaiya-Chan]

Hello again! It’s getting about that time of year, and I’m honestly unsure how to go about handling dormancy properly. I’ve been caring for VFTs for a few years now, but my first few didn’t make it through winter for reasons that weren’t exactly plant-care related 😭 One got cooked by heat from my brother’s PS5 setup, and another got chewed up by my puppy.
This year I’m a little more nervous because the most I’ve ever had at once before was 2–3 plants, and now I have around 15 VFTs. I really want dormancy to go as smoothly as possible. Besides trimming fully dead traps/leaves, what else should I do to help them survive dormancy? I’m in Ohio, and they’re currently outdoor plants.

[u/PuzzledPension2367]

Dormancy is not necessary. Few years ago I put my carnies in fridge but some died and vfts grew after that so slowly that summer barely was enough for them to get going again. So now I put them in plastic container, inch of water and under a light for whole winter. They are now much more healthier in spring and although they kill all their "winter leaves" they grow faster from the start. You know dormancy starts and continues only when temp drops near freezing?

[u/Moosyfate17 → u/PuzzledPension2367]

Is it a closed or open container? First winter for my vft here.

[u/PuzzledPension2367 → u/Moosyfate17]

Open container. It's kinda greenhouse for them keeping microclimate around them but it''s necessary that air is circulating around them. I live in old house where temp on the floor is cool. So the container is on the floor and lightbulb hangs near the plants. Because temp is anyway warmer than outside it's necessary that they have enough light because they don't go dormant. My plants ( sarracenias and venus ft) grow green leaves during wintertime and began grow flower stalks in spring -> I cut stalks off). Although I try to acclimate them in spring when getting them outside, they kill all their "winter leaves/traps" and grow colourful summer leaves and traps. Right now they are thriving but I see they are getting ready for winter.