bare root vs. potted fridge dormancy...
Hello,
I have been practicing fridge dormancy with my sarracenia and vfts for about two years now. What I do is I induce dormancy on my plants 2-3 weeks prior to refrigerating them by decreasing light hours and running an a/c unit in the room where the plants grow. Even though not all of my plants give me a clear sign that they are ready to go into the fridge, they all go in at the same time. I do cut off dead and decaying leaves but usually leave the rest on the plants. I have had good results, however I have still suffered some losses due to fungus/mold etc. I always spray the plants and soil with fungicide prior to refrigerating them, and even then fungus/mold still manages to get in there. I believe that this is due to the fact that the plants are attacked underneath the soil, were the fungicide does not reach them well enough.
I have read many articles and heard from many people that when placing the plants into the fridge they should be uprooted, excess dirt cleaned off, and most leaves except those that are smaller or just emerging should be cut off together with the old and decayed ones. Afterward, the plants should then be sprayed with a fungicide, wrapped in damp sphagnum and placed in ziplock baggies to be put in the fridge.
I was wondering if anybody has had some experience with this method or both methods for that matter and wishes to share their results. The whole uproot and baggie method would also save a lot of fridge space and this would be useful due to the fact that my collection is getting bigger.
Thanks a lot then, hope to get some replies soon. Later!
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