Question
'Ello!
I don't think you remember me but I've asked you alot of questions before about nepenthes care, well this time it's about temperate plants :P

I live in Sweden, zone 6, and I've recently started to like sarracenias, but I have a problem. Right now I have 4 sarracenias, S. Purpurea, S. Leucophylla, S. Psittacina, an unknown hybrid and a VFT and I have no idea how I should manage to give the plants a good dormancy period. The winters here often reach -30 C (about -22 F) and that would kill the plants. But I do have some options, but I don't know which one is the best one to go for.

1. First of all, I can put them in the fridge, this I wouldn't really like to do and I don't know if I can, since the fridge is almost always full.
2. I also have a basement beneath our summerhouse that's about 6 C (42 F) during the winter, but there's allmost no light, only a window that gets light to about lunchtime in the summer, I don't know how much light it'll get in the winter. And I don't know how much I'll need to water the pots since this is my first year growing temperate plants. It can go about a month in winter without me visiting the house.
3. This is the last thing I can think of and I don't know if it would even work. The idea is to get a big styrofoam box and put the pots in that and then isolate it with bubble wrap over the top. This way the plants will get sun but still be isolated. But I have no idea what the temperature in the box would be.

I know it is kind of early to worry about this, but I want to be 100 % prepared :)
Thanks!

Answer
Hello Otto

Of course i remember you :-)

For your winters at -30C, im in Canada, and we experiment the same kind of weathers.
For me, and what is best for my setup, its the fridge method. But you have a basement that i actualy dont have.
So 6C is good for the dormancy. 3-4C is better, but 6C will be ok.

Let your plants going dormant outside, and when the plants are dormants, and when the weather go almost at 0 at nights, put your plants in your cold basement. Put the pots into a clear or black plastic bag, sealed. Light is useless by the time they are dormant.
For myself, i even cut all the pitchers after they fall dormant, before putting all this in the fridg.

Be sure to add a lil bit of water before sealing the bags, the plant will use this relative humidity all winter long, i mean a few drops; the soil have to be almost dry.

Put your plants back outside when the weathers reach 5-6C, like in your basement. Your babies will slowly go back to work :-)

Hope this help!