Snow as insulation

If you grow carnivorous plants outdoors, you may be wondering what effect snow has on them and their environment. Well, it actually has a very positive effect, as it helps keep the soil at a temperature close to 0°C, preventing the roots from being subjected to excessive freezing stress**.** You might think that it ‘freezes’ the plants even more, but this is not the case.

Although Sarracenia, Dionaea and certain Drosera species are frost-hardy, mitigating the severity of the frost allows the plants to recover more quickly in spring and prevents unpleasant surprises in the event of prolonged severe cold (there’s always a risk of a rhizome rotting, which would kill the plant!). When snow completely covers the foliage, it is also protected from the very cold air.