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Why cephs so rare and pricey?

Why are Cephalotus so hard to find and expensive? Yes, they are slow growing, but so are Venus Flytraps which can be found in grocery stores, convenience stores, as well as nurseries for a couple bucks. VFTs are also from a limited natural range. The VFTs have been tissue cultured, but so has Cephalotus.
I bought a small flask of tissue cultured Cephalotus as a teenager about 20 years ago, so they have been doing so for some time. Unfortunately, I lost these original plants many years ago.
I would like to try another, but can not justify spending the $25.00-$40.00 for one at this time. But can someone give me insite as to why these guys are not more readily available??
 
I wondered the same also. I know in Europe and the UK Cephalotus are cheap, and it's even possible to find them in garden centers.

It's probably has to do with supply and demand. There are Nepenthes hybrids (like N. x predator) that are very easy to grow, yet they are very expensive. Also, there isn't a mass market for Cephalotus like there is VFTs.

I would like to hear what Tony has to say on the subject. He is in the nursery bussiness, and would have a much better answer to your question.

Brian
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Why are Cephalotus so hard to find and expensive? Yes, they are slow growing, but so are Venus Flytraps....
In my experience propagating both VFTs and Cephs, VFTs grow 2-5 times faster than Cephs. The Cephs typically grow slowly.
 
Most of the TC plants in Europe come from Dutch companies. The Dutch are mad about plants and seem to TC anything going!
 
I will also go with Ron on the speed of VFT compared to cephs.

Also VFT's split several times a year making it easier to propagate compared to the cephs.

I have a small red dragon that was split into 4 plants last year. The new plants have not split themselves this year, but the mother plant must have about 6-8 new plants this year.
 
The Cephs ARE hard to propagate. Last time I tried it, I took 12 leaf cuttings. It was over 3 months before anything happened. Most of the leaves slowly turned brown and died, but I did get two new teeny tiny plants out of it. The traps are about 1/8 inch tall now.

So, the slow growth and difficulty are part of the reason they are hard to come by and so expensive.
 
really? i get about 75% of all my cuttings to sprout winthin a month.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (JustLikeAPill @ Oct. 14 2005,9:24)]really? i get about 75% of all my cuttings to sprout winthin a month.
... care to share your method? (media, temps, lighting, container open/closed, etc.)
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (JustLikeAPill @ Oct. 14 2005,9:24)]really? i get about 75% of all my cuttings to sprout winthin a month.
How many cuttings were used?
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  • #10
typical lowland conditions, on lfs, close under VHO lighting, open container.

i've taken as many as 12 cuttings at one time, though not from the same plant of course
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  • #11
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Alvin Meister @ Oct. 14 2005,6:32)]Most of the TC plants in Europe come from Dutch companies.
I second that. Cephalotus is very cheap in Europe.

But I also found them to propagate quickly from cuttings,
best put the leaf with the base in slighly wet living Sphagnum
moss, seal it in a polyethylene bag and put it on a warm spot
(like the tv set or above the terrarium lights). Using this
method you can get new small plants after 10 days.

Recently I made cuttings of a giant clone (sometimes called
"German giant"). From 5 leaves all cuttings succeeded and are
growing happily.

Cheers,
Jan
 
  • #12
If you are interested in a ceph...Exotic Gardens, sponsor of this site, is getting in some cephs at very reasonable prices.  I think they are selling large ones and small ones.  There is a topic somewhere in the General Discussion forum about it and you can contact Phil Crane via PM if you'd like to order one.  His forum name is Phlitrapguy.  
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