Cephalotus follicularis From Seed

[thez_yo]

I can't wait until my plants get mature/big enough to bloom for me. Do you guys (RL7836, mobile) do anything special to induce flowering - photoperiod or temps or something? And are you producing seed from just HG clones or which plants are you using?

[mobile]

I collected seeds from my Ceph typical late in the season, late September I think. I sprinkled them on the top of a very damp Sphagnum moss/sharp sand mix, sprayed them liberally with water to settle them down and placed a clear cover on top of pot to increase humidity. They sat for about three months on a cool windowsill, where they did not germinate so I suspect this was a form of stratification. I then moved them to my artificially lit growshelf, where they germinated within a month or so. I have read elsewhere that stratification isn't necessary and I didn't deliberately set out to give mine any, it's just that the day length and temperatures here are low that time of year.

[RL7836]

I can't wait until my plants get mature/big enough to bloom for me. Do you guys (RL7836, mobile) do anything special to induce flowering - photoperiod or temps or something?

While it's probably obvious, plant maturity is probably the most important condition for blooming. Until this past year, the only plants that were mature in my collection were the ones that spent winters in my basement under lights & summers in my driveway. Last year I decided to keep one of my windowsill plants around for a while & in the spring it sent up a stalk. Since I haven't played around with different possible scenarios, I'm probably not qualified to guess what's needed. Mine that have flowered experienced a different summer/winter photoperiod and cooler winter temps fwiw...

And are you producing seed from just HG clones or which plants are you using?

I originally only grew Cephalotus 'Hummer's Giant' clones, it is only recently that I've added a few more to the collection (& they are far from mature - I suspect).

For years I cut the stalks. when I 1st decided I wanted to get some seed, I went out every day and attempted to pollinate with a brush. This was mostly frustrating as the brush often got dipped into the nectar in the bottom of the flower and pollen doesn't appear to be consistently produced (or consistently obvious to my eye). Toward the end of that 1st flowering, I noticed 2 species of small native bees that were happily servicing the flowers. The following year, I allowed the bees to do all of the work and had more seeds than the 1st year (but not all of the flowers produced a full set of seed - during any year - so far).

When my non- Cephalotus 'Hummer's Giant' clones get older, i would love to try some cross-pollination. However, I'll want to talk to some who have done this to see what they recommend as an approach. The flowers are quite different from a 'normal' type flower (like a Drosera).

As for seed germination, I am curious why some people get absolutely zero germination while others do very well (even with the same seeds...)?

[mobile]

I can't wait until my plants get mature/big enough to bloom for me. Do you guys (RL7836, mobile) do anything special to induce flowering - photoperiod or temps or something? And are you producing seed from just HG clones or which plants are you using?

I've never had to induce flowering. Mine grow on a windowsill so they naturally flower every year.

[thez_yo]

Good to know, thanks guys!

My Cephalotus 'Hummer's Giant' has been producing mature pitchers for the past 4ish months if not a little more. My typical has been working on dying and creating 1mm big pitchers since I got it a year ago so that's out of the running, but I will be acquiring a double-ribbed and a more 'squat' shaped pitchered form shortly. I'm not sure if they came from seed from anything related to C. 'Hummer's Giant', but I'll ask the seller to see if they did if they know. Ideally considering that I grow them outside, once they bloom I should have natural pollinators pick up the slack for me and I'd love to get some more diversified seed out there.

[dionae]

Nice info in this thread. Thanks to all involved!

[James H]

I thought that it took a lot longer then 18 months for a ceph to reach maturity. That gives me hope that when I can someday I can get a plant up to a size as some of the ones that I have seen on this site.

[RL7836]

I thought that it took a lot longer then 18 months for a ceph to reach maturity.

Mine took ~26 months to get to the size shown in the pics (I don't know whether this is fast or slow) - but they were producing mature pitchers several months before the pic was snapped....