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And Then There Were Leaves

Vbkid

Getting There...
Probably 3-4 months ago a very generous member of this forum sent me a leaf pulling from each of three different types of cephalotus. While 2 of them died, I arrived home today after being gone 2 weeks for work to see the 3rd pulling has shot out quite the small plantlet!!! (Pictures coming tonight!)
It is currently in 100% LFS, shredded a bit, andhas been in relatively low light levels next to a heating pad in a ziplock. My question is, WHAT DO I DO NOW?! Any help is greatly appreicated, and I am SUPER excited to finally have a cephalotus, and all I want to do is ensure it survives.
Thanks,
Kyle
 
Congrats! I am anticipating your pics. I love ceph babies.

I wait until the plantlets are roughly this size (see photos) before I pot them up. I have had better success at this size than larger or smaller because they have visible roots that are not too long and easy to break and not too small to start easily in soil. I pot them in my regular ceph soil mix and set the pot in a tray of water, enough to keep the soil consistently moist, while they root in and adapt to soil conditions. I don't bag mine, but many do with great success, and I suspect that may change how you water. After they have settled in and show signs of new growth, I decrease watering over a week or so and then water the same as my adult plants (add water to the tray when it is dry).

I hope others chime in as there are many methods people use for ceph leaf-pull plantlets depending on their conditions and it would be good to get other ideas and pick the one that best fits the growing conditions you will be using. I grow my cephs on a window sill in normal household conditions, and the leaf pulls are under a shop light (T12 with two 40-watt cool white bulbs) without a dome/bag until they sprout.

A few Ceph "vigorous" babies from leaf pulls that I potted up yesterday with a thin layer of sand on top to discourage fungus gnats and mold.
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Any may I ask what your ceph media is?
 
I use peat, perlite or pumice, and sand mixed to where it is well draining. In my conditions, I have a problem with mold growing on the surface of the peat, so I put a thin layer of sand on top.
 
Not that it matter's to the strike, but what kind of cultivar worked for you out of the 3?
I personally would separate the bulk of the LFS from the rooted leaf, then plant into a chunky mix of peat, silica, perlite, orchid bark, charcoal.. or any combination of the mix. Something that drains fast and doesn't get waterlogged..
If you leave some LFS around the rooted section, it won't hurt. Better that than snapping any of the roots off.
Pics are cool.. and congrats kid. Can't believe we haven't gotten you a ceph yet.
 
DJ57 nice picts ! What a cute lil ceph you got there :)
Last summer i buyed a baby ceph like yours, and this year i already have 3 adult pitchers of 3.5cm, with a amazing burgundy color! And the plant push me 5-6 new little plantlets around it after their first soft dormancy. Do i have to repot them or just leave them alone with the big plant ?

My fav cp are heliamphora, but ceph are not so far :)
 
I put ceph cuttings at an angle in 100% LFS that is soaked then wrung out as dry as possible. Pot is then bagged and put on the outter edges of my lights and kept in the same temperatures as adults (75-80 days, nights in the low 50's). Once I see new growth (1-4 months) I move them to my normal media (mix of lfs and perlite usually) in 2" pots and slowly acclimate them to lower humidity around 60%.
 
Drew: how do you take the cutting? I know it need to have a little bit of white on it, but its hard taking it without having the plant out of the pot.
 
I usually only do it when repotting. If you get lots of leaves you can use a razor blade or similar, but I usually just wait until repotting.
 
  • #10
Okay, i will w8 !
 
  • #12
Looks more like a nep than a ceph ;)

If its the one a few to the right its a little blurry but I would be comfortable repotting now into my normal mix. Wont hurt it to leave it a few more weeks though.
 
  • #13
Bleh, yea, posted the wrong link, it's the one 2 to the right!
 
  • #14
Lol, nice nep :p
 
  • #15
A quick update. My HG cutting is still getting bigger, and I still haven't gotten the guts to transplant it yet. And, even though I though the leaf was yellow and dying, my C. 'Phil Mann' put out growth surprisingly! So excited to have 2 cephs going, now just to keep them alive!
Hummer's Giant:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hugh-jass/9346052933/" title="Untitled by kwalton, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7404/9346052933_998790d3ff.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Untitled"></a>
Phil Mann:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hugh-jass/9346050673/" title="Untitled by kwalton, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3705/9346050673_ae2d4075bf.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Untitled"></a>
 
  • #16
Nice work! Keep them moist and they will do great. I like to feed the pitchers as soon as possible.
 
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