Ceph too cold?

[swords]

I've had my ceph since early July and I'm keeping it in with my highland nepenthes so it goes from 75-85* daytime to 50* at night with an aproximate humidity of 80%. I will be getting a humidistat to plug my humidifier into in a few days so I will "know" it's 80% but I'm wondering if I should move the plant to a warmer location because I haven't seen any growth on it yet. Is it still in shipping shock?

The plants current care: it's about 2-3" in size but potted into a 10" plastic pot of LFS, pearlite and sphag peat. Gets only R/O water and living under Compact Flourescent lights.

 

[wickedthistle]

Hey swords,
I'm no ceph expert but I have ceph of the same size and almost same conditions - except at night mine don't get below 60 degrees. After repotting mine took about one month to show any growth. Hope that helps!

 

[Tony Paroubek]

Maybe FB can give you a better idea of what conditions are like in it's natural habitat. Mine are just out in the Ghouse where it can be anywhere from 80-90 during the day and 52 -65 at night, depending on how cool it is outside.

Winter time they don't get nearly as warm.

Could be that it is still settling in from shipping/transplanting. Could be that with the cooler temps it just is growing slower and hasn't produced any noticable growth yet.
Cephs have a tendancy to grow in spurts. Most of their trapping leaves are made and matured by summer. Come fall they will put up the flat leaves. Growth inbetween these fall and spring flushes is sporadic.
Tony

 

[CP2k]

The plant is probably just adjusting to its new environment after repotting. It took my cephs 2 or so months before it started growing.

 

[swords]

Whoa! My highland tank dropped 45*F last night!

The plant had 3 traps when I got it, two were open and one was not. Finally I see this morning the 3rd trap has cracked open around the lid about 1cm. So maybe it is just being pokey...

I've read the cephalotus entries in several CP books and I'm still not sure, does it or doesn't it require a dormancy? Can I just set it in the terrraium and never move it again or will I need to put it out in the garage over winter with the sarracenias, cobras and VFTs?

 

[CP2k]

It does not require a dormancy, but the photoperiod and temperatures should be reduced in the winter.

 

[swords]

Right now the lights are on for 15 hours a day, how far should I drop the photoperiod down? Will this bother the Neps at all?

Thanks again for the help!

 

[Leo]

Slightly off topic, but wasn't worth starting an entirely new thread.

Anyone know where I can buy Cephs online? Thanks

Leo

 

[DreamScape]

good place to order ceph online:

www.scarnivores.com

i ordered two recently and got three!
they're posted loose rooted in sphagnum
(what roots they're grown from cuttings, apparently usually don't have roots but a decent rhizome)

hope this post is ok with admin

 

[Colieo]

swords your growing conditions sound very very good. It is a highland plant & they like lower temps at night (like highland Neps) I give my plant a dormancy, cause I think it grows better & might live longer if it does get one. & in spring as it breaks dormancy it grows several non-carnivorous leaves that help with photosynthisis.
hope this helps
Cole

 

[RamPuppy]

Cephs are slow growers and take time to put out decent sized pitchers...

I have mine in lowlands conditions, and it's doing great. I don't think dormancy is required, but as said, reduced photo period and so on is good I think...

Also, I wouldn't classify it as a highlands, since it is not a nepenthes... I am not sure the temperature drop is nececssary, and the humidity requirements of some highlands nepenthes certainly are not... just don't want to confuse the situation.

 

[CP2k]

Swords,

The photoperiod should be dropped down to 10 or so hours in the winter.
This should not affect the nepenthes provided that the nepenthes are provided enough light.

A temperature drop at night should benefit the ceph as they grow in a climate with cool nighttime temps year-round.

 

[swords]

By "make sure the neps have enough light" you mean ligting intensity during the photoperiod?

For lighting I am using 175 watts of Power Compact flourescent light making a total of about 18,000 lumens. This is provided by 2x 55 watt PC reef lights and 65 watts from another single fixture. I can also fit a pair of twin tube 4 ft flourescents on too which I might do this weekend.

Pitchers on my Cephalotus are about 1 - 1 1/2" tall but I'd like them bigger I hear they will be larger if they're grown in dappled shade and then moved into bright light as they open so they will change to brilliant colors. Does this really work?

 

[CP2k]

Yes, I mean the light intensity. Your plants should do just fine under a 175 watt light.

Cephs generally produce larger pitchers under shade, so the method described should work.