Cephalotus consolidated

[jwalker]

For give me if this is covered already in a link but one of my clones has stopped producing pitchers and is putting out mad leaves like 20 or so. Does the photoperiod and temperature make this happen.

And will I'm at it do leave pullings have to be a certain size before they strike.

 

[BobZ]

it was a great site with lots of good info. I have deleted the link. I didnt get the pleasure of talking with him before he passed, but a wealth of info when with him.

Remember that many defunct web sites can be found on the Wayback Machine (https://archive.org/web/)
thecephalotus.info was saved just 1 time (April 9, 2010), but much of the information can be seen at
https://web.archive.org/web/20100409063041/http://www.thecephalotus.info/html/unusual__clones_.html

 

[Whimgrinder]

Does the photoperiod and temperature make this happen.

Yes. This is Cephalotus' normal response to shorter days and cooler temps.

 

[RSS]

For give me if this is covered already in a link but one of my clones has stopped producing pitchers and is putting out mad leaves like 20 or so. Does the photoperiod and temperature make this happen.

Yes. This is Cephalotus' normal response to shorter days and cooler temps.

Here is what happened for the majority of my indoor windowsill Cephs over the last year. The indoor Cephs under lights did not follow this tend and stayed producing just pitchers and not any noticeable increase in leaf producing. Keep in mind these are just my experience with completely indoor growing under a yearly temp range of +/- 10 degrees. Also my Ceph sample size is not small, so this is not just a few Cephs showing this behavior.

Based on my experiences I think you can remove temp from the trigger effect and concentrate on reduced light and/or light color changes. I have never had a Ceph flower so temp is very likely a tigger for flower production.

Summer 2014 photos.

DSC_0734 by randallsimpson, on Flickr

Cephalotus Emu Point by randallsimpson, on Flickr

Today Spring 2015

DSC_0155 by randallsimpson, on Flickr

DSC_0156 by randallsimpson, on Flickr

DSC_0157 by randallsimpson, on Flickr

 

[Jcal]

Cleaned up the dead links and updated!

 

[RSS]

Here is an update on my miracle grow garden soil leaf pull I took some time ago. The 2nd photo is the same clone right next to it for comparision. Take note of the differences between the two mosses.

Mosses are EVIL! And yes I need more air flow, it is on my to do list.

Miracle grow cheapest version my garden center had. Tons of sticks/whatnot in the medium, junk soil.

DSC_0938 by randallsimpson, on Flickr

Tradition Ceph mix, don't recall what it was.

DSC_0939 by randallsimpson, on Flickr

 

[axel]

This might add to the experience with Cephalotus.
Because of the many different ways of succeeding and failing in cultivation I tried to find out a cause for the opposite experience under the seemingly same conditions.

For this I searched for the phenomenon of crown rot in other plants.
This is quite common in cultivation of a great variety of crop plants it is Boron deficiency. I wrote most what I found here with the ICPS.

Boron-maybe a solution for problems like crownrot? | International Carnivorous Plant Society
Four weeks ago I started to apply borax in a very thin solution to one of my Cephs.



This was my weakest grower and I hope to boost it up if this Boron is a limiting factor.

Now all of them got a tiny dose of Borax, since the first one did not show any bad results. It even started to grow again.
Here a small sister plant of the same clone shown before doped two days ago



and my oldest an most reliable one dosed at the same time. We will see if something bad happens.







In all my Cephalotus substrate is some foamed clay which might be already a source of Boron, like Turface probably is.
My plants are really healthy and I would like to get one with the symptoms of Crown Rot to try Boron on it.

But maybe someone else is willing to sacrifice one for this experiment, if mine don’t show signs of Boron poisoning within this year.

 

[RSS]

I'll take a look, I'm sure I have one with crown rot somewhere to play around with. They are literally all over my house, many in non ideal locations perfect for problems like crown rot. I have a few that are in 80%+ humidity and get misted while watering other plants, they do not like this and I lose pitchers as fast as they grow due to rot. It seems to me atleast that as long as the roots are unbothered and establisted you can rot the crown all you want and you get more leaves/pitchers over time. It has really been an odd thing to watch over the years. Mist the tank, few days pass and the Ceph pitchers die off. Few days later and more pitchers grow in. Once they get to full size it is time to mist again. Those Cephs have been doing that for atleast 3+ years.

I do know that turface in and of itself will not save a degrading plant. I have already tried dressing the top soil with it on a few plants I believed were suffering from crown rot. Carefully removing the top "problem" medium and replacing it with a turface surface to help pull water away was my thinking. Turface is great for absorbing moisture.

Love the wood/ceph combo in that 2nd photo.

 

[axel]

I gladly appreciate your experiments on this.

There is a Cephalotus in the ICPS thread mentioned, which ist drowned for days like a submarine. No ill effects for years.
In fact the same grower has one which grows now without any symptom of illness for more than 14 years in a row. More than 10 in a tank. He uses a lot of Seramis which is a clay component.
Besides the wood in the setup is ceramic. But indeed I tried to make it look convincing.


This is the whole Ceph-arrangement you liked



Here is most about my ceramic setup.
Special ceramic pots for Cephalotus | International Carnivorous Plant Society

 

[curtisconners]

Where did you get that pot?

 

[axel]

Just click the link below the picture. (another page so here)
Special ceramic pots for Cephalotus | International Carnivorous Plant Society

 

[RSS]

I've had alot of questions about bagging divisions lately so I thought I'd show how I handle my divisions.

I find this works much better than bagging them. I can start to lift a corner a little every week so long as the pitchers look good.

DSC_0358 by randallsimpson, on Flickr

Also, something to keep and eye out for this time of year!


DSC_0288 by randallsimpson, on Flickr

DSC_0289 by randallsimpson, on Flickr

 

[Nauz]

I've had alot of questions about bagging divisions lately so I thought I'd show how I handle my divisions.

I find this works much better than bagging them. I can start to lift a corner a little every week so long as the pitchers look good.

DSC_0358 by randallsimpson, on Flickr

Also, something to keep and eye out for this time of year!


DSC_0288 by randallsimpson, on Flickr

DSC_0289 by randallsimpson, on Flickr

What size are those clear pots you got your cephs sitting in?

 

[RSS]

6" x 6" X 7" tall, I generally don't use pots that big but this cutting will become my "mother" plant of that clone.

 

[gill_za]

This is probably a silly question, but knowing Ceph's sensitivity to disturbances of the surrounding soil, how do you guys take the divisions off of the mother plant so that it is not very stressed? There is no avoiding unearthing the plant, right? Or do you strictly take pullings?

 

[Jcal]

This is probably a silly question, but knowing Ceph's sensitivity to disturbances of the surrounding soil, how do you guys take the divisions off of the mother plant so that it is not very stressed? There is no avoiding unearthing the plant, right? Or do you strictly take pullings?

I yank mine out of the pots quite often. I haven't found plants to be extremely sensitive to root disturbance. what I do watch for is the small hair roots. keep as many of those intact and you will be fine. also only work with healthy plants. I get quite brutal with divisions.

 

[gill_za]

Dear Ceph experts, I might have messed up while dividing and re-potting my 4yr old Cephalotus. Currently the plant is not producing any pitchers, and the existing ones are sitting sadly with drooping lids and are slowly shriveling up (at least one already did).

The starter plant was transplanted into a new pot after the daughter plants were removed (about a month ago). The pot is filled with (bottom to top):
1. 3/4" of hydrotone pebbles so that roots are not sitting in the water (it should whisk water up into the soil though)
2. Porous grass shield material to prevent soil washout, it does get wet and does let water through.
3. 1/2" layer of turface - no idea why, old pot had it too.
4. About 5” of soil.

The rhizome/stem was poking about 1/2" above soil level. Sand was added on top to cover the surface and most of the rhizome/stem. It now sits in about ½ - ¾” of water, in high humidity and constant gentle airflow. All of the lids are still drooping even when I add water to the pitchers. It is top watered often as well. The soil mix is very draining and has peat, turface, sand, small orchid bark and horticultural charcoal.
Is it stress from re-potting or not enough moisture? Am I freaking out too early? I am concerned that too much of rhizome was above the soil level.

 

[RSS]

This is probably a silly question, but knowing Ceph's sensitivity to disturbances of the surrounding soil, how do you guys take the divisions off of the mother plant so that it is not very stressed? There is no avoiding unearthing the plant, right? Or do you strictly take pullings?

I rarely divide Cephs, I get enough leaves for all my needs + all the giveaways I can do and still end up with dead/decaying leaves year after year. Right now I easily have a hundred leaves and no time to ship/plant/care for them. I really wish we had a CP society around here but nothing.

Dear Ceph experts, I might have messed up while dividing and re-potting my 4yr old Cephalotus. Currently the plant is not producing any pitchers, and the existing ones are sitting sadly with drooping lids and are slowly shriveling up (at least one already did).

The starter plant was transplanted into a new pot after the daughter plants were removed (about a month ago). The pot is filled with (bottom to top):
1. 3/4" of hydrotone pebbles so that roots are not sitting in the water (it should whisk water up into the soil though)
2. Porous grass shield material to prevent soil washout, it does get wet and does let water through.
3. 1/2" layer of turface - no idea why, old pot had it too.
4. About 5” of soil.

The rhizome/stem was poking about 1/2" above soil level. Sand was added on top to cover the surface and most of the rhizome/stem. It now sits in about ½ - ¾” of water, in high humidity and constant gentle airflow. All of the lids are still drooping even when I add water to the pitchers. It is top watered often as well. The soil mix is very draining and has peat, turface, sand, small orchid bark and horticultural charcoal.
Is it stress from re-potting or not enough moisture? Am I freaking out too early? I am concerned that too much of rhizome was above the soil level.

A photo would help alot. I would remove some of the straight sand from directly around the poking out part and add in something to help retain moisture. Maybe 1/3rd peat 2/3 sand. The combo of the dryer than normal rhizome + distubance of roots is likely the cause. Just need to nurse it back to health.

Some live sphagnum about 1" right around the base of the plant can do wonders for helping a stressed plant. This is what I would do if I really wanted to save a plant.

 

[Jcal]

define very well draining. I have over done this before in the past and had a plant that limped along. I had a small amount of peat in the mix and it produced a very weak plant.

 

[RSS]

I'm working on taking a terrarium down and found something really odd. The soil has fallen over the years to create this cavern area in the back corner of the tank but there is NO light getting back there, none at all.

DSC_0359 by randallsimpson, on Flickr