|
Post by simonv on Jun 9, 2012 13:30:16 GMT
I have a few unrelated questions that are bugging me about Cephalotus plants and cultivation that I'm just going to ask in no particular order and hope that some learned person might help: Assuming a single plant had unlimited space and ideal conditions, in a perfect world, how big could one expect a single Cephalotus plant to reach in terms of spread? Given that the Albany region of WA is a winter rainfall area, peaking in July at over 140mm of rain for the month, why is that we are told to keep Cephs. dry during the winter? If one was to try and simulate the vertical growing conditions shown in some of the wonderful habitat shots showing Cephs. growing on muddy cliff faces (such as the amazing photos of Barry Rice in the Australasian section), where does one plant the plant? At the top of the cliff so it can grow down? At the bottom so it can grow up? Or, in the middle so it can spread radially in all directions? What is its pattern of growth? In plants growing in these muddy cliff faces, what do their roots look like? Are they positively geotropic and grow towards gravity or do they grow back into the cliff and spread out in all directions? If these plants are found growing on muddy cliff faces fronting onto the ocean (staight across the Strait to where I live), they must get blasted with salty winds (see: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Cephalotus_follicularis_Hennern_4.jpg ). Are they then as intolerant of minerals as we think? How do they cope with the salt build up in the soil? Does this call into question the worry about soaking them periodically in a dish of water causing an accumulation of salts? As I mention, I live in northern Tasmania (in a little pocket of zone 9B) and the Roaring 40's rip through from South America straight past Albany smashing us nearly all the time. Plants growing in these areas must be sand blasted with salt wind, and spray all the time.
|
|
|
Post by nepenthes99 on Jun 9, 2012 17:24:20 GMT
1. Of course in a perfect world without disease and other things a plant could theoretically grow forever, therefore getting very large. But in the wild many challenges face a cephalotus such as fungal disease, animal grazing, disasters like storms and droughts, and unfortunately human development..
2. This refers to the Australian winter in coastal areas which is normally cooler and drier. I believe you are thinking of the habitat of many tuberous drosera which has hot dry summers and very cool, wet winters.
3. I am not quite sure about this one, these conditions would be hard to replicate in cultivation, I do not think it matters where the plant is placed.
4. I believe that their roots spread out in order to secure the plant, again, I am not quite sure.
5. I will leave this one to the experts, I would like to hear the answer to this as well. Has anyone ever tested the soil content in one of those locations?
These answers are only based on my experience. I am sure you could get better explanations from some of the more reputed members of the forum.
|
|
|
Post by simonv on Jun 10, 2012 16:26:28 GMT
2. This refers to the Australian winter in coastal areas which is normally cooler and drier. I believe you are thinking of the habitat of many tuberous drosera which has hot dry summers and very cool, wet winters. Yes.. Albany is one such place (though when I lived near Sydney it was not the case as it is a summer rainfall area)... hot dry summers and wet cool winters... See the following graph: www.bom.gov.au/jsp/ncc/cdio/cvg/av?p_stn_num=009500&p_prim_element_index=18&p_display_type=statGraph&period_of_avg=ALL&normals_years=allYearOfData&staticPage=From the graph you can clearly see that Albany's maximum rainfall period falls smack bang in the middle of winter (June, July, August). This is the rainfall data for where I live in NW Tasmania (at approx 41 degrees south compared to Albany's approx. 35 degrees south), showing I am also in a winter rainfall area but that we get more rain throughout the year than does Albany: www.bom.gov.au/jsp/ncc/cdio/cvg/av?p_stn_num=091186&p_prim_element_index=18&p_display_type=statGraph&period_of_avg=ALL&normals_years=allYearOfData&staticPage=We are both winter rainfall areas and Cephalotus grows outdoors in Albany all year round... so I was wondering where the idea of keeping them drier in winter came from? I am looking at having a go at growing them outdoors all year round so they would be exposed to similar rainfall patterns in winter. My mean min. temp. here is a liitle cooler, by about 4 degrees (see Albany's full annual climate details compared to mine), in winter and my altitude is about 150m ASL compared to Albany's much lower altitude, but I think it might be possible to grow them outside all year here are have them thrive but it means they will be wet during winter.
|
|
|
Post by paulbarden on Jun 10, 2012 16:43:40 GMT
Hi Simon! So many considerations when growing this species, and so much conflicting and/or puzzling info. It is one of the most oft repeated cultivation tips to keep plants on the dry side in the Winter. Why, exactly, is difficult to say. It could have something to do with growing in artificial soil mixes (it has been suggested that our soil mixes are introducing fungi and bacteria foreign to the species) and drier soils during dormancy may help prevent pathogens from overwhelming the roots. (it is a fairly common experience for Cephalotus in cultivation to suffer from what people call "sudden collapse syndrome", in which the plant just rots away quite suddenly) Something else to consider is that in situ, Cephalotus thrive in sandy, sloped terrain through which water is constantly seeping. This means that water never has an opportunity to rest in place in the root zone, and so there is no opportunity for stagnation (nor buildup of minerals). I would expect that if you were to emulate the seep effect in cultivation, some of the problems people experience might be eliminated. (many people I have conversed with have grown the plant in terraria for decades with great success, in spite of the fact that such conditions are quite unlike those of their natural habitat) I think there is likely still much that can be learned about growing Cephalotus, if people are willing to experiment with techniques aimed to closely emulate the species natural conditions. This will involve a degree of risk, of course, but if you feel you can spare a plant or two for the cause, it might be well worth doing. Paul nitrogenseekers.wordpress.com
|
|
|
Post by simonv on Jun 10, 2012 17:34:02 GMT
It could have something to do with growing in artificial soil mixes (it has been suggested that our soil mixes are introducing fungi and bacteria foreign to the species) and drier soils during dormancy may help prevent pathogens from overwhelming the roots. Hello, my friend Great Geinhouse photos today btw! I guess that's one reason I found the soil type maps so interesting in that WA gov. website I showed you (see: www.agric.wa.gov.au/objtwr/imported_assets/content/lwe/land/tr246_part4.pdf , here www.agric.wa.gov.au/objtwr/imported_assets/content/lwe/land/tr246_part1.pdf , and here www.agric.wa.gov.au/objtwr/imported_assets/content/lwe/land/tr246_part2.pdf ). There are so many interesting things in these links such as the high pressence of ironstone in the soils (which as you said probably accounts for some binding of minerals) that would probably strip many minerals out by cationic exchange and also account for very low phosphate levels. I was thinking that those expanded clay hydroponics balls (hydroton, see: hydroton.net/ which says it is almost completely chemically inert) might be an excellent addition to Ceph. growing media and help to increase the oxygen levels in the media and develop better root systems. I use it in my aquaponics flood and drain system and the roots on the (non-CP) plants in that system have been excellent. Another source claims that hydroton's red colour comes from high levels of iron in the form of iron oxide which is also the primary compound in ironstone though I doubt this to be true (or if it is it's unavailable), as we often end up with an iron deficiency in aquaponics systems even if hydroton is used as a media. I've been playing with ideas in my head as to how one could mimicthe steep banks they grow in... the plan is to acquire some plants in spring to allow them a longer period to acclimate so I have about 2.5 months to consume as much information as I can
|
|
|
Post by hotcat on Jun 12, 2012 21:37:42 GMT
This is my trial for "vertical ceph simulation" (4 months ago)
|
|
|
Post by hotcat on Jun 12, 2012 21:52:08 GMT
Some days ago Attachments:
|
|
|
Post by hotcat on Jun 12, 2012 21:54:16 GMT
view by side. As you can see I got a pot and I turned that in the vertical. I do this way for leave him where he was quiet and I think that work well ;D I think that basically go downward to grow. We will see next Attachments:
|
|
|
Post by simonv on Jun 13, 2012 8:24:32 GMT
Awesome! That's pretty cool! Putting Drosera in the top is a neat idea too!
|
|