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Post by druboi on Feb 27, 2014 16:19:24 GMT
I have had my little cephalotus for a about a year. It has grown from a dime sized plant to a plant about the size of a pool ball. I grow it in 60-805 ambient humidity and under 6 tubes of T8 light, with a reflector. Temps are 68-75F and it is potted in LFS, #3 perlite, I a self watering pot, watered with distilled water, and very occasionally misted with a dilute acid lovers fertilizer, as I do my Nepenthes. It started to decline and grow multiple crowns, with one at the top of a stem, crowding 2 smaller crowns, at the base. I removed the upper crown and stuck it in the moss and it is rooting, but the plant is just lack luster and the pitchers brown quickly and stay green. It seems to respond to repotting, every 6 months and it is currently in fresh mix. What are your thoughts? Thanks in advance.
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Post by sykosarah on Feb 27, 2014 16:44:51 GMT
Self watering systems are generally not good for Cephalotus plants, as they rarely give the correct amounts of water. Also, fertilizers that work with one plant often don't with another; I would suggest taking it off of the fertilizer entirely.
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Post by druboi on Feb 27, 2014 19:01:04 GMT
The self watering pot is the ceramic type, with the insert. I am not disputing your information, but why would it seem to thrive, only to decline under the same conditions? I will cease fertilizing, as that seems logical, until it improves. I am certain it is not too wet or too dry.
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Post by sykosarah on Feb 27, 2014 19:18:28 GMT
CPs in general are slow to show that they are sick, some even being on the brink of death and yet still appearing to generate healthy growth. It is quite possible that your fertilizer was slowly poisoning your plant and only recently has the toxicity reached levels that the plant could no longer withstand.
The water was an afterthought, a secondary possibility if it turned out the fertilizer wasn't the issue.
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Post by jdallas on Feb 28, 2014 0:47:14 GMT
Hi Druboi, The way you're describing the decline, I would say your soil media could be the culprit. I'm not fond of long-fiber sphagnum for Cephalotus since it tends to break down and loose aeration. This would explain why you see a bump in growth after repotting. A sandy mix tends to be better for them, and every picture you see of them in nature shows them in sandy soil. We use a mix of 1 part silica sand, 1 part perlite to ! part peat moss. Over the years we've had good luck with African Violet pots, which are the self-watering pots your describing. They tend to do two things for Cephalotus. The first is keeping the soil moist, but not wet or waterlogged. The other is it provides a sun shield for the inner pot since Cephalotus despise having their roots overheat. The second issue tends to be more of a concern if they are in a window. Laying off the fertilizer is a good idea. They can be a bit touchy depending on how much you're using, they type, etc... If you have pitchers, just try feeding them with something like blood worms. It's pretty easy to put some in water, then suck some up with an eye dropper and put into pitchers. Here's a website I've found useful: www.aqph26.dsl.pipex.com/index.htmlJeff
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Post by paulbarden on Feb 28, 2014 16:07:27 GMT
Follow Jeff's advice. Period.
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Post by druboi on Feb 28, 2014 19:04:19 GMT
Thanks, Jeff and others. I have quartz sand, perlite, and peat moss, on hand. I'll repot the plant and that should remedy any concerns with the soil and also eliminate and fertilizers remaining in the mix. I know CPs take very light fertilizing and too much, will usually turn your moss to slime, before it harms the plants. I have never cause the moss to degrade, with fertilizer. I'll refrain from fertilizing, and let the plant do it's thing, after it's repotted, feeding the pitchers, on occasion.
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Post by Not a Number on Mar 1, 2014 5:55:08 GMT
It could just be slowing down for the winter. Is it producing non-carnivorous leaves?
This species isn't that sensitive to fertilizer. A few people have grown them in Miracle-Gro mix without any problems.
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Post by sykosarah on Mar 2, 2014 5:17:37 GMT
It could just be slowing down for the winter. Is it producing non-carnivorous leaves? This species isn't that sensitive to fertilizer. A few people have grown them in Miracle-Gro mix without any problems. Really? Miracle-Gro of all things? That is usually the worst thing to use on a carnivorous plant.
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