Filling pitchers?

[gold3nku5h]

I have a cephalotus, and was wondering if its ok if water sits in their pitchers. I water mine from above, and i was wondering if it would make the pitchers rot. The lid seems to stay closed all the time, not tightly, just covering the top, so i dont think much if any water does make it in there. It is a small plant, only about the size of a quarter. I got it about 5 months ago, and has put on a few new pitchers a larger leaf, and starting a lot of new pitchers on another leader. i just transplanted it today into its permanent pot along with a tiny fern and a small oak leaved ficus. I also transplanted some moss to get going with it. Not that i would feed it, but i've tried putting a gnat or two into one of the larger pitchers, and shook it alot to try and get it to the base of the pitcher. about a month later a pitcher or two started to dry out and died off. im not sure if its the same one i put the gnats in or not, but was replaced by about 5 little ones that have yet to mature. Anyways, just telling you a little bit about my first carnivorous plant. I'll get a picture up here later after i put it on photobucket.

[Not a Number]

If the plant is healthy it should have fluid in the pitchers on its own by the time the lid opens. So yes, it is ok to have standing fluid in the pitchers.

[gold3nku5h]

At that size should they have some in there that they made naturally?

[Not a Number]

They normally are about 1/4 to 2/3 filled with fluid naturally. The design of the hood will tip you off as to whether or not you should add water. If it is mostly covered overhead to keep out rain then it should produce its own fluids. If it is open such as Sarracenia purpurea then you usually have to add water. Some rainwater will get in regardless.

Since your plants appear to be growing they are probably doing fine so far. All leaves die eventually. It's a mass die off that you have to worry about. Conditions that are too wet are one of the typical causes of Cephalotus loss.

I would not bother with adding the fern, ficus and mosses. These can choke out your Cephalotus ro fill the pot with roots. You'll get plenty of mosses growing on their own from spores either airborne or in your potting mix.

[Aidan]

It is advisable to water the plant from below and if that is an undrained container that you are using, then you are asking for trouble.

As NaN says, the only plant in the pot should be the Cephalotus... and if you want to grow moss on the surface, use Sphagnum.

Cephalotus are sensitive to disturbance and may take anywhere from weeks to months to recover from repotting. Do not be surprised if most or all of the existing leaves die, especially if fluid was lost from pitchers during the repotting process.

Dec 29, 2008 5:33:34 GMT gold3nku5h said:

...and shook it alot to try and get it to the base of the pitcher.

"shook it alot" = disturbance

Juvenile pitchers (as on your plant) tend to appear more "closed" than adult pitchers. Compare the juvenile pitchers in the centre of this photo with the adult type leaves to either side.

[sherkas]

That ceph is just gorgeous aidan.

[adoo]

hi..if u fill the pitchers with water from time to time,will it eventually turn into digestive fluids?

[sarracenialover]

Not likely. That water could hamper the enzymes that are already in there. HOwever, it should be fine if the amount is only a drop or two. Otherwise, that pitcher shouldn't be fed.

[chloroplast]

I add water to pitchers in only three circumstances:

1. A new plant that has had its pitcher fluid lost during transport.
2. Pitcher cuttings.
3. Once per month I add some urea-free fertilizer to mature pitchers.