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Post by coldcoffee on May 18, 2011 21:51:02 GMT
Hey Everyone, I just got my first Cephalotus in the mail (My second every Cephalotus will be arriving later this week- a "Hummer's Giant" )!! I am very excited as I have always wanted one of these amazing plants. I was wondering how people cultivate them (I have read many webpages on Cephalotus cultivation, and have a copy of "The Savage Garden" what I am really asking here is what people are specifically doing). What has worked for you? What has not? I am aware of the root rot problems- how have you avoided this? How do you manage humidity (if at all). There is a lot of conflicting information out there about what works and what does not. Has anyone tried a drip line similar to what is suggested on the ICPS Seedbank page? www.carnivorousplants.org/seedbank/species/Cephalotus.htmIf so, how did you set it up? What is the drip rate? Etc... The ICPS page is not very descriptive of what they did. Thanks again, I will upload pictures of the new plants when the Hummer's shows up.
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Post by coldcoffee on May 18, 2011 22:20:02 GMT
Oh, I should mention what type of growing setup/options I have. I have several different growing environments:
1) A 4x4x9 reflective "grow tent" with a 1000W Metal Halide (or HPS- my ballast supports both) (temperature usually ranges 85 in the day time and 75 in the evening- sometimes temperature gets over 95 inside, humidity tends to run low because of the ventilation fan use to cool the lamp- around 40% RH, keep humidity up even under a dome can be a challenge but I am successfully growing about 50 Mimosa Pudica plants in there from seed (under a dome), my Venus fly traps did not like it in there too much. Byblis Liniflora seedlings are thriving in there with picture quality dew droplets- also under a dome)
2) A 10 Gallon Terrarium (retired aquarium) with a single t8 aquarium bulb (I plan to replace this with a dual t-5 hood sometime this summer, and get full spectrum grow bulbs, I just set this up for my Nepenthes Ventricosa and have not checked the average temp or RH yet, the Cephalotus is currently in there getting acclimated)
3) A 4 tube 4 foot t-5 fixture with Grow bulbs installed (I was thinking of putting the terrarium under this and getting a glass lid- eventually I plan to get a 50 Gallon aquarium to put this fixture on top of)
4) A very small outdoor mini-green house (IE a very small metro shelf with a plastic tarp around it- I don't trust it, but my VFTs love it and my Drosera seems happy both having gained a good deal of color since I put them in there)
I live in Central California. We have respectable summer temperatures- reaching triple digits every summer since I moved here(summer evenings are usually in the low 80's in June and July- right now its much cooler). Humidity can be a bit low sometimes but we are grape/wine country and have a Mediterranean style climate- the mini greenhouse seems to maintain higher humidity fairly well, but I have not installed a hygrometer out there yet.
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Post by coldcoffee on May 19, 2011 16:10:06 GMT
Here's a pic of the regular form- taken with my Cell Phone last night. I think after doing some more reading, I am going to put the Cephs, under my t5 fixture on a 12/12 timer to see how things go. Then when I can put together a better humidity controller in my tent- I will move most of my plants in there. Hummer's Giant is currently at my post office being sorted for delivery ;D Waiting, waiting, waiting..... Attachments:
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eric
Full Member
Posts: 63
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Post by eric on May 19, 2011 17:33:45 GMT
Ime the plants are a lot more hardy then they are made out to be. I've been growing them for a few months and they seem to thrive in high humidity with lots of air circulation, bright light and moist soil. I even let my soil get a lil dry in between waterings and all of my cephs are doing great. I even put a ceph in sand, peat and diatomaceous earth and its thriving with several new growth points. Thats a beautiful plant you have. Good luck with her and your new one when it arrives .
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Post by Aidan on May 19, 2011 18:06:43 GMT
Cephalotus will grow in quite a range of conditions, including a simple windowsill setup... which is where you may find it simplest to care for.
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Post by coldcoffee on May 19, 2011 21:38:21 GMT
eric and Aidan: Thank you for the suggestions, I imagine the reputation surrounding the Cephalotus is similar to the reputation that the Venus Fly Trap holds in the minds of many people. Most people I know think that VFTs are hard to care for, when really they are not that bad at all- you just have to speak their language and follow a few simple rules. Well, the long wait is over. The Hummer's clone just arrived!! I will post a picture tonight.
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Post by Aidan on May 19, 2011 22:27:40 GMT
I imagine the reputation surrounding the Cephalotus is similar to the reputation that the Venus Fly Trap holds in the minds of many people. Ah well, be careful of that reputation... Some growers find Cephalotus straightforward to care for while others kill the plant time after time. It also happens that plants will sometimes up and die in a matter of days for no readily apparent reason, though the cause is likely fungal.
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Post by coldcoffee on May 20, 2011 0:38:53 GMT
Point well taken- I'll pay special attention. Just so I am aware- are there any warning signs I should watch out for that suggest problems? If I suspect fungal infection, is there any general advice given that is particular to these specific plants? The Hummer's certainly looks healthy to me, I do not see any signs of anything scary yet. The regular form also looks pretty healthy, but does not have quite as deep of color. Attached is a very bad photo of them side by side. It definitely does not do them justice. I will try to get a better photo tonight or tomorrow. A lot of that moss has since been cleaned off of the hummers (on the right), the shipper covered it in moss for shipping. Attachments:
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eric
Full Member
Posts: 63
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Post by eric on May 20, 2011 14:50:58 GMT
Watch out for powdery mildew. One of my cephalotus' has it and its the only problem i've run into so far. Those are both beautiful plants. Good luck with them!
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Post by RL7836 on May 20, 2011 16:53:18 GMT
It also happens that plants will sometimes up and die in a matter of days for no readily apparent reason, though the cause is likely fungal. One of many familiar tales of woe in this thread. Thankfully, I've yet to face this scourge - but a quote from Flycatchers further down in the thread does periodically turn up in my thoughts: To keep the reaper away, I don't allow my plants to stay in standing water and I regularly dose with Trichoderma.
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Post by coldcoffee on Jun 4, 2011 17:53:15 GMT
Photo update- 2 weeks later (Photo take 04 June, 2011). Hummer's Giant: Attachments:
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Post by coldcoffee on Jun 4, 2011 18:06:49 GMT
I will post a picture of the typical form later on when I get home. So far so good The Hummer's Giant has yet to show any visible signs of transportation stress(at least that I have noticed). As you can see, I have a lot of new growth in the non-CP leaves, What is not so easy to see is a few new pitchers are forming. The Typical form has lost a total of 2 pitchers now and one is about to die off. One pitcher was very tiny looked stressed when I got it, the other was an older pitcher which changed color then started to dry and shrivel. I have one more pitcher like that. On the typical, I do not see visible signs of fungus, but to be on the safe side I did get a microbial rinse which includes Trichoderma and other beneficial fungus and bacteria- has anyone had success with microbial cocktails(IE, not just pure Trichoderma)? I always make the assumption that when receiving plants, a few traps are going to die off within the first few weeks. At this point I am still under that assumption but have begun to tread a bit lightly. Growing conditions: Terrarium with no lid in a growing room 4 T-4 Grow bulbs fixture (bulbs are vegetative bulbs in the cooler spectrum)- 12 Hour light cycle about 12-14 inches above the plants Humidity fluctuates a bit but stays between 50% and 80% Temperature remains relatively constant around about 80F No water saucer. I check the weight of the pot each night and have only watered twice since getting them. (RO water) If it helps, I have my Nepenthes Ventricosa in there which seems to be doing very well. It dropped traps before being put in that room- now it is putting out new growth and appears to be producing traps.
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Post by coldcoffee on Jun 4, 2011 18:10:17 GMT
Incidentally, when I started this thread, I got a range of advice on how best to care for these guys. I found all of that advice valuable- the reason I went with the set up I did (which diverged from some of the advice I received) was because I felt that the safest bet, for now, was to model as closely as possible the growing conditions that the Hummer's giant was under prior to my receiving it. So I figured I would go with the terrarium setup for a little while and then tweek things later if either problems arise, or if I want to try something else (which I will- undoubtedly).
Thanks once again for all of your valuable input- this has been a fun new growing experience.
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Post by paulbarden on Jun 4, 2011 21:24:48 GMT
May I ask where you purchased your specimens from? I'm trying to decide who to buy from myself, thanks!
Paul
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Post by coldcoffee on Jun 5, 2011 3:30:26 GMT
Of course! I am not clear on how the rule about no sales/trade messages in the forums applies to talking about where I bought some specimens so to be on the safe side, I sent you a PM.
For future reference- any forum admins have any input? Is it ok for me to mention who I bought these from?
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