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Post by quogue on Mar 26, 2007 23:34:48 GMT
Here's a Ceph I got from Meadowview a couple years ago: They had a great technique for reducing the stress of being shipped bareroot and this became one of my best Ceph's. Pic's a couple months old, need to take a new one, new pitchers are bigger. Pic probly makes em look bigger than they are, still the pitchers are almost 2" without the lid..
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mindy
Full Member
Posts: 5
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Post by mindy on Mar 28, 2007 11:26:14 GMT
Nice one Steve, your pics have got me drooling, fantastic ;D
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Post by quogue on Mar 28, 2007 15:41:24 GMT
All these pics I've posted before, new ones soon... Anyways, this plant I got from Equilibrio as a "Giant" Still young so it might be awhile before seeing giant characteristics.. This photo is from the 2006 NECPS show, photo by Wild Bill & plant by me. Another photo of the same plant at the same NECPS show, I think this one was taken by Mike Stiffler Now this is a plant I got from Black Jungle at the 2005 NECPS show as a clump of teeny pitchers. Pic taken a couple months ago maybe? Has maybe 1" pitchers with the lid. Close up and my Avatar: Sorry about recycling the same old photos throughout all the forums, I'll have new pics soon.. Sorry about the huge size of the pics too...
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Post by Steve D on Mar 29, 2007 14:33:53 GMT
Beautiful Cephs and planting technique, quogue. Is that a tall thin bonsai container you have them planted in? I love the way you mounded the potting medium. Cephs really seem to appreciate the extra air circulation when they are not sunken into the container but rather sit in a mound above it. That's how I planted mine as well, although the medium has settled a bit during these last several years. The plant (now about a dozen plants from underground runners/offshoots) seems to like being exposed to air movement, and I'll bet that having their crowns up in the air like that helps to avoid fungal rot and other problems. Yours sure do look healthy! I'll take and post a few more photos of mine as well, from a greater distance than the ones at the top of this thread, or from above, so that the number of offshoot plants it has produced are more visible. These plants take a long time to feel comfortable and get going, but once they do get going, they are really vigorous! Steve --- edit, an hour later or so --- I just took another photo (below) of my pot of Cephs that shows more of the whole colony. They sure do like to spill over the edge of the pot and mound on top of each other. A poor wandering insect doesn't have a chance in that forest of hungry mouths.
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Post by quogue on Mar 30, 2007 15:36:21 GMT
Colony? More like a society! That's a real nice group of Ceph's there and they are lookin Good!
Thanks for the comments, not sure what kinda pot it was in, I just always keep my eye out for nice ceramic pots and have just about every plant in my collection in nice pots.
Ceph's are definitely for those who have patience and good growing conditions!
I've repotted all mine a number of times, always sets em back abit, cause they stop growing, grow smaller traps, then get back to the same size before making larger traps. Never saw the health suffer though.
Interesting note: The one grown on the mound was repotted and didn't stop, kept growing out of the mound and made pretty much a vine growing across the top of the soil, well one day I was watering my plants drunk, which I seem to do often and the light fixture slid off where it was resting, fell into the tank and decapitated the plant. I quickly planted the decapitated crown, (there was another full crown and a small, newer one as well) and it took quickly. I didn't remove any pitchers from the crown and covered with plastic for awhile. Now the new crown is growing biggish pitchers (although not as big) and another sprout is coming out of where it was cut off of. It's really filling up the bigger pot I planted it in.
Still I remember how horrified I was to see the light fixture decapitate the Ceph like a guillotine...
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Post by Steve D on Mar 30, 2007 17:07:32 GMT
Still I remember how horrified I was to see the light fixture decapitate the Ceph like a guillotine... It's nice to know that the Ceph rebounded so well after it was cut like that. I have never transplanted mine (yet), but I'm sure I'll have to as this one fills the current 10" planter with new plants from underground runners. After reading your posts I will be a little less apprehensive about transplanting them. My Ceph is not a "Hummer's Giant," so I'm waiting to see just how large the pitchers will be on a fully mature, healthy and hopefully happy plant. I live in an environment of dry grassland prairie so the Ceph gets long hours of very bright high-altitude sun in usually cloudless skies with very low humidity, so that may stunt the pitchers some. However, I don't grow any of my plants in terrariums nor go out of my way to raise the humidity (other than the use of an evaporative cooler in the greenhouse during the heat of summer) and they all have adapted in their own way to the low humidity, including orchids, sundews and other carnivorous plants including my numerous Venus Flytraps. The orchids' adaptation over a period of 2-3 years really impressed me. The leaves of the cattleya-laelia alliance orchids developed a very tough, leathery and thick substance to their leaves with what seems to be a waxy coating to conserve water (I'm guessing). The Venus Flytraps adapted to low humidity in no time, as well as the several Sarracenia, and I have come to believe that the high-humidity "requirement" of these plants is overemphasized and terrariums (or other methods of compensation for low humidity) are usually completely unnecessary. Even my sundews produce plenty of dew in the low humidity, although one of my sundews (a capensis) has given me a little trouble over the last several years I believe from the acid soil leaching some mineral from its ceramic planting container (another capensis grown identically but in a different container has grown great with no problems). O--K-- I'm rambling now-- Best wishes everyone, Steve
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Post by quogue on Apr 2, 2007 17:21:25 GMT
Interesting notes on your growing conditions. I find the humidity requirement to be much less important than light & watering as well. I think low humidity makes for a more leathery texture for Ceph's which is quite nice. Being an indoor grower Terr's make for a nice display and keeps the plants from being disturbed. Don't really get much humidity outta my big Terr, but the chambers get pretty nice humidty levels for the Neps.. Edit: Updated pic of the Black Jungle Ceph:
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Post by RL7836 on Apr 7, 2007 19:50:02 GMT
I doubt that the precise make of fishfood is critical. A number of people have used Tetra flakefood and I've been using freeze-dried bloodworms (from a Joseph Clemons recommendation IIRC). Cephs, dews and S. purps all seem to do well when fed...
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Post by magnum on Apr 10, 2007 0:04:34 GMT
Hey quogue, With the mound planting technique, do you water your plants overhead, or do you use the tray method?
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Post by quogue on Apr 10, 2007 14:31:35 GMT
I usually water the tray with or without the mound. Unless the Moss looks dry, then I water the Moss, but never the Crown of the Ceph. Mostly it's just the tray though...
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Post by quogue on Apr 24, 2007 18:45:14 GMT
Here's some pics of that Plant from Equilibrio I accidentely decapitated.... Front Back Since then I've been a lot more careful when I water my plants drunk... harharhar..
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Post by quogue on May 23, 2007 17:21:29 GMT
Some more recent pics of the Equalibrio plant And And a more recent pic of the Meadowview plant
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Post by quogue on May 23, 2007 17:23:47 GMT
Lemme know if the pictures are messed up....
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Post by pinglover on May 25, 2007 3:05:08 GMT
The photos look great. They are so vibrant they remind me of those red and white Christmas candy mints.
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Post by jm82792 on May 25, 2007 8:57:20 GMT
Beautiful how much do cephs cost ? That is what I would get and I would water very carefully with a needless syringe. away from the crown.
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