indoor and outdoor cephs pics

[wadave]

I've finally uploaded some of my pics to photo bucket so now to attempt to put them on the forum.

These first 4 photos are cephs in the wild, notice how steep the ground is as they are growing on the edge of an estuary. The embankment is gradually eroded due to storms and the tide.









The next set of pics are of my cephs I picked up from Phill Mann last year and are growing in my greenhouse, receiving overhead watering.







enjoy!

[Bogiron]

Great photos. Thanks for sharing. Please give details of your overhead watering you mention. Do you use a mister head plus timer or what?

It's great seeing CPs in the wild. We just visited a bog know as the Pine Barens in eastern US and it was the best plant experience I've ever had. It really helps us get ideas of how to grow our plants better.
Gale

[RL7836]

David,
Thanks for sharing those great pics!

What's the size of the pots for the plants in your greenhouse?

[droseraguy]

Very nice pics, I suppose the runners help stabilize the erosion ? Or maybe they just pop up where the roots are eroded enough to peek out of the soil ?

[maraxas]

Wadave: I'm glad you read that tutorial! Those pictures are great. I didn't know cephs would grew on such steep ground.

[wadave]

To answer everyone's questions in order:

Gale, the overhead watering is set on a retic timer set to once an hour during the hot summer gradually down to three times a day during the cooler months. I've used misting sprays hooked up to 19mm poly pipe. I would also have to agree with you on the experience of viewing the plants in the wild. Just seeing the slow seeping flow of water the cephs grow in shows they prefer moving water to stagnant water in trays. My guys just love it!

My pots are two sizes: 2 inch seedling pots and larger square pots are 4 inchs. All of them need repotting due to the amazing growth spurt they had last season. So much so that one of the plants has sent out 2 or 3 pitchers through one of the drainage holes at the bottom of the pot.

It tends to be the grasses that seem to hold the surface of the soil together at this location, I think as sections break away new seedlings take hold or new plantlets shoot from the remaining roots that are left behind. The area is quite thick with cephalotus varying from brand new seedlings to very old specimens that look like they've been there for years.

Maraxas, I was as surprised as you were to see them growing on such a steep embankment, some sections were almost vertical giving the little traps the appearance of strawberries dangling down the side of a strawberry pot!

I will see if I can find a suitable photo to show you what I mean.

Dave.

[wadave]

Ok, here we go:









I hope you get as much of a buzz from these photos as I always do.

Dave.

[maraxas]

Dave, your right, they do look like strawberries. Geeze... now I have to plan a trip out to Australia... ha ha ICPS 2008 here I come.

[cindy]

Looking at your pics, Dave...it makes me wonder why I treat my Cephs like babies. I should give them the poorest of media and leave the mould, algae and ferns growing in their pots. Oh yes, I should just dunk the live sphagnum too!

[wadave]

Hi Cindy,

Remeber these guys have plenty of fresh water pass over their roots on a constant basis.

My first pot of cephs contained some of the local weeds that grow in cephalotus country. These weeds grew over the top of the plant which seemed to provide a bit of shade and it seemed to help during the really hot summer months before I built my greenhouse.

I think if your growing conditions are right then you can do almost anything to your plants and they will like it. I've found since growing my cp's in the greenhouse they've increased in vigour and are better able to cope with stress caused by events that would otherwise have killed them before.

Dave.

[vraev]

holy crap! that is spectacular. Man! Its amazing how well these things do in nature given the harsh environments compared to the pampering given by us. Surely everything loves mother nature. its beautiful.

wadave...I just have one ceph which is now recovering. Its growing in sphagnum moss (live + dead) I guess. I was trying tray thingy till the water evaporates. but I have stopped after the advice from the good peeps in various CP communities. Your pics are throwing me to a new technique: OVERHEAD and OVER PITCHER watering but, making the pot stand on those litthe "SUPPORTS" that we get from pizza pizza . Would it work?? I mean the pot will drain out and since u said cephs like it...it should be good. DO u think its worth for me trying this??

thanks,

varun

[wadave]

It's hard to say mate as I don't know what your growing conditions are like. Something I do might lead to a very sad result for you. Plus I don't know what other advice you've been given.

By "Support" I take it you mean those little plastic rings with the feet on them which keep the pizza box lid from sticking to the pizza? It all depends on how often you can water them, or if you can automate it successfully.

My pots are sitting on my benches so the water does pool around the bottom of the pot but it is constantly replaced/flushed through at the next watering so it never gets stagnant.

I don't think a pot sitting in still water on the tray method is quite the same as flushing the pot with water throuhout the day with the result of some clinging to the bottom of the pot. So placing your pot on the support shouldn't be necessary if the water can drain freely through the soil mix and out the bottom, ie no tray.

Remember flowing water holds more oxygen than stagnant water, and I think the lack of oxygen, ie stagnant water, causes more root rot than anything else.

Once my retic gets to full pressure it puts out a fine mist for about 50 seconds per watering. So I would estimate each pot would only be receiving a very small amount of water at each watering. This should give the plant enough water to drink and keep the soil moist with any excess flowing out of the pot.

From reading some of your other posts a while back I think you had yours in a terrarium so I don't know how you might go trying to achieve the same conditions as in a greenhouse?

What you need to set up in order to achieve good growing conditions all depends on your local environment and how close this is to the conditions the plant receives in it's natural habitat.

Sorry I couldn't give you a definitive answer.

Dave.

[vraev]

Hey,

thanks for the reply. No actually, I do not grow my plants in a terrarium. I used to grow VFT's in a terrarium. Never a ceph. My ceph is basically in that 3 inch pot which has been placed in a seperate bowl so that if any water flows out...it can stay and contribute to the humidity when it evaportes.

well.. you r right though.It seems like everyone has to get their own style of growing this plant. Its soo different. I hope mine does well.

thanks for the help though.

PS: do u have any more pics of cephs in the wild? I would love to see some more

thanks,

varun

[glider14]

Varun. my cephs main growth point also died off. i have a bunch of newer points coming from the bottom....going straight to the mature pitcher stage! so hopes not lost yet!
Alex

[wadave]

Sorry mate,

No new photos, its a half days drive to get there but I am planning a trip early next year when they are in flower/ setting seed.

I think it would be quite a show with all those flower scapes, even though by themselves the flowers are quite non-descript.

Just a point to note, my cephs are sending up their spring growth at the moment and they are all new growth points.

I've even got one pot sending out pitchers through a drainage hole which I cut out to allow it freedom to grow and expand, and then when the time is right I will repot it.

Dave.