Ceph leaves and pitchers

[superimposedhope]

Why is my Cephalotus leaves and pitchers turning yellow?


Joe

 

[Tony Paroubek]

Potting mix? Temps? etc etc.. any useful info you can give would be great.
T

 

[superimposedhope]

Well, its in my lowland chamber (85degF. & 75-80%humidity)

The potting mix is 50%perlite, 25%LFS, 25%woodchips (the kind in Orchid mix/ Fir?) broken into roughly1/4" peices

Joe

When I first got it I put it in a ziplockbag in the chamber.

 

[wickedthistle]

Hey Joe,

Did you acclimitize the plant? Whenever I have cuttings (cps in general), I cut a small hole in the ziplock, then the next day make it larger, etc. The temps and humidity otherwise sound fine.

However, having yellow leaves sounds like it could be a "fertilizer added" problem. Is there any chance that the wood chips may have been treated with some sort of chemical by the orchid company? You could probably call/email them.

 

[CP2k]

Have you tried highland conditions? These plants appreciate a drop in temperature at night. I keep mines in the 50-60'sF at night, while day temperatures are in the 70-80'sF during the day.

 

[superimposedhope]

I had heard about the drop thing at night. I think I might try that. I don't think there is any fertilizer on the wood chips. I got them from this interiorscaping place I worked and they didn't usually buy anything that was pretreated though I don't know for a fact that they weren't.

Joe

 

[Tony Paroubek]

Mix sounds ok although I usually use a peat type mix with lots of perlite as opposed to LFS. They have pretty fine roots so although it needs to be well drained and loose it shouldn't be overly chunky. Could be the temperatures. They are not really lowland plants and should get reasonably cool at night as mentioned.

How are you watering? THey need to be moist but not sitting in water. Try avoid wetting the plant as well.
Also meant to ask if it was the whole plant or just a few leaves. Cephs take a bit of time to settle in and might not do a whole lot for a while. They tend to grow in flushes as it is.
Tony

 

[superimposedhope]

Actually Tony, it is few leaves and 2 out of 3 traps. They did it over night the first night. I'll try the cool at night thing. Its not the whole plant.

Thanks
Joe

 

[The Griffin]

They can actually sit in water, but you must let the tray/saucer dry out before refilling. I really don't think of them as a highland or lowland, but they are probably closer to the former.
Mine look pretty crappy, because they have been under a dim light for some time. I am hoping that they will flower when I replace the bulbs.

Joe