Cephalotus leaf yellowing

[FLTropical]

Hi all,

I got this ceph about two and a half months ago. It lives outside in south Florida in part shade. Temps range from 45 to 90F, and lately no lower than the mid sixties. It gets two hours of sun in its current position. I was originally told that it was 'recently' (whatever that means) out of TC,so when I got it I was very careful to start it in full bright shade, and gradually increase the light, from there to about two hours of morning sun. About two weeks ago I moved it to a spot it where it got more like four hours. At first it seemed happy - started to red up, and growth seemed to increase. Then I noticed some leaves dying (see picture). I've since moved it back to two hours of sun, followed by bright shade, and I've changed my watering. I think it was too wet - I used the tray method with about a day in between sitting dry. It was in a large tray too, so that cycle took almost a week. Now it's in a smaller tray, and I don't fill it up all the way. It drys out in about two or days, then I let it sit empty for two days. So far it's responded well. The two leaves that yellowed died, but nothing else has changed.

This is my first ceph. Am I doing this right?
Thanks I advance.

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[fredg]

Cephalotus is a very tolerant plant. I have plants that are kept wet ( sitting in water) in trays throughout the growing season. I have some I keep wet all year. It doesn't seem to bother them at all.
I'd just remove the dead leaves and keep an eye out for any problems with others. No need to panic at this juncture though.

NB. My plants are in Greenhouses not Terraria.

 

[FLTropical]

Thanks. As of this morning two more have turned from a dark to a lime green. Afraid yellow is next. Could this be normal seasonal prepping for summer (I'm in south Florida), first signs of crown rot, or something else? Or maybe I'm now keeping them too dry? Agh!


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[curtisconners]

Do you ever top water? Has it rained recently and was it outside if it did? As far as I know, crown rot can only be caused by water in the crown. If there is no way that water got into the crown, then it could be root rot. You might want to check the roots. Take this with a grain of salt, though, I don't grow cephalotus and this is an educated guess based off what I've read.

 

[FLTropical]

Ack - I didn't think about root rot. Just crown.

I tray water only, and the plant is under an awning and not exposed to rain.

When I started gardening I used to find myself here with plants in pots all the time - is it dying because of too much water or not enough?

I'm loath to disturb the roots - ceph's are reputedly very sensitive to that, and I only potted them up a couple of months ago.

Perhaps its just the changing seasons. None of the pitchers have been affected, and the growth point is still green. Would root rot affect all leaves, or oldest leaves first? Or maybe more complex leaf structures like pitchers? I'll do more research. Thanks for the idea!

 

[curtisconners]

It's possible that it's losing its leaves because it's spring, I'll pull out my copy of the savage garden and see.

 

[Nauz]

What's your medium? can't really see it from the photo.

 

[Nauz]

2 hours does not seem like enough light to me. Usually when you get a new plant that was grown TC you'll want to bag it up for a few months gradually opening the bag up over time. But it is normal for it to loose a pitcher or leaf due to the transition.

 

[fredg]

2 hours sun is a lot more than some Cephalotus get. Shaded plants grow larger pitchers. ( compared to the same clone in sun)

 

[axel]

I would be concerned when young leafs or the growing center dies. The leafs adapted to tc condintions will die faster than the new ones. Sunshine will speed this process a bit up.
Root rot is a thing of a few days or maybe a week and probably not stopable. Its shows first with wilting of all leafs and pitchers of a crown.
Top watering is probably not the cause. I do it always and they stay all summer in the rain outside. No problem there. Many others do it and nothing bad happens.
I know somebody who drowns his Cephs from time to time in a tank. His Cephs had no problem with any kind of rot. Hes got maybe the oldest Ceph in Germany.
Here in the second post you might observe his setup and his magnificent Ceph. He uses fertilizer too. scroll a bit down
Boron-maybe a solution for problems like crownrot? | International Carnivorous Plant Society

 

[fredg]

The growing centres are ok so stop messing the plant around. Constantly changing the conditions ( moving it) can upset the plants. Try leaving it in the same spot and water consistently.
I've no idea about root rot, it's NOT caused by overwatering as I don't believe you can with a Cephalotus. I've been standing the pots in water for 33 years and never had any. When I say that they're tolerant I mean that they'll suffer being kept drier.

 

[Nauz]

2 hours sun is a lot more than some Cephalotus get. Shaded plants grow larger pitchers. ( compared to the same clone in sun)

Yeah I agree I've heard of people who keep it under full shade during summer times. Some even let the pitchers grow out in shade and gradually move to sun to color the pitchers.

 

[FLTropical]

Thanks all. I'm going to chalk this up to changing conditions (seasonal and caused by me) combined with me overreacting. This is my first ceph and I think I've read to many posts about what can go wrong. Thank you all for your advice, questions, and guidance.

The mix was was what NE sent with it. It looked like 50/50 sand and peat, and included extra sand for a top dressing, which I used.

Looking at it again with less crazed eyes, I can see new growth starting at the growth point. I'll be going back to the regimen that worked for the first two months I had the thing.

 

[farmertom]

Out of curiosity, what kind of medium are you using? I've found that seating my cephalotus on the peak of its own little hill of peaty sand has really helped with the buffering. It seems like the hill allows for better air flow around the roots, so I can let it get real wet without worrying about rot

 

[FLTropical]

50/50 sand/peat, with a top dressing of pure sand. When planting I tried hilling too, but the plants were so small I couldn't make it happen without risking damage, or being unsure the roots were actually in soil!

Today there are some more yellow leaves on the different plants, but pitchers are still healthy, and there isn't any wilting.

 

[Nauz]

50/50 sand/peat, with a top dressing of pure sand. When planting I tried hilling too, but the plants were so small I couldn't make it happen without risking damage, or being unsure the roots were actually in soil!

Today there are some more yellow leaves on the different plants, but pitchers are still healthy, and there isn't any wilting.

If your still getting new growth then it's just transitioning and you will loose some leaves/pitchers during the process. It's happened to me as well but after those few eventually died no more so far. I would worry when it's more then 50% of the plant and no new growth at all.