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Cephs in high temperatures year round - Anyone?

Cindy

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Anyone who grows your Cephs in hot conditons year round?

Here is what I observed from growers who started with the cultivation at the same time with TC plants. I live in Singapore with year round temperatures between 75degF and 92degF.

1. Cephs in cooler conditions tend to produce larger pitchers and the pitchers mature earlier. The plants look more sparse since most of the time, they are only made up of a single stem. Cooler temperatures can come in the form of air-conditioning at night or air-conditioning for the entire day.

2. Cephs in uniformly hotter conditions i.e. hot during day as well as night, tend to produce multiple offshoots, resulting in a large clump of smaller pitchers.

I noticed that humidity doesn't play a part in the size of the pitchers since the growers who keep them in air-conditioning do not have them covered or in a terrarium.

Please share your experiences. Thanks!

Btw, why do Cephs turn red? I have got plants side by side in different pots...one pot has got red pitchers but not the other. The plants are of the same age.
 
If they aren't getting the same light, then it's the genetics.

Mine is in conditions of 70 at night, 80 tops (usually mid 70's) in the day. 50% covered terrarium, so humidity at the bottom is 70-80% above the water (so it's probably less where the cephalotus is since it's in a tall clay pot.)

I never had a problem with them in lowland conditions, although some say I should have. I do find it's doing way better without the high temps, though.
 
From what I understand, Cephs grow in a more temeprate climate, seeing more seasonal change. I had mine growing on an unheated window sill, where they saw temps in the 40's F and into the 80's.
 
Well, when mine had the humidity dome (recently tossed off) it was probably 75-80F. Now without it they are getting more light since the plastic isn't in the way and they seem to be fine with the 50% or so humidity, we do have an air conditioner, on top of this the warm sun isn't basking on them anymore, so during the day it should be around 70F, and during the night around 60F. However, they've always been relatively cool, when I received my Cephalotus I noticed it had just started making mature pitchers. Since it's arrival it has made a second growth point (I've probably had my Ceph for around half a year), and it has been jumping in pitcher size. Recently it's put out a mature pitcher on it's second growth point a lot chubbier and slightly taller with a more pronounced peristome than the other mature pitchers.

And about the light thing, well, yeah genetics but you'd be surprised how much 6 inches away can make in light, you may not think much but it sometimes can be depending on the angle of the sun.

I grow mine in relatively nice and cozy warm conditions during the day and cool during the night.

(I first registered my Paypal account on January 3rd, 2007, when I first started ordering CPs, so I've been growing nearly 7.5 months).

Edit: Upon reading my Paypal logs, I paid for my Cephalotus among others on March 8th... then I received them probably around March 10th-11th since I remember him sending them out that week. So, I've been growing Cephalotus for just over 5 months :).
 
You call 70 degrees warm and cozy?
 
You should come to Georgia for a little while and learn the true meaning of "warm". 103 degree weather with EIGHTY AND ABOVE RELATIVE HUMIDITY!!!!! Walk outside and you'll have a stroke. Swear to God! The Sarracenia can't get enough of this weather, luckily for me :)

It's neat that you mention how big of a difference 6 inches in light can make.

Before:
DSC02549.jpg



After lowering the light just five inches and adding mylar. The mylar was so very recently added that it didn't really affect the color at all, but I figured I'd add that since it was technically a variable change. Now it's darker than this old picture.

DSC02592.jpg



I need to make cuttings. Baby hummers make excellent trading material. In fact, I think I'll do that now.
 
PM'd :D lol.

Yeah, you have quite the Hummer! I also noticed that the baby pitchers stay on for a LONG time! My Cephalotus has stopped making baby pitchers for months now, even before I got it it stopped! So it's been a half a year or more and some adult pitchers die after 2-3 months but the babies stay. It's kinda weird. Typically only 2 mature pitchers my Ceph had at arrival have died but still. My Cephalotus doesn't have a clump yet but maybe I could root a baby pitcher cutting? Dunno. It has a bunch of pitchers developing like tiny balls at really long petioles. Maybe to get out of the mature pitchers that are in the way? All of them are in the way.

Edit: One mature pitcher that is on my Cephalotus that opened a few weeks after arrival is nearly 3x smaller than the newest chubbier pitcher. Yikes! Talk about jump in size.
 
I've had Cephs growing in my lowland chamber for about 6 months. They were just some leaf cuttings I wanted to torture test. They are pretty small (typical) but they are growing and seem to be doing fine.

Conditions in that chamber are mid 70's at night right on up to 90-100 during the day. Humidity stays constant at around 80%. The neps (especially the Bical) LOVE it in there. But I can barely breath in that thing.
 
  • #10
Conditions in that chamber are mid 70's at night right on up to 90-100 during the day. Humidity stays constant at around 80%. The neps (especially the Bical) LOVE it in there. But I can barely breath in that thing.

Wait till you step into N. bicalcarata paradise in the wild. ;)

Thanks, everyone for your input. I have been refusing to take the extra step to provide cooling for my Cephs because it would mean a pretty expensive set-up. They are doing well for me in hot conditions but it's just that they are slower to get large.
 
  • #11
Wow thanks for starting this post Cindy as i'm thinking of getting one:-O

So do you guys find your Cephs go ok and tolerate warm temps fine? I'm in a warm tropical climate and always read Cephs suffered with heat but now i know this isn't true and that it's severe cold they can't handle so i might just grow cephs.
 
  • #12
I would take a look at the online weather patterns in SW Australia, near Albany -- where it seldom gets too hot even in summer for insight into growing them.

Mine are generally grown in the 70s range though occasionally it will reach eighty or so. I find that cooler nights benefit these plants. I have grown them under hotter conditions in years past, but have definitely had better results with more temperate Tbs -- larger, more long-lived pitchers, even if they are not quite as colorful. I can always expose them to more sun in the Fall . . .


The red coloration of the pitchers and vegetative leaves comes from the production of anthocyanin -- a red pigment commonly found in most plants. Some Cephalotus clones simply don't produce the same amount as others; some of my plants are dark red, while neighboring plants are lime green. Go figure . . .


Anyone who grows your Cephs in hot conditons year round?

Here is what I observed from growers who started with the cultivation at the same time with TC plants. I live in Singapore with year round temperatures between 75degF and 92degF.

1. Cephs in cooler conditions tend to produce larger pitchers and the pitchers mature earlier. The plants look more sparse since most of the time, they are only made up of a single stem. Cooler temperatures can come in the form of air-conditioning at night or air-conditioning for the entire day.

2. Cephs in uniformly hotter conditions i.e. hot during day as well as night, tend to produce multiple offshoots, resulting in a large clump of smaller pitchers.

I noticed that humidity doesn't play a part in the size of the pitchers since the growers who keep them in air-conditioning do not have them covered or in a terrarium.

Please share your experiences. Thanks!

Btw, why do Cephs turn red? I have got plants side by side in different pots...one pot has got red pitchers but not the other. The plants are of the same age.
 
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  • #13
Ok, I have warm, but not humid. I live the desert city of Palm Springs. Our temps in summer reach 130F with about 15-30% humidity. Because of this, our indoor temps are still around 80F in the summer.
 
  • #14
Ok, I have warm, but not humid. I live the desert city of Palm Springs. Our temps in summer reach 130F with about 15-30% humidity. Because of this, our indoor temps are still around 80F in the summer.

Yeah, I know Palm Springs well. Last time I visited from the SF area, it was 117 degrees in the shade with humidity in the teens -- and the soles of my running shoes were sticking to the macadam. Just set up a humidity tray if the plants are not already in a terrarium. Set the pots on a layer of small pebbles or shallow water (as I do) and evaporation will do the rest; also a layer of live sphagnum in the pots will keep the humidity fairly high around the evil little plants . . .
 
  • #15
just as a point, I am growing cephs in two conditions. One out on my patio here in Atlanta with my temperate plants and so far no problem.

The rest are inside under lights, but no terrarium and the AC is on at night. I can't even begin to guess what the humidity is like. Those are doing fine also.
 
  • #16
during my last summer I lived in a non air conditioned house and the temps inside used to be around 80 - 90F during day with maybe high 70s at night. My ceph almost died due to the heat and then came back. THis time I am living back at my parents house in the basement and the temps are max 70 or around 68F during day with max 60F at night which can sometimes be around 55F as well as everything is on the floor of the basement. Nevertheless my highland neps, cephs are loving the low temps and just doing their own thing. Almost for an year..I never had seen my ceph with more than 4 or 5 pitchers at once. Pitcher life was almost like 2 months only. Now pitchers since october are still on the plant and the plant has 11 pitchers with 5 more on the way. As u can see..I totally say that cephs prefer highland conditions.
 
  • #17
during my last summer I lived in a non air conditioned house and the temps inside used to be around 80 - 90F during day with maybe high 70s at night. My ceph almost died due to the heat and then came back. THis time I am living back at my parents house in the basement and the temps are max 70 or around 68F during day with max 60F at night which can sometimes be around 55F as well as everything is on the floor of the basement. Nevertheless my highland neps, cephs are doing great and just doing their own thing. Almost for an year..I never had seen my ceph with more than 4 or 5 pitchers at once. Pitcher life was almost like 2 months only. Now pitchers since october are still on the plant and the plant has 11 pitchers with 5 more on the way. As u can see..I totally say that cephs prefer highland conditions.

I would tend to agree. Those plants that I've kept in cooler Tbs have longer lasting leaves than others, some a couple of years old now by my count. All I know is that it seldom exceeds 25 degrees (77 F) at any time where the plants actually occur in Western Australia. Here are some monthly weather averages for Albany:

High Temperature ( F / C ) 77 / 25, 77 / 25, 76 / 24, 71 / 22, 66 / 19, 62 / 17, 60 / 16, 61 / 16, 63 / 17, 66 / 19, 69 / 21, 74 / 24

Low Temperature ( F / C ) 56 / 14, 58 / 14, 56 / 13, 53 / 12, 50 / 10, 47 / 8, 45 / 7, 45 / 7, 46 / 8, 48 / 9, 51 / 11, 54 / 12,


Place looks like San Francisco and highland conditions to me . . .
 
  • #18
My conditions are now in the mid 80s at night and into the 90s in the day. Since the plants are on a mound, they receive direct sunlight for 1-2 hours each day but the pot (root region) is in shade. The plants are doing well. I made it a point to keep the pots cool to prevent root rot.

I believe Cephs can do well in lowland tropical conditions because they survive summer in the wild. :) But they do grow faster and produce larger pitchers when my temperatures are down to the 70s during the year end. That is also when the weather is more humid, averages around 75-80% RH.
 
  • #19
My conditions are now in the mid 80s at night and into the 90s in the day. Since the plants are on a mound, they receive direct sunlight for 1-2 hours each day but the pot (root region) is in shade. The plants are doing well. I made it a point to keep the pots cool to prevent root rot.

I believe Cephs can do well in lowland tropical conditions because they survive summer in the wild. :) But they do grow faster and produce larger pitchers when my temperatures are down to the 70s during the year end. That is also when the weather is more humid, averages around 75-80% RH.


I think we all agree that the plants are far tougher than we ever give them credit for, and thanks again for all of the great shots of your mass-planting of Cephalotus you posted. Provided that the plants are healthy, there is always some Tb latitude.

Much like you, we all have to take into account the local climate at hand. In Singapore, you have no issue growing lowland species out in the open; while here in San Francisco, it is highland all the way, where even Heliamphora can be grown on a windowsill . . .
 
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