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new to CP.. new to cephalotus.

bullet08

bullet08

i grow fig trees, enjoy eating figs and they are easy to grow. then one of the forum member in fig forum showed me his "Eden Black". i had to get one. but EB is not easy to get. i got a Typical with good color. it arrived at my door on Tues. i didn't water it yet or anything. keeping it in "clamshell" made of two clear 16oz cup. keeping s.moss around the edge of the container to see how dry inside of the cup is. i'll probably give it water today or tomorrow. i'll drill a hole on the top cup today also to let some air in. in couple of months, i'll move it to larger pot with same soil that is in the container. before up potting, i'll probably take leaf cutting.

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pete
 
Well I have to say going with a cephalotus for a first CP is a bit risky, they can be quite finicky sometimes. First of all you should definitely water it if the soil is not moist. If you do need to water it DO NOT USE TAP WATER. Use reverse osmosis(RO) filtered water if you can get it or use bottled water with no added minerals. Good Luck:)! continue to post pictures of its progress and/or potential problems.
 
yupe. been reading about the ceph for last two weeks. no tap water. distilled, rain, or RO water. don't let the root sit in the water that cause root rot. not too much moisture for the top or at least not without the air flow that causes crown rot. bug or two for 1 or 2 pitcher a month or so for good growth. too much bug causes pitcher rot.

so in next few months, i'll be up potting it to bigger container. can't change the soil to faster draining since i don't want to disturb the root which can cause other issues. right now it's in 1:1:1 peat, sand, and sphagnum moss. once the plant is big enough i'll repot it into faster draining soil of 1:1:1 peat, sand, and perlite or 1:1 peat and sand. just have to water more often.

i'll try to grow this without the humidity dome. have to find out how to do that.
 
If it's happy in the pot that it's already in then I wouldn't change it - why take the risk if it's not needed? Cephalotus are actually quite easy to grow, if not fussed over too much. I grow all mine standing in a saucer of water, which I let empty before replenishing. I have done this for many years and have never lost a plant.

There seems to be a trend of keeping Cephalotus dryer and dryer in more and more free draining soil, but if you look how they grow in nature you will see that this is not their typical habitat conditions.
 
mobile,

have a question for you. if i keep the ceph on dish of water, wouldn't that keep the root too long in water? with smaller container that i have, i'm afraid that it will dry up quicker, but at the same time, will be waterlogged faster. also, if i keep it on dish of water, whould that provide enough moisture around the ceph to elimiate the terrarium?

thanks in adavance,
pete
 
A few links for leisure reading (just in case you haven't seen them yet):

One (multiple tabs here), Two, Three

In no particular order ...
 
My best growing Cephalotus' are always the ones I keep on windowsills, standing in saucers of water and at whatever the room humidity is. Be warned though, if you try suddenly changing the plant from high humidity to room humidity then it will likely lose its pitchers. Acclimatisation would need to be done slowly, by gradually reducing humidity over several weeks. Obviously, if the environment they are kept in is arid, then it would be necessary to increase the humidity. They don't need high humidity and in my opinion this causes more issues.

Seasonal climatic conditions need to be taken into consideration though. If it's cold then I keep the soil moist and when it's hot I keep the soil wet.

You don't say where your from, but if you are in America you will not be able to obtain 'Eden Black' yet. If you're in Europe then you stand a better chance as Stephen, the originator of the clone, has been selling a few this last season for £75 plus postage.
 
i'm in US. i'm not exactly looking for "Eden Black"... not yet anyway. want to make sure i can keep what i have alive for sometime before going further.

i've drilled a hole on the top cup yesterday. this morning i noticed that some of the sphagnum moss on the top are looking little drier. i'll keep it that way for few days and drill another hole. if it gets dry enough that my s. moss are drying up, i might mist it with distilled water.
 
i just got a ceph too and i'm terrified of it, lol, and i've had cp's for several years.
 
  • #10
ron,

read all those. problem is, it's rather hot here in NC with summer time temp up and over 100. winter is mild, but still it will drop below 20 here and there. i'm trying to keep the ceph in house. reading this forum, and others it seem to indicate that growing indoor works nice. i just have to try and see how much i can push. my indoor plants have life expectancy of about 3 months. the house is extremely dry. i do have hygrometer and it shows 45% RH. but not sure if that thing is working properly. i heard ceph will work best between 50-60% RH. so, if it's truly 45%, i'm sure i can some how accommodate the ceph by letting is sit in middle of large water pan.
 
  • #11
There is an awful lot of myths and disinformation around with regards to Cephalotus. Generally, I use the appearance of the plant pitchers as an indicator to its health. If the pitchers have a shine to them, then they are generally OK. If they start to look dull and limp, they are not. The latter generally indicates that the plant is either too dry (humidity, soil or both) or has been kept too wet and the roots have rotted!
 
  • #12
i just put about 1/4".. i guess that's about.. 7mm of water on the bottom of the dish and left the container there. i looked at the pitcher and the broad part with less hair is not that shinny, but the ridges are shinny enough. i misted it anyway since the moss was drying up again.

another question. not sure if you can see this, but one of the non-pitcher leave looks like it's got the surface scrapped. should i remove that leave?

IMG_0511.JPG
 
  • #13
It's a healthy looking plant. I wouldn't remove the damaged leaf, unless it's diseased.
 
  • #14
These plants are a lot easier than most people rumor them to be. They key is confidence. If you're afraid of the plant then it will surely decline. If you believe you can grow it then it will thrive. One indicator I noticed with mine was that if the plant isn't getting enough water then the developing pitchers will turn a bright, fluorescent red, almost pink, and then go brown. I never let mine sit in standing water for more than a few hours and it's thriving.
 
  • #15
wire man,

i guess once i spend sometime with ceph, they will be come like figs. more or less take care of themselves. it's the initial part of getting that routine going is the hard part.
 
  • #16
mobile,

just noticed that you are from Aberdeenshire, Scotland. always wanted to visit Scotland. our band (pipes and drums) might be going there in next few years if we can manage to give good show in our area and maybe at the North America.. maybe.. then again, i do need to get back into playing. my pipes are collecting dust since my son started junior high.
 
  • #17
bullet08 said:
mobile,

just noticed that you are from Aberdeenshire, Scotland. always wanted to visit Scotland. our band (pipes and drums) might be going there in next few years if we can manage to give good show in our area and maybe at the North America.. maybe.. then again, i do need to get back into playing. my pipes are collecting dust since my son started junior high.
Click to expand...
Well, if you do then make sure that you bring plenty of warm clothes :-D
Good luck in your competitions.
 
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