FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I've recently seen these spots appearing on new ceph pitchers. I wasn't able to find anything definitive, so I was hoping someone has seen something similar. Pictures below.

Some background and conditions: it is in a terrarium with 70-80% humidity, only bottom watered, average temps between 60-80°f. It was repotted in November, and has recovered well and put out several new pitchers. I've been trying increase airflow in the terrarium, as I thought the stagnant humid air may be a contributing factor to these black spots.

Any help or advice is greatly appreciated!

Cephalotus has been weird for me. When I received 2 of my cephs, they displayed some weird habits like that. Each plant terminated pitchers with closed lids or the pitchers never fully developed. I wouldn't worry too much about it yet. The crowns look pretty healthy.

That said, I used to also try to grow mine in terrarium style conditions because that is where they showed the most response. I thought they were doing well. It wasn't until I saw the response in a ceph grown out in relative humidity that I decided to change. Honestly, all of the plants I took out of the enclosure did much better in the long run and I didn't need to worry about stagnant air. It took them a while to acclimate but when they did they exploded with new growth on a totally different scale. Just my thoughts.

I'm not an expert cephalotus grower so perhaps one of the real pros will chime in here, but I wouldn't worry too much yet.

At least it's good to hear it's not some precursor of death haha. When it was young it grew very well in the terrarium, but as it matures it seems to be slowing down. Maybe I'll try taking it out and see how it responds. Thanks!

What I did may seem a little sketchy but when my plants had enough vigor I literally shocked them and just ripped the lid off lol. Something else I do that I did with my Eden Black and then Hummer's Giants is I fill all the pitchers with a 1/2 tsp per gallon Maxsea solution like twice a week lol. I'm convinced after the HGs that it works. My EB initially launched 20 pitchers within a couple of weeks (theres a thread somewhere on here) and the HGs after working through the acclimation have responded by putting out 8 or so each but they're smaller plants. If you're feeling adventurous I'd give it a shot. The good news is filling the pitchers will not kill the plant. It cycles through it in the same way that it metabolizes insects. On my EB I've filled over 20 pitchers simultaneously and not a single pitcher death outside of the first one, still don't know why that happened. It now appears to be putting out a new flush and I'll have to repot here soon. Not bad for a single crown and about 5 months.