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By David F
Posts:  1649
Joined:  Sun Jan 02, 2011 8:41 pm
#234927
That's a huge humidity leap from 20% to nearly 90%! That is probably why a few buyers have had trouble! When I first inquired Leah she informed me of about 40-50% humidity, and even then it's a jump.

Such an increase in ambient moisture might be allowing pathogens to infect the plant very easily. It's hard to believe a person has to "acclimate" a ceph into higher humidity.
By Nancy
Posts:  236
Joined:  Tue Aug 27, 2013 4:23 pm
#234945
I've been growing Ceph's for a number of years and the only time I ever raise the humidity on them is when I'm starting new divisions after dividing up the mother plant or starting leaf pulls.
My humidity in the winter drops to 25-30% due to the heat running in the house. In the summer it ranges from 40-60% depending on how much I run the A/C in the house.
Ceph's are susceptible to mildew (and crown rot) so if you do normally have higher humidity (not referring to a terrarium either) good air flow is a must. I use a small clip on fan to keep air circulating around my plants.
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By AaaaNinja
Posts:  229
Joined:  Fri Jun 26, 2015 5:42 am
#234971
xr280xr wrote:
AaaaNinja wrote: They come out of the nursery with humidity that low?? Cool! I just got mine a few days ago and was acclimating it to my window from something way higher. It's about 35% in my window most of the day. I guess I can step it down a whole lot more today. It had the green slime around the plant real thick (not mold though) so I did opt to repot it so I could rinse it all off. It's my first cephalotus so I'll be patient with it. Good luck ps3isawesome, keep us updated! I want to know whether they can live through that!
Mine really thrives in the winter when it gets 40-60% humidity, however the real factor might be the cool to cold nighttime temperatures. It sure likes the combination though. It also gets plenty of air circulation at the same time.
I have a plant that I've been chilling by placing it with an ice pack in a terrarium at night. The terrarium is really good at holding into the cold air and it's still cold when it's time to remove it. I put my cephalotus in with it too so it can also get a chilly night. The temperature in our house doesn't fluctuate much. Maybe I should just ask next time before thinking I need to acclimate a plant lol.
xr280xr wrote:
David F wrote: Matt, these plants are from your store, I've had one division in my pot die similarly, and another member recently experienced a plant that looked very similar which I also believe you replaced. I think you may have some type of systemic fungi in your plants that is exacerbated during stress of the plants.
I've wondered the same thing since Matt mentioned he's experienced it as well & suspects a bacterial issue. A couple years ago I ordered a second FTS ceph shortly after ordering my first. After only a few weeks it suddenly started looking like the one above and died. Both were in identical conditions and the first continues to thrive today. Maybe it's shock from shipping that just has a delayed appearance? Sucked to be out the cash, but I didn't complain because there's no real way of knowing if it picked something up after it arrived, but they seem very fragile either way. FTS may want to consider letting them mature more before selling them if this occurs with any frequency. It didn't take long at all before my other one put out mature pitchers.
Oregon is currently experiencing a heat wave. I knew I was taking a chance when I ordered mine. But I didn't want to miss out on them while they were in stock.
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By Matt
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Posts:  22523
Joined:  Mon Apr 21, 2008 11:28 pm
#235030
David F wrote:Matt, these plants are from your store, I've had one division in my pot die similarly, and another member recently experienced a plant that looked very similar which I also believe you replaced. I think you may have some type of systemic fungi in your plants that is exacerbated during stress of the plants.
xr280xr wrote:I've wondered the same thing since Matt mentioned he's experienced it as well & suspects a bacterial issue.
That was years ago (2012, I think?) and only with plants in my personal collection that I was growing in a peat mix in a terrarium. I've not had any issues in the last 3 years with sudden death syndrome of Cephalotus. Since switching to the New Zealand LFS and growing them in open air, we've not lost a single plant and have not had any disease at all.

And all of the Cephalotus we are selling have been growing in our care for at least 10 months at this point, most over a year.

Seems much more likely that shipping stress coupled with cultivation errors are the factors causing the problems for any growers that are having them.
xr280xr wrote:FTS may want to consider letting them mature more before selling them if this occurs with any frequency. It didn't take long at all before my other one put out mature pitchers.
That's something to consider. Yes, we wait to ship them until they are just about near adulthood and are putting out vigorous growth. But the demand for them is high so we don't wait for them to grow any longer. And most people have not reported any problems. Fact is that Cephalotus are very unforgiving with any cultivation errors and as a result are just easy to kill.

In the case of the plant that is the subject of this thread, putting in that terrarium (which is the only place I've grown Cephalotus and had any problems with losing them) is almost certainly the cause of death.
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By David F
Posts:  1649
Joined:  Sun Jan 02, 2011 8:41 pm
#235044
Matt wrote: That was years ago (2012, I think?) and only with plants in my personal collection that I was growing in a peat mix in a terrarium. I've not had any issues in the last 3 years with sudden death syndrome of Cephalotus. Since switching to the New Zealand LFS and growing them in open air, we've not lost a single plant and have not had any disease at all.

Seems much more likely that shipping stress coupled with cultivation errors are the factors causing the problems for any growers that are having them.

I was referring to a recent purchase in which one cephalotus (a tiny one I didn't even see at first) died within the pot. But I agree with your diagnosis. It's hard to believe they can grow in that low of humidity... Who new ? :oops:
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By Alvin 415
Posts:  301
Joined:  Tue Jul 08, 2014 11:53 pm
#235253
ps3isawesome wrote:in the 50s
Then it shouldn't be temp related.

I did have a ceph crash on me, and it kind of looked similar to your pics. I also had it growing in pure LFSM. I suspected that the LFSM kept it too wet. I was worried about losing the whole plant, so I chopped it all into pieces and made root cuttings. so far two of the cuttings have new growth (square pots):
ceph root cuttings 20150705.jpg
ceph root cuttings 20150705.jpg (28.47 KiB) Viewed 3889 times

Like Nancy mentioned in an earlier post, I also prefer sand/peat for good drainage. I use 1 part peat, 2 parts sand. I only keep them under a humidity dome when doing leaf pulls/root cuttings. I top water regularly and have never had a problem:
ceph water 20150705.jpg
ceph water 20150705.jpg (32.87 KiB) Viewed 3887 times

Having said that, there are lots folks who grow cephs successfully in high humidity terrariums. There's one guy who successfully grows them in a tank, on a grid, over a large volume of constantly aerated water.
Last edited by Alvin 415 on Mon Jul 06, 2015 5:27 am, edited 1 time in total.
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By AaaaNinja
Posts:  229
Joined:  Fri Jun 26, 2015 5:42 am
#235258
Alvin 415 wrote:
ps3isawesome wrote:in the 50s
Then it shouldn't be temp related.

I did have a ceph crash on me, and it kind of looked similar to your pics. I also had it growing in pure LFSM. I suspected that the LFSM kept it too wet. I was worried about losing the whole plant, so I chopped it all into pieces and made root cuttings. so far two of the cuttings have new growth (square pots):
ceph root cuttings 20150705.jpg

Like Nancy mentioned in an earlier post, I also prefer sand/peat for good drainage. I use 1 part peat, 2 parts sand. I only keep them in a humidity done when doing leaf pulls/root cuttings. I top water regularly and have never had a problem:
ceph water 20150705.jpg

Having said that, there are lots folks who grow cephs successfully in high humidity terrariums. There's one guy who successfully grows them in a tank, on a grid, over a large volume of constantly aerated water.
Good save.

I have a peat:perlite:sand mix but it was having trouble draining. I added a big handful of orchid bark and now the water goes whoosh. I hope my cephalotus likes that.
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By Alvin 415
Posts:  301
Joined:  Tue Jul 08, 2014 11:53 pm
#235260
AaaaNinja wrote:I have a peat:perlite:sand mix but it was having trouble draining. I added a big handful of orchid bark and now the water goes whoosh. I hope my cephalotus likes that.
I like orchid bark too. My ceph bark mix is: 1 part peat, 1 park fine orchid bark, 1 part sand.

My 1:2 mix uses a larger grain sand. I think the larger grain drains easier, and lets in more air (just my guess, no science involved). 1 part peat, 2 parts #12 sand.

Comparing grain sizes: the square pot with the root cutting is #12 sand. The round pot with division and leaf pull is bark/peat/#16 sand.
12 vs 16 grain.jpg
12 vs 16 grain.jpg (40.51 KiB) Viewed 3866 times

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