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By francisfaustino
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Joined:  Thu Sep 01, 2016 3:46 pm
#281464
Hello, this thread is about my Cephalotus plants and updates about them. This is a sort of continuation of this thread (http://www.flytrapcare.com/phpBB3/cepha ... 32720.html) which was initially a question about Cephalotus care.

I only have 2 Cephalotus plants right now; FTS Cephalotus and Eden Black. They are grown indoors under 19w CFL. The humidity is typical indoor 40%-50%. I use a 5:2 Perlite:peat mix which I top water thoroughly every 7 to 10 days. I recently started foliar feeding using 1/4 strength urea free orchid fertilizer applied using a brush. I intend to do this every other waterings. I also put 1 pellet of Osmocote in the growing medium of each pot. I do not know if it has any benefits but I figured it can't hurt and it might be able to supply some trace elements.
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EB.png
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Development of the first adult pitcher on the Eden Black:
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My indoor setup:
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By francisfaustino
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Joined:  Thu Sep 01, 2016 3:46 pm
#281477
tannerm wrote:I'll take that Eden black off your hands ;)
haha... it took a while and some stress for me from the uncertainty to get to this point.

coffeenflowers wrote:Did you have 2 growth points on your FTS ceph to start? Did you not like growing them in the LFSM they came in?
Anyway, nice plants! I hope to have an EB one day after I gain more experience growing my typicals.
The FTS Ceph actually had 3 growth points but one is very small. It got lost, probably buried, when I re-potted the plant. I noticed it after and I didn't want to re-pot it again for fear that I will put additional stress on the plant.

I still use pure sphagnum moss with my venus flytraps that I water using the tray method but I decided to go with peat/Perlite mix on the Cephalotus. I have read quite a few comment about how their Cephs dying suddenly for no apparent reason. I did a lot of reading about the basics of soil science and how water moves through soil. I believe that a soil that has a constant perched water table that is stagnant has a higher likelihood that anaerobic zones in the soil can form. I believe that this anaerobic zone can sit in the soil for quite some time without harming the plant but once disturbed, it can quickly make its way up to the root zone. I have read a number of comment from people who said that the sudden death started right after watering. I do not know if it is just coincidence or not but this seems to support my theory since watering does disturb the soil. This is also a carry over knowledge that I have from reef aquariums where we setup a deep sand bed to encourage anaerobic conditions to consume nitrates. These anaerobic conditions can safely sit within the aquarium system as long as it is not disturbed.

I chose to go with the peat/Perlite mix because I felt more comfortable being able to water from the top and let it run down and out of the holes at the bottom of the pot. This ensures that the entire growing medium is well oxygenated and well aerated since the act of watering pulls fresh air into the soil. This also ensures that if ever anaerobic zones form in the soil, by letting the water run down and out to the bottom, it will effectively flush out these deadly zones every time I water the plant.
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By tannerm
Posts:  1589
Joined:  Mon Jul 04, 2016 5:24 am
#281483
francisfaustino wrote:
tannerm wrote:I'll take that Eden black off your hands ;)
haha... it took a while and some stress for me from the uncertainty to get to this point.

coffeenflowers wrote:Did you have 2 growth points on your FTS ceph to start? Did you not like growing them in the LFSM they came in?
Anyway, nice plants! I hope to have an EB one day after I gain more experience growing my typicals.
The FTS Ceph actually had 3 growth points but one is very small. It got lost, probably buried, when I re-potted the plant. I noticed it after and I didn't want to re-pot it again for fear that I will put additional stress on the plant.

I still use pure sphagnum moss with my venus flytraps that I water using the tray method but I decided to go with peat/Perlite mix on the Cephalotus. I have read quite a few comment about how their Cephs dying suddenly for no apparent reason. I did a lot of reading about the basics of soil science and how water moves through soil. I believe that a soil that has a constant perched water table that is stagnant has a higher likelihood that anaerobic zones in the soil can form. I believe that this anaerobic zone can sit in the soil for quite some time without harming the plant but once disturbed, it can quickly make its way up to the root zone. I have read a number of comment from people who said that the sudden death started right after watering. I do not know if it is just coincidence or not but this seems to support my theory since watering does disturb the soil. This is also a carry over knowledge that I have from reef aquariums where we setup a deep sand bed to encourage anaerobic conditions to consume nitrates. These anaerobic conditions can safely sit within the aquarium system as long as it is not disturbed.

I chose to go with the peat/Perlite mix because I felt more comfortable being able to water from the top and let it run down and out of the holes at the bottom of the pot. This ensures that the entire growing medium is well oxygenated and well aerated since the act of watering pulls fresh air into the soil. This also ensures that if ever anaerobic zones form in the soil, by letting the water run down and out to the bottom, it will effectively flush out these deadly zones every time I water the plant.
I'll take a pitcher pulling... haha :)


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By francisfaustino
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Joined:  Thu Sep 01, 2016 3:46 pm
#281496
I noticed that the pitcher produces the most nectar at night. This photo was taken earlier tonight about one hour after lights out.
IMG_1642c.JPG
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By francisfaustino
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#281557
HeliamphoraWalnut wrote:Woah, the peristome is drownings in nectar! I would think any insect would drown in that nectar before it falls into the trap :p
Before I had mine, I initially assumed that nectar production was stimulated by large temperature differences between night and day. Now, I'm not so sure since our indoor temp right now is a constant 70-72F throughout 24 hours. It seems like light cycle has more effect on the production of nectar.
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By francisfaustino
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Posts:  201
Joined:  Thu Sep 01, 2016 3:46 pm
#281559
Here is another developing pitcher. I can already tell that this pitcher will be the biggest yet. This is the most developed pitcher I have yet seen on still such a short stalk.
IMG_1623c.JPG
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By francisfaustino
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Posts:  201
Joined:  Thu Sep 01, 2016 3:46 pm
#285798
FTS Cephalotus update - I started foliar fertilizing last December and this plant has really started to take off. There are 2 growth points. In the photo, the left plant does not have adult pitchers yet, but the right plant sprouted 3 adult pitchers all at the same time which all just opened last week. You can see the peristomes still darkening up. Initially, I was fertilizing every other waterings. When I started fertilizing, parts of the pitchers, which were all juvenile at the time, began to darken up. I thought that it might be fertilizer burns, but now, I'm not so sure if it's burns or just getting older. In either case, I reduced foliar fertilizing to once every 3 or 4 waterings.
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By francisfaustino
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Posts:  201
Joined:  Thu Sep 01, 2016 3:46 pm
#286267
I just finished re-potting the Cephs in 6"x6" x 8" high square plastic pots. 5 months ago, when I put them in the small FTS plastic pots, I was planning to keep them in there for at least a year. I didn't think they will grow fast. The FTS Ceph especially has deformed pitchers where it got squished as it ran out of growing room at the edge of the pot.

I tried my best not to disturb the roots but I snapped some really fine roots for both the Eden Black and FTS Cephs. I really hope it doesn't set them back too bad. I also planted the root cuttings in the pots just in case they strike.

The 6"x6"x8" pots are actually a bit bigger than I wanted for my indoor display but it's what I have available. I have also spent quite a bit of time on eBay and Amazon looking for the perfect size pot for my display but I can't seem to find any for what I am looking for. Looking at the re-potting though, I'm glad I went with tall 8" pots. I think the plants should be ok for at least the next year or two in them.
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