FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Do you think I can keep a ceph year round, outside in zone 9b? I have suddenly gotten ceph fever and really would like to get one sometime.

I thought I read they are like darlingtonia californica, where as long as the nights cool down after the hot days, they are fine. I am more worried about the winter, because our nights drop 15-20 degrees in the summer. I do not know how cold hardy they are though.

Maybe I am wrong...

Where are you? Zone only tells half the story - it’s about minimum temperatures only. But a zone 9 in Florida or Texas is quite different from a zone 9 in California. Lots of people in California grow them outside. In their natural habitat temps can get down into the low 60s at night during summer, similar to the pacific coast of the US. (They grow outdoors in Seattle just fine during the summer.) If you live in Florida or the Gulf Coast it might be different; it would be a good idea to ask someone growing them in that area.


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Cephs are not like Darlingtonia. Cobras don't like their roots hot, but are fine if their foliage is in high temps. Cephs like all parts of them cool. When temps get over 80-85, my cephs really start to pout and their lids droop. I've tried to grow them in my HL greenhouse for two years, and they always hate the summers. I keep all of mine in an indoor setup with artificial lighting now. In the winter they produce more non-carnivorous leaves if you decrease their light levels.

Joshuamarshall792 wrote:I think they are indoor plants Benny...... Just like nepenthes, they don't like hot weather

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Lowland neps actually do like warm temperatures, Extreme lowland neps can handle near 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

I live in Nevada County, California.
Max cold in the winter is a brief 20 degree freeze.
Max heat in the summer very rarely goes over 100
We get drops in nighttime temps (as said before)

Bob Beer wrote:it would be a good idea to ask someone growing them in that area.

Haven't been able to find anyone living in my area. Will do some searching

Sorry Benny, no go with the Cephs outside year round.

Thanks anyway...

Yeah, 20 would be a bit more than they could take, though I know of people who keep theirs through the winter in cold frames.


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I may try keeping them in a cool frame. I found some of those "thermo cubes" that kick on when the temp reaches 35 degrees, just keeping it above freezing.

Thanks again for the kindly shooting me down (just kidding. You saved me a bunch of money by keeping me from killing my plant - cephs aren't cheap!).