FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

The Eden Black that I divided and re-potted over 3 and a half months ago are doing great! The first photo is of the mother plant. Although slow, it is starting to fill its pot again. The other photo is of the 8 divisions that I took. All 8 have struck and are doing good. (Ignore the brown and dried foliage. Those are from the original plant before dividing. I haven't had the chance to trim them off yet.)

That's amazing man, I'm fighting cephalotus most every day. I think that I'm overthinking the process like most. What soil mix did you use this time? I see LFS on top. I've been waiting for mine to gain more vigor before I risk repotting them. Seems in the last week or so I'm noticing new growth points.

Also, do you have any plans to sell any of the divisions? Eden Black has been a challenge for me to find, it is hands down my favorite Ceph.

Thank you for the compliment. I've had it indoors under lights since I got it. Now that I have some extras, I might experiment with growing them outdoors in 7B hardiness zone. The divisions are potted in just LFSM. The mother plant is in an 8" tall pot with the top half LFSM and the bottom half peat and perlite mix. I learned that cephalotus really likes to be left well alone. I'm still watering it in the same manner that I discussed early on in this thread... water from the top, let the top of media dry before watering again, which in my case is about every 10 or 12 days. I currently don't have any plans on selling the divisions. They still seem so fragile and I'm afraid they won't make it through shipping. Just so you know, from my experience, the color is largely dependent on the lighting. My Eden Black had the best color when I had it under LED grow lights. That bulb broke some time back and I've only been using T5s and CFLs since then which is why the colors are less than stellar. I'm going to put them under LEDs again when I get the chance to improve the color.

Ah ok. I was wondering, I grow indoors in Florida 9b so I have to water more frequently (especially right now) but with the LFS it makes sense why you do it so far between. I know my cephs would probably do better in larger pots but I received these HGs as rooted cuttings more or less and after shipping they just haven't really grown. It's why I was surprised to see some developments this week. They've been virtually the same for two months. After a while, I experimented and threw them in high humidity conditions and noticed a reaction and development. The idea will be to gradually introduce it to the relative humidity of my house as it gains some vigor. I have mine under T5HO bulbs and most have colored up pretty nicely, though its interesting to hear the LED brought out more color. Did you notice any differences in actual growth between the two?

I can't really say I've noticed any difference in growth rate between the different lightings. Yes, there will be periods of times when the cephalotus doesn't seem to be doing anything for months on end, but then all of a sudden it is followed by a period of rapid growth. My theory in what is happening is, during the slow foliage growth, the plant is busy growing the rhizome and roots system... once the balance tips to one side where the root system can support a bigger plant, that is when you see what seems to be vigorous growth. This balance was sort of confirmed when I divided the plant. When I first started keeping cephalotus, I've always questioned what was the trigger or how does the plant know to produce either juvenile or adult pitchers. I've seen many people's leaf or pitcher cutting start producing juvenile pitchers but when dividing a plant, the plant starts producing both juvenile and adult pitchers. This is the same thing I experienced with my divisions. 7 of the 8 divisions started putting out adult pitchers. Only 1 started with juveniles. After the plants have a number of adult pitchers, they then started producing juvenile pitchers again from the same growth points. I think this is a way the plant is trying to balance the root system with the foliage that is above ground. I think juvenile pitchers are produced as a shortcut to have something good enough to capture light and prey while the root system still can't fully support or able to produce more adult pitchers. Once the root system catches up, the plant will only produce adult pitchers from there on out unless the roots are disturbed.

Do you seasonally alter the photoperiod under your LEDs to induce any winter rest period or have you found that unnecessary? Been thinking of growing a Ceph but the only spot on my grow shelf is with some tropical Drosera which might get set back by reducing light.

Since I got it, the light timer is dictated by sunrise and sunset that the switch pulls from the Internet so it follows the length of day to the minute everyday. I've never had my cephalotus go dormant under this constantly changing lighting duration. I'm inclined to believe that changing light duration is just a very small part of triggering dormancy. I think the major trigger for dormancy is the temperature changes. Changing the lighting alone without the cold temperatures is not enough. This is why I want to take some of the divisions and establish them as outside plants so I can compare its health and vigor to those grown indoors. When I do this, I plan on moving them to the unheated garage under artificial lights during the coldest months of the year to avoid freezing temperatures outside.

Interesting stuff. That does kinda make sense though. I'm curious to know how the outdoor thing turns out. I also believe it is driven by temperatures. Seems Cephalotus can be grown across a broader range of conditions. From what I've read, they'll just produce some non carnivorous leaves and stay pretty much the same. They apparently don't enter a "true dormancy." The timer set automatically to the light cycle is really interesting. Where did you find that? I'd like to do something like that for my setup

Many connected switches nowadays can be programmed to follow the sunrise and sunset. I specifically use the Belkin Wemo.

francisfaustino wrote: ↑Fri Jul 17, 2020 3:16 pm Many connected switches nowadays can be programmed to follow the sunrise and sunset. I specifically use the Belkin Wemo.

Do you have any cephs up for trade, by chance?

hungry carnivores wrote: ↑Fri Jul 17, 2020 7:24 pm Do you have any cephs up for trade, by chance?

Hello, the only thing I'm looking for right now is the D.M. Bloody Nurse. I will trade an EB for that.

I'm still not set on whether to sell or if I should really try to get a Bloody Nurse for trade. In any case though, unless it's local pickup, it's quite a risk that I'm sure no buyer is willing to take. I'm not sure how well the plants will do in shipping at their current state. This will be the case for at least some time until the divisions really establishes themselves.

Yeah me too. I'd be happy to purchase one if you find yourself wanting to later on down the road. I definitely agree on letting them get re-established though. The guy I purchased my Hummer's Giants from would hold on to his clones for at least 6-12 mo. to make sure they were healthy enough.
Definitely wish I had that cultivar It reminds me of this TC fused tooth I have that somehow mutated in culture and it's like a Sawtooth that fuses further as the seasons are changing. It's odd to say the least. It was my first CP though so I have a fondness for it even though it's a little wacky.