11 replies to this topic

[Valo]

Update below

Hi Guys,

I was checking out the interweb today, with regards to potting on a Ceph & I chanced upon these Airpots.

Airpots

Airpots Explained

I was thinking of trying one out as an experiment & I am just throwing the idea out into the ether, for thoughts & opinions.

These Airpots may be an interesting experiment in regards to Cephalotus, but I'm not sure if they would be of any benefit for other CP's?

Thanks

Mark

'Seeker of Cephalotus clones'

Edited by Valo, 27 March 2013 - 00:22 AM.

[Darkrai283]

When I read the title, I thought that it said 'cephalotus in airports!

Nice find BTW.

[NewComs]

Darkrai283, on 08 June 2012 - 07:53 AM, said:

When I read the title, I thought that it said 'cephalotus in airports!

Nice find BTW.

It took me a couple of reads too
I was thinking in the terms of contraband and stuff

[mobile]

There's a thread on these on the forum: Nepenthes and the Air-pot

[petesredtraps]

This is interesting, however the benefits seem targeted at the root systems of trees. Wether or not there are benefits for types of CPs, well we have to see.

[mobile]

I find that Cephalotus tend to grow well in net pots, I think this is due to the extra aeration the roots get. I guess that air-Pots could have the same benefit.

[Valo]

mobile, on 08 June 2012 - 18:33 PM, said:

I find that Cephalotus tend to grow well in net pots, I think this is due to the extra aeration the roots get. I guess that air-Pots could have the same benefit.

Yeh thats it, exactly my line of thinking. Also due to the design of the pots, I was wondering if they could be used like a heatink. I realise that they are plastic & not metal, but the the surface area is much greater, so in conjunction with the airation, should keep things nice & cool. I think I may be getting little elaborate with this idea, but will give it a go anyway.

In regards to the net pots, do you place them in another container or do you use them in the hydroponic sense?

Mark

[mobile]

Valo, on 08 June 2012 - 23:58 PM, said:

In regards to the net pots, do you place them in another container or do you use them in the hydroponic sense?

I do not contain them in anything, so to achieve maximum aeration. The net pots I use have relatively large size holes, so not suitable for peat based media, but are ideal for  coarser media. I have used the net pots for hydroponics too, including a hydroponic grown VFT: http://www.cpukforum...showtopic=31887

[petesredtraps]

What about these ? http://www.ebay.co.u...=item3376da6ba6
These would hold normal substrate and you can get them in sizes well suited to our type of plants. You could then place them in a deep plastic box (slightly deeper than the pots) on a bed of live sphagnum, then build up the sphagnum around the pots up to the rim and maybe slightly over. This would look good and sphagnum acts like a wick it would be simple to make sure the substrate didn't get too moist - I might try this .

Edited by petesredtraps, 09 June 2012 - 17:39 PM.

[Valo]

Some very interesting ideas being brought up here. I never considered the net pots for Cephalotus, as I was always concerned about the roots  getting entangled in the mesh. I had considered using terracotta pots in another container lined with various airy substrates, perlite, clay pebbles, charcoal, gravel for instance, but never got around to it.
It seems I may have some work ahead of me to get these ideas up & running. It will be interesting to see if there is any difference between Air-pots & Net-pots surrounded by various substrates. Probably not & may be an experiment in futility, but should be buzz to find out if there is method in my madness!
I think I'm going to need more Cephalotus to do this?

Thanks

Mark

[Marcus B]

My plants in waterlily pots do very well.  I get a number of shoots coming out of the sides of the pots, but the mesh is a bit fine for them to grow well.  I have one plant in what is actually a leaf catcher that fits into a patio drainage pit.  It has bigger holes in the mesh, so there is plenty of space for rhizomes to grow out through it.  

All my plants in these set up are doing well, but the plant growing on tree fern (see vertical growing thread) is doing the best.  Plants in these pots and the one on fern truck are all growing in mostly sphagnum with little other material retained around their roots.  The pots also drain well, so the water does not stagnate.

[Valo]

Hi guys, I'm ressurecting this thread as I have got around to putting my money & Cephalotus were my mouth/fingers is/are, eventually. Let the experiment begin!
I will only be using two of my Cephalotus typical leaf pull/cuttings at first for now, as I only have the ability to make a 1:1 peat/perlite mix at the moment. A bad lack of supplies at present, will be rectified in the next couple of weeks, so as I can try some variations in substrate. It will be interesting to see how quickly the standard substrate drys in the air-pots first.
Anyway, below is a pic of my Ceph typical cuttings queing up to volunteer themselves for air-pot duty.
There can only be two, the rest are getting potted in 7cm pots. They are small I know, but I wanted to start them off in air-pots from scratch to see how well they grow.



I will be using one litre air-pots measuring 10cm diameter by 14.5 high assembled.



The base is a bit open for my liking, so I used some clay pellets about 2 cm deep to help hold in the substrate & allow some more airflow around the base.



Here is the first volunteer, I shall call it exibit 1.



Exibit 1 after a dipping in trichoderma powder. Its a little to much, but if I shake or tap them the roots fall off.



Exibit 1 potted up & ready to grow, hopefully.



Now the second volunteer, which will be known as Exibit 2.



Exibit 2 after a dip in Trichoderma.



Exibit 2 potted up.



Due to the never ending winter, I have converted an old 2 sq foot vivarium to house my Cephs until the jetstream gets back from its extended holiday down south. Light is provided by a 35w Lotus soft light cfl bulb, I have a daylight version, bust I think I will stick with the soft light for the moment as I dont want to lull them into a false sense that the sun may actually make an appearence this summer.
I also have uvb reptile bulb rigged up for a couple of hours a day, not sure of any growth benefits from it, but it certainly helps keep any powdery mildew at bay. I will post some pics soon, thanks for reading.

Mark