10 replies to this topic

[mobile]

One of my small Cephalotus looked like it had died. A closer inspection of the sub-soil portion looked like there was hardly any roots either. I suspect that the growing medium was unsuitable, so rather than just give up on it I decided to repot it in a straight mix of Moorland Gold and perlite.

I repotted it a couple of weeks ago and this is how the plant looks now, with the adult pitchers shrivelled:



but on closer inspection, there's life :

[scottleroc]

I am glad he lives

I have a sick Ceph to. What strikes me as strange is at the beginning of each season my Ceph gets unhappy. During the winter it is really happy... how weird is that? Strange plants

[jimscott]

Nice save!

[Daniel G]

Nice! I'm surprised to see yet more Ceph pictures with plants in normal medium. I was expecting to see some sort of experiment somewhere!
Either way, well done!

[mobile]

Daniel G, on 12 June 2012 - 15:25 PM, said:

Nice! I'm surprised to see yet more Ceph pictures with plants in normal medium. I was expecting to see some sort of experiment somewhere!

Why do you think it started to die

[bodaciousbonsai]

warmer temps would be my guess. I put out my hummer,big boy,vigoruous, and germen giant, this summer here in new york, they took a crap real fast. I have them in a south facing east to west window now under air conditioning. there is a hell of improvement in both growth and coluration. Real warm temps and cephalotus do not get along at all.

[Marcus B]

bodaciousbonsai, on 20 August 2012 - 02:15 AM, said:

warmer temps would be my guess. I put out my hummer,big boy,vigoruous, and germen giant, this summer here in new york, they took a crap real fast. I have them in a south facing east to west window now under air conditioning. there is a hell of improvement in both growth and coluration. Real warm temps and cephalotus do not get along at all.

What do you call "Real warm temps"?  Mine have to cope with over 40^oC days, and even survived over 50^oC when I left the polyhouse closed on a warm day.  All lost was a couple of pitchers, but then I use big pots that don't heat up as quickly and sit them in water during summer.

[bodaciousbonsai]

we had a few days that were close to 100 degrees. that did them in. but like I said they are making a nice rebound

[Marcus B]

bodaciousbonsai, on 21 August 2012 - 05:37 AM, said:

we had a few days that were close to 100 degrees. that did them in. but like I said they are making a nice rebound

When it gets over 30^oC, I move my Cephs into deep water trays.  I use foam boxes and put upsided down seed trays in as shelves so I can have more water depth without the pots being too deep in it.  Keeping the roots cool that way over summer prevents problems in my experience.

I have just found that one plant that seems to have been too damp over winter and rotted is sending up new leaves, just when I thought the last signs of life were fading as the last pitcher is withering from the base of the stem up.  There is a tiny crown of leaves coming up from another growth point.

I had taken another growth point off as a cutting but it has since died without doing putting out leaves so I was sure I had lost it.

[numpty]

In my limited experience, it isn't just a matter of high temperatures killing off Cephs, though I suppose some clones might be more susceptible than others. I've had a Ceph for a few years now, and while it's true that it grows best in winter and spring, it's done okay in summer too. Ambient summer air temperatures here are usually in the mid-30s (meaning mid to high-40s under partial shade), dropping to a minimum of high-20s just before dawn. The plant did fine for two summers, but then shrivelled and vanished at the start of this summer. As others have pointed out, it's probably not so much the hot conditions that kill Cephalotus as its susceptibility to certain pathogens that live in the soil and thrive in those conditions. Sudden heat shock could also knock it back, but then that would go for other plants too.

Oh, and to emphasise Mobile's point, the "dead" Ceph has recently reappeared as a new, tiny growth point.

[Damien]

I've lost count how many times I've had that sinking feeling when a ceph. looks dead but in a few weeks they always start again - thank goodness !!