watering of Cephalotus in summer

[Menguy Gwenael]

Hello,

I need advice on a point : watering of Cephalotus in summer

In your origine biotope, Cephalotus receive annual rainfall exceeds 2000mm of raining. More, It would seem that overcast days with drizzle and dew at night are not uncommon in summer.

On this observation, I think it's a good idea to do the watering each evening by above for all my cephalotus in summer. What do you think ? Give me your feedback on this topic. Just i hope that my substrate is draining enough (with about 10% gravel).

Too, I would want use a mist maker during 10 minutes every day but i don't know when it's the best moment ? Perhaps, before the sunrise. What do you think?

Thank

[mobile]

Personally I wouldn't fuss over them with watering every day and using a mister. I would just stand them in a tray of water, allowing the level to diminish prior to adding more water. They are not particularly fussy over the growing substrate either. Mine have grown in media ranging from highly compacted peat/perlite to a very open mix consisting of mainly dried Sphagnum moss and I can't say that I've noticed much difference in the speed of growth. They really are quite an easy species, which many growers make sound difficult.

[gardenofeden]

I would not mist or water from the top as this will encourage fungal problems. don't forget that Europe is already much more humid than Australia...

[Marcus B]

I would not mist or water from the top as this will encourage fungal problems. don't forget that Europe is already much more humid than Australia...

With the unusually high humidity we experienced this year, fungal problems have been a big issue. Normally we have a lot of hot dry winds which means keeping them in trays of water works well. With low summer temperatures and humidity, I had to remove plants from trays and let them dry out.

In your origine biotope, Cephalotus receive annual rainfall exceeds 2000mm of raining. More, It would seem that overcast days with drizzle and dew at night are not uncommon in summer.

On this observation, I think it's a good idea to do the watering each evening by above for all my cephalotus in summer. What do you think ? Give me your feedback on this topic. Just i hope that my substrate is draining enough (with about 10% gravel).

Too, I would want use a mist maker during 10 minutes every day but i don't know when it's the best moment ? Perhaps, before the sunrise. What do you think?

So while there may be a bit of summer rain (heavy summer storms are not unusual), the air is normally dry enough to prevent fungal growth. Occasional misting will not simulate the normal conditions. Frequent misting will only simulate the unusual summer the we have just had in the eastern states that caused the first loss of a mature plant that I have had in many years . Perth, however, still had fairly dry, hot conditions.

[Swerfer]

Hi there,

I want to participate on this toppic and share my experience on keeping Cephalotus.

I have several Cephalotus standing on a window sill facing South. In mid afternoon Temperatures can reach 30 degrees Celsius or more in Summer. I have been waterig my Cephalotus from above for over a year. Without any sign of fungal infections. I water them in the form of spraying/misting the top substrate and let it drain from the bottom. I use a very aerated soil mix containing perlite, sand, charcoal and peat. A top dressing of life red Sphagnum. Red Sphagnum is ideal because of it’s slow growth, it won’t overgrow the Ceph pitchers. To keep the Sphagnum fresh it is nececery to spray every day. I have rule, if the Sphagnum is in good condition, the plant holding it is in good condition. I also find it good to spray from above (only after sundown) to cool the plant down for the evening. This imitates the origional climate, where they also prefer cool nights. My plant are all in good condition and have been for this for over a year now. My guess is that as long as you use an aerated soil, fungus infection will be minimal to none. There is however a downside to aerated soil, you have to water everyday or nearly every day. This can form a problem when going on a trip for several days.

Regards,

Youri

[Damien]

I grow mine in an unheated greenhouse all year round. I only stand them in water in the summer, the rest of the year I water only when the surface looks as though it is starting to dry out. I lost a few when I first started growing CP due to over watering but now I use this method they are really flourishing.

I give them an occasional spray if I happen to be using it for something else but it doesn't seem to make a difference in my experience.

[Alexis]

I've never had a problem just keeping them permanently sat in water throughout the growing season.

[Damien]

Everyone has different methods they swear by so I suppose the safest thing to do is find what works in your growing conditions and stick to it !!

Good luck.

[mobile]

I don't really have a single technique. I have some in water trays, some that I water the soil surface every few days and a small terrarium full of baby Cephalotus, which I spray the whole surface to saturate the peat whenever it starts to dry a little. I can't really say that any of these methods make a significant difference to the plants growth or health.

[maxxima]

I also have mine sitting in water. I had to resort to this because it receives about 7-8 sunlight every day and the substrate can't keep up with the temperature even though it's Charles Brewer's mix (sphagnum + perlite mainly). It has responded very well, making 3 new mature pitchers whereas before it had only 1.

I keep the water at about 3-4 cm though, nothing deep.

[mobile]

I also have mine sitting in water. I had to resort to this because it receives about 7-8 sunlight every day and the substrate can't keep up with the temperature even though it's Charles Brewer's mix (sphagnum + perlite mainly). It has responded very well, making 3 new mature pitchers whereas before it had only 1.

I keep the water at about 3-4 cm though, nothing deep.

A little word of caution, I find the Charles Brewer mix to be a bad choice when constantly sat in water. The dried Sphagnum seems to be susceptible to mildew, which can spread onto the Cephalotus pitchers. I notice that you have commented on my Cephalotus with loads of leaves thread, where I have commented about black mildew, well that plant is in a Charles Brewer mix. I'm not suggesting that you should repot, but keep an eye out for mildew.

[maxxima]

Ah ok, thanks for the heads up. I will definitely watch out.

[Marcus B]

A little word of caution, I find the Charles Brewer mix to be a bad choice when constantly sat in water. The dried Sphagnum seems to be susceptible to mildew, which can spread onto the Cephalotus pitchers. I notice that you have commented on my Cephalotus with loads of leaves thread, where I have commented about black mildew, well that plant is in a Charles Brewer mix. I'm not suggesting that you should repot, but keep an eye out for mildew.

It is always interesting when I read about the "Charles Brewer Mix", as from what Charles told me, it is not exactly what he now uses, and certain not what he orginally taught me (which is also not what now uses). I use live sphagnum in my main mix, with is otherwise similar to what is listed as Charle's mix. I don't have a problem with mouldy moss, just with it over growing the Cephs, so I harvest it for use in other pots.

In any case, water should be poured through the mix when possible, rather than just tray watering. The bigger pot the better it holds water, but I find that small pots sitting in shallow water in warm conditions is not a problem, as long humidity is not too high.

[maxxima]

It is always interesting when I read about the "Charles Brewer Mix", as from what Charles told me, it is not exactly what he now uses, and certain not what he orginally taught me (which is also not what now uses). I use live sphagnum in my main mix, with is otherwise similar to what is listed as Charle's mix. I don't have a problem with mouldy moss, just with it over growing the Cephs, so I harvest it for use in other pots.

Is there a way to learn what he's using right now ? I've been happy with his mix for exactly a year now, never had any problems. It worked particularly well in winter when I didn't water my plant for 2-3 weeks.

I use it for the %75 part of my pot; the top part is all live sphagnum.

[mobile]

It is always interesting when I read about the "Charles Brewer Mix", as from what Charles told me, it is not exactly what he now uses, and certain not what he orginally taught me (which is also not what now uses). I use live sphagnum in my main mix, with is otherwise similar to what is listed as Charle's mix. I don't have a problem with mouldy moss, just with it over growing the Cephs, so I harvest it for use in other pots.

In any case, water should be poured through the mix when possible, rather than just tray watering. The bigger pot the better it holds water, but I find that small pots sitting in shallow water in warm conditions is not a problem, as long humidity is not too high.

The Charles Brewer recipe that you find if you Google 'cephalotus charles brewer' calls for '45% dried Sphagnum moss'. I don't think that mold could survive on live Sphagnum moss, but it certainly can on dried if kept wet for extended periods, especially in cooler weather.

Personally, I now use tall pots (rose pots) with a mix consisting of peat, perlite and sharp sand in roughly equal quantities. Being tall pots means that they can be stood in a tray of water without the top getting too wet. I often partially fill the tray or saucer by pouring water from the top, through the mix.

[Marcus B]

The Charles Brewer recipe that you find if you Google 'cephalotus charles brewer' calls for '45% dried Sphagnum moss'. I don't think that mold could survive on live Sphagnum moss, but it certainly can on dried if kept wet for extended periods, especially in cooler weather.

Personally, I now use tall pots (rose pots) with a mix consisting of peat, perlite and sharp sand in roughly equal quantities. Being tall pots means that they can be stood in a tray of water without the top getting too wet. I often partially fill the tray or saucer by pouring water from the top, through the mix.

It seems that you and I have very similar practises for growing Cephs, even to the point that not all our plants are grown in the same way. I have a preference for tall pots, or low pots with lots of drainage and the plant mounded up surrounded by live sphagnum, but the pots mostly sand and gravel with a bit of peat in the middle. Some of my pots are just dressed with pea gravel and sand to hold down the perlite, without any sphagnum.

By the way, in the method of Ceph mix preparation the Charles taught me, back when he was still setting up, after mixing the ingrediants he said to leave them all in a bag laid flat in direct sunlight for several days. The idea being that it heats up sufficently to kill all organisms in the mix, thus stopping moulds from growing. However, it will not stop moulds spores from settling on mix afterwards, so it was probably a waste of time. He does not bother with that process these days.

Edited June 22, 2011 by Marcus B

[mobile]

Some of my pots are just dressed with pea gravel and sand to hold down the perlite, without any sphagnum.

That's interesting, as it means they are growing hydroponically. I have tried hydroponics on Cephalotus before, but not as passively as that.

[Marcus B]

That's interesting, as it means they are growing hydroponically. I have tried hydroponics on Cephalotus before, but not as passively as that.

There is still peat in the middle of the mix, it is just that the perlite tends to float up through it when watered from above, or in deep water during hot weather. The gravel keeps the perlite from doing so, and it looks better on top. Using the perlite makes the big pots a bit lighter to carry as compared to a pot full of gravel.

The mixture in my basket pots was inspired by some the the hydroponics discussions on this forum, as that is more open, but it is now mostly sphagnum. The moss grows out the side of the baskets, above the water line.