I always had tons of trouble with Cephalotus until I switched over to 1 part peat to 3 parts sand and cut way back on water. They grow very well for me that way.
I think it can be really hard to cut back on watering after we’ve all gotten so used to over watering all the other carnivores! It’s such a hard thing to purposely dry plants out but when you start seeing how happy they are, it really is rewarding!
@@California_Carnivores I let my Nepenthes dry out a lot more than most people do as well. Keeps me sane not having to spend so much time watering and a lot of the plants seem to appreciate it too.
Yep ive killed heaps with overwatering then i saw a photo with them covered in water and from then on ive poured water over the top of them just a glass but sit it on a sink to totally drain and they have never looked better i don't sit them in water and i do the same with heliamphoras
Cephalotus has been on my wishlist for a while now but I’ve been too intimidated to actually buy one. This guide definitely gives me more confidence I can succeed with them.
Over the years, I got all my Ceph's from Phil Mann, Allan Lowrie and Fred Howell, but sadly they are no longer with us. Every Ceph I grew always died despite taking great lengths to mother them. This video has given me inspiration to try again. Thank you.
Definitely one of the best all around guides to growing cephs. I have always thought when the traps closed it meant they need more water. Knowing that it could also be too much water is really helpful. I started watering them more often because of the closed lids, but I'm going to let them dry completely out now and take a little break from water. Great tips and an awesome video, thank you!!
Excellent coverage on these! I grow mine just about the same way, and they're doing great. For smaller pitchers, I suggest trying shrimp meal based Betta fish food. Similar price to osmocote, but significantly smaller, so persnickety people can tweezer 1-3 into incredibly young pitchers without worrying about burn/dieback. I'll even do this with newly opened pitchers on larger plants, and save heavier meals towards the end of the pitcher's life. Experimenting with larger carnivorous fish food for larger meals currently, and seeing some promise :)
Think this is probably the best all round instruction book video I’ve seen on growing plants. As a horticulturalist of forty odd years and now a plant health inspector I’ve read a few books and seen a few vids on growing. For the hobby grower this one takes some beating. I’ve a few carnivorous plants already but you’ve inspired me to get more. Thanks. My wife’s gonna love it 🙄🤣
A quick note Damon. Cephalotus are self fertile, you can produce seed with only one plant, therefore you don't need more than one clone to get seeds. The trick with these flowers is that they are protandrous, meaning the pollen matures before the stigmas mature. So you can waste pollen if you try pollinating flowers as soon as the pollen is ready, because the stigmas aren't ready to be pollinated. The stigmas are ready for pollination when the 'bundle of stigmas' (not sure what this is called) in the centre of the flower opens. Now get the pollen from a newly opened flower and pollinate!! This is the best Cephalotus guide video anywhere, great work. I think the large, tall pots provide a greater margin of error for watering, sunlight etc., they are a must.
@@California_Carnivores That's great, thanks for the reply ☺ I think the delayed maturity of the stigmas is what causes a lot of trouble when people try to fertilise their own plants. I hope all your plants are growing well
Spectacular Cephalotus ^^ Thank you for your excellent video! I just got my first Cephalotus (and my first Darlingtonia) recently, and they’re doing pretty well out on a hot, sunny balcony here in Denmark. I check the soil temperature every day on my Darlingtonia and the water evaporating off from the tray really keeps it nice and cool. The Cephalotus gets a little water daily, the soil is only slightly moist in the evening before the cool night temperatures. Not looking forward to peeling apart all the little folds in the plant to nip aphids and such off of it when I move them inside for the winter in a couple of months, but at least only the Cephalotus has to come inside.
I love carnivore plants because they look alive, like organs or some stuff like that. They look so awesome. For this particular plant i love the ones pink and white the colours are just so lively.
Thanks for video. Very informative. My cephalotus have a lot of leaves and just few small pitchers. But now I think I am over watering it and not giving enough fertilizer. I really hope I can save it. If not ,I will give another shot. Really love this unusual plant
Thank you for the excellent tutelage, very complete. I, too share your love of Cephalotus, though not your awesome success...a few of your tips will definitely help.
Great video as always! But I was really hoping to see how you repot your Cephs. Will you do a follow up video about repotting? When to do it like at what size, ratio of pot size to go up, and suggestions for soil mix (like for more humid conditions vs dry conditions).
We usually only repot at very specific times of year for plants like the Cephalotus and I (Daniela) just repotted most of these big plants this year, thats why the pots aren’t totally over flowing with pitchers yet! We probably won’t repot a lot of them this year but if we do, we’ll film it!
@@California_Carnivores awesome!!! Thanks! I have a small 3 pitcher plant with the last 2 pitchers 2-3 times the size of the original pitcher with more coming. I wanna move him into a bigger pot.
Hoo wee!!! A couple of my Cephs are spilling over the sides of their pots now! I think it’s time to repot them. But I’m afraid!!! I hear how delicate their roots are. I just bought some agri-sand and I already have pumice and dozens of bags of your peat/perlite pro mix. Since the mix already has perlite in it do I add just a bit less sand or pumice? Your guide here says 2 parts peat, 2 part sand, and 1 part pumice.
I've almost killed my cepholotus several times and its still chugging along. Currently trying to help them recover my most recent failure there small but i at least have several growth points. I hope to repot this spring ill make sure to do some moss removal as well when i get the chance.
quick question - I wasn't entirely sure since you mentioned a spray bottle and a sprinkle - do you use the orchid fertilizer as a foliar spray or in your watering can when you water overhead?
Good informativ Video! My Cephalotus "German Giant" divided into two Plants this Year and the main Plant has made only one Pitcher in the End of Spring and after dividing not even "Normal" Leafs. I wonder why! The Second Cephalotus which is obviously the Baby from the Main Plant, I mean when you want to call it so has its first Pitcher in Production but until now almost the same. A couple normal Leafs and one Pitcher and thats it. I dont overwater it. I use Rainwater or Destillt Water. I put him outside when its not to hot in the Summer, so he gets Sun and Wind. Around the Ryzom i have some Sphagnum so its not overheating. I give it a Winter dormancy on a not to cold and bright Side in the House. I learned today that I have to fill the Pitchers with Water which I havent done until now. Maybe thats why the Pitchers dryed out very quickly. Maby it could be the wrong Soil because my Shop which is Green Jaws where I got it from uses like the Soil from Gardencenters here in Germany Peat, Quartz Sand an Perlite. Until now it works at least for Dionea, Drosera, Sarracenia, Pinguicula and even Nepenthes. I heared also that you shouldnt let them outside when the Temperature goes over 77.
I'm currently stalking your website for when you release more of your beautiful cultivars. At what humidity do you keep your cephs and would you give more humidity to young (prepitcher) plants? Thank you!
Our Cephalotus are grown in two different spots, one with 60% humidity and one with a more variable humidity. And people grow them successfully outdoors here in zone 9b which can have pretty mild humidity. It is a good idea to keep young plants in more water and a bit more humidity but they do love to rot so it’s a delicate balance of not too much water and humidity vs the temperature!
Sounds like a cactus soil would work great with them planted in a terra-cotta pot. All my plants are succulents and Staghorn Ferns and I hardly water them, so this works for my watering schedule and also help with my fly problem I have with my succulents!
@@California_Carnivores Thanks! One more question if i may: If I have my cephalotus under artificial light and quite cool during winter although never below 60f. Can I folliar/pitcher feed with a weak fertilizer all year around or should I stop during autumn/winter?
@@filipwesterlund3088 I would hold off in winter because that’s prime botrytis and powdery mildew time so you don’t want anything that can take hold of it!
Been doing this many years and have found that peat perlite or peat sand is the soil mix that works very well. Physically grabbing a handful of the soil on the cliff side at coalmine beach, you see and feel almost pure sand, looking like dirty sand from the peat or dirt that is mixed into it. With them growing on the cliff, you can see constant water drips telling you the water never stays, but always runs away from the plants roots.Tried the dried new zealand sphagnum, with darn near zero growth for over a year, just a terrible soil for these plants. I dont think i have seen such a complete thorough vid on these plants, very well done!! Biggest negative I have is when I repot, the plants top almost always dies off from disturbing the roots. Giving a few months, the growth comes back. For sand, look at home depot, they sell a 100 pound paper sack of pure silica sand for 12 to 15 bucks....
Repotting is always the most stressful! They have such interesting, branching roots and those brittle ones too (we always jokingly call them sticks and branches)! We often put the plant in water with a little superthrive as we’re potting them up, to give them a little boost
Good to know! I’ve been keeping mine in the little 2 inch pot it came in so I think I’m going to move it up to something bigger tonight and definitely let it dry out more, all the growth it originally had has died back, but there is some decent new growth coming in so I think I can still save it with some TLC
I grew Cephs in our lathouse at Cal State Fullerton. Cephs when old enough flowered in the spring. Since I had only one clone, from Joe Mazrimas as leaf cuttings, it took a while to get a flowering size plant. The flowers open. I think the stamens shed pollen first, then the stigmas become receptive much like Dionaea. This is protandry. Noting this, I pollinated the older flowers with pollen from the newer flowers. I did get seeds and some did germinate. I had a number of stalks every year and just left them. Think small insects pollinated them to the point where I had volunteers coming up in other pots. The colder period in the winter stimulates the flowering. Climate type is like SEUS or Sarracenia country.
Just checked the Köppen climate map again. Ceph country is a Csb climate like here in Cal. Good Mediterranean climate. The difference is the summers. Here dry, Sar country warm and wet. SE US is Caf like eastern Australia
When determining pollination, observe how the flowers and their parts, especially the anthers (male part) and the pistil and stigma (female part) behave. As flower opens, do anthers shed pollen first? State of female part? Differential maturation times avoids self pollination especially during the transition time between maturation of the 2 sexual parts where the two occur in the same flower. Stamens shed first before stigmas receptive are protandrous and the reverse are protogynous. If you have only one plant by using a shedding pollen flower as a source and pollination another flower on the same plant that is female ready and you get seed, then it is also self compatible. If no seed is produced over many attempts, self incompatible so a different individual from another seed is required. Two words can be used where both make and female parts are functional in the same flower. Venus fly traps and Ceps and most likely Sarracenia are protandrous, self compatible. Dorstenia gigas a succulent plant from Socotra is protogynous self incompatible. Plants that have separate plants of a single sex, like Nepenthes, cannot use this nomenclature.
Titan arum is protogynous self compatible proved by the Huntington around 1990 when they dissected out some stamens with part of the basal tissue and placed in an incubator to speed maturation so that by time the flower opened, they had pollen they could apply within hours of the inflorescence opening and reaching full stink. Seeds resulted!
Hey, I have one of your cephalotus - got it during the winter, it is doing fine- on my south facing screened back porch, right up against the screen. So - my question - I have juvenile pitchers - no big ones yet. Should I expect them soon? I haven’t fertilized, so will be doing that. I have sent a couple to the graveyard previously and want to get this right…
Great vid. I bought a cephalotus thinking it would be as easy to please as my venus fly trap and Sarracenia, but nope. Some of the smaller pitchers look to be yellowing. Too much water perhaps? I'm in the UK and the plant is in our conservatory. I'm going to try the sand and pumice mixture you suggest and hope it pulls through. 😢
I’ve had mine for 9 years or more. I’ve taken at least fifty separate plants off of it. They survived freezing, 105° weather larva infestation which I killed by watering with hydrogen peroxide. I have about a dozen right now and I always use whatever tap water is available at my current residence.
My Cephalotus is badass, i grow it Outdoors and where i live they take like -10⁰ Celsius in winter. I cultivate them in 100% peat, a really large pot and A LOT of Spaghnum moss. Because my pot is even higher than yours i have them sitting in like 5 centimeters of water 365 days a year. Interesting to see how many Things work :)
Here’s a link: www.superflybonsai.com/products/orchid-pro-liquid-orchid-fertilizer-7-8-6-npk?variant=31732648214626&cmp_id=6465321247&adg_id=102428764239&kwd=&device=m&gclid=Cj0KCQjw0oyYBhDGARIsAMZEuMs5QwDaf8ko-JS7GyxpZwSjsnzUJTO-9D4FHrLFaPCjK5xIWT4MhCkaAiMoEALw_wcB
I keep my property looking like a golf course, deep green striped lawn, a good 5 acres. Doing so I have an arsenal of fungicides I rotate through. I use a product called Eagle 20 EW on the turf that is labeled for use on over over 200 ornamental plants/trees. It is a systemic and have used it on the cephs over the years and I never have any fungal issues.
I am getting new leaves which are yellow and a few of the newish pitchers went from green to yellow. On one side of the plant there is a large pitcher (red) and some green leaves, which look ok. I keep them in the window for the daylight. Just not sure whats going on as one side of the plant looks fine. Thank you so much for the response. @@California_Carnivores
Really enjoyed this how-to video. As you may know Nepenthes grow very well in Hawaii. But, I am considering growing a Cephalotus as well. Any suggested cultivars?
Almost all of the Cephalotus clones grow the same way but I would recommend trying out the “Diflora Giant” as it’s a fun new one and we’re not sure how big the pitchers will get!
You guys use the black gold peat moss bales for these plants? Seems I've had biggest problems growing plants having garbage peat moss that made the plants look pale with really dull color
I think it's easier than heliamphora. I live in zone 7, it's now Fall. Gets down to around 40 at night, 60s during the day. I just leave it outside. Leaves are mostly red, growing new pitchers. I love it! I think it's less finicky about humidity and direct sunlight than heliamphora, in my experience, but definitely more particular than sarracenia, Venus fly traps. It's been raining 3 days then 4 days sunny in cycles per week.
You guys growing them in the peat that's labeled black gold, pretty expensive compared to others. I've been using emerald Iii professional bales for years.
Any tips on sourcing a couple of these..I'm interested in some of those 4 in pot size ones. Not seeing any on the site currently. Any trusted sellers i could look for on Ebay? Thanks for your time!
We sell small Cephalotus on our website! www.californiacarnivores.com And if you’re asking about the pots themselves, we get them from Greenhouse Megastore!
They can take pretty aggressive sun, I have grown them outdoors in our area year round and our summers are 80-110. The pitchers will be significantly smaller and redder than if you were to grow them indoors. It’s a rougher existence for them outside. And you’ll need to really be good about watering in that environment.
We have tons potted up and they’re just settling into their pots! They’ll be available in a month or so. We have some fun cultivars like “Daniela”, “Norma” and “Agnes” that haven’t been available in a while too!
I’ve just joined a group on Facebook called Australian carnivorous plants buy swap and sell. I noticed a couple of posts with Cephalotus seed for sale, I think it sells out pretty quickly though.
I got a cephalotus and there are multiple crowns growing on little stems and some growing on top of the dirt what do I do. Do I take it out of the pot and separate them?
I knew I was overwatering mine, but just realized that is why mine suddenly lost it's pitchers, I thought it was frost but now realize it was too wet in the cold.
I would consider putting up a 30% shade cloth over the plants. They can take the heat and sun, but to look their absolute best, a little protection will make all the difference. Without any shade cloth, you can grow them but you’ll want to water more frequently to offset the heat. And the pitchers are likely to be smaller and more compact from the intensity of the sun.
My cephalotus will not grow traps. It only has noncarniverous leaves. I'm going to move them under stronger lights. Do you think that will solve the problem or should I try something else?
@@carnivorousplants5217 I hope so. I had them next to my nepenthes which are pitchering wonderfully, so the light wasn't 'low' If this doesn't work, I'm out of ideas. I'll just look on the bright side: at least they're not dead
Yes, I would transition them to more light over a day or two and you should see them start to grow traps. And mist them with the orchid fertilizer to give them a boost. They like a bit more light than Nepenthes; so it could be the perfect light for your Nepenthes and just not quite enough for your Cephalotus
Hello thanks for awnsering my last question on more thing on feeding orchid fertlizer thru the roots should u sprinkle that on top or let that orchid fertlizer go thru the water under the plant for it to soak up I just don't no how strong it is I bought the dyno grow but I just don't qant to burn my plant up he never said about how much to use on a plant like ml? Or just a few drops? Js wondering
We do a heavy foliar feed with a watering can to sprinkle it in. Some goes through the soil but it’s mainly a heavy foliar feed. We use 1/8 teaspoon per gallon of water
Thanks for responding confuses me in the video because he Says he feeds thru the roots n the pitchers so just a little confused on that. I have been using it for the past few weeks sprinkling it in the soil got me worried now because cus I thpt he said he was watering the soil with the orchid pro but I'll start foliar feeding it from now on.
Also I had one more question I been using bloodworm fish food in my pitchers and recently with a czech giant it started wilting my pitchers on 3 of them maybe they were just at the end of the life? Or should I be using mealworms instead 🤔 i not8ced also if I make a water bottle full of bloodworms mixed with water it makes some kinda gas it produces n the eye dropper part of it blows up like it's creating some kinda gas I wondered is it safe to even feed freeze dried blood worms now?? 🪱
So if I want to pollinate a ceph I need 2 different clones genetically? 2 grown cuttings from the same plant won't work? Does plant sex play a role, like do I need the pollen from a male plant to go into a female plant? Or as long as I flower out 2 different genetics I'm good to go no matter the sex?
Any one grow cephs outside? Any tips for watering when I live somewhere really warm? I’m scared if I only top water it will dry out to much during the day but I’m also scared if I leave them in a tray that they rot… I’m getting mine sometime next week so
Is it really humid where you live as well or just a dry heat? They can be grown outdoors in mild climates, we’re in zone 9b and I’ve grown them outdoors here
@@nielsmit6482 so we have a Mediterranean climate, hot and dry in summer, cool and wet in winter. We don’t get many freezes but we do have very high heat. And they can be grown outside here but, honestly they look better grown under lights or in a greenhouse. Where you are, you’ll have to worry about humidity. If your humidity is high you’ll want to let the water in the trays dry out between watering. You can use the tray method in summer but I would avoid it the rest of the year, and water overhead. It’s always best to dry these plants out rather than over water them. Also, remove any brown leaves immediately to remove pathways for rot. You may also want to grow them under 30% shade cloth
I bought a cephalotus from you guys over a year ago and it’s doing amazing! Thank you for this video! I found it to be easy to grow. Also confused on why people are so scared of growing one. Also my favorite carnivorous plant 😁
Sir, I bought seeds, for germinating Fertilizer free cocopeat+ sand pieces cover it with water and do we keep inside the fridge? This is from India , Vizianagaram, Andhrapradesh. Please give written guidance. Even for you tube also need description with English titles.
HI, I LIVE IN EASTERN AUSTRALIA. DO YOU SELL YOUR PLANTS INTERNATIONALLY AND POST TO AUSTRALIA?? ? I AM VERY MUCH INTERESTED IN STARTING TO GROW THESE PLANTS, CEPHALOTUS, FLY TRAPS, SUNDEWS, AND PINS. PLEASE DO LET ME KNOW IF YOU DO OR CAN YOU RECOMMEND A NURSERY IN AUSTRALIA. MANY BLESSINGS TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY AND STAFF, ANNETTE VOSS QUEENSLAND AUSTRALIA.
Unfortunately we cannot ship live plants outside the U.S. I’d recommend looking for a local Facebook group all about carnivorous plants and you’ll find people selling them there!
@@California_Carnivores they get a bunch of light I grow them under a t8 and they get and clamp light humidity is never below 60 and I mist em, they got new pitchers about to open so I'll see cause one opened and it's pretty open, I also read that some just don't keep em all the way open unless conditions are perfect, or if they're just being fussy..
@@gregbey9237 they can be a little fussy for sure, it may be that just a slight increase in humidity or day length would cause that. Or it could be the cultivars you have don’t like to have their lids open quite as far
I've noticed certain plants have a reputation for being very hard to grow expert ppants, therefore people are afraid to even try, therefore the supply to spread around is more limited and they become more expensive, which leads people to associate them with being hard to grow expert plants and then the cycle continues all over again I don't take care of plants, I take care of pots and aie and then the plants will take care of themselves.
I think people may be misidentifying the problem with how Cephalotus rot. And there is a balance with the overhead watering; in the winter when powdery mildew may be more prevalent, we don’t overhead water
I always had tons of trouble with Cephalotus until I switched over to 1 part peat to 3 parts sand and cut way back on water. They grow very well for me that way.
I think it can be really hard to cut back on watering after we’ve all gotten so used to over watering all the other carnivores! It’s such a hard thing to purposely dry plants out but when you start seeing how happy they are, it really is rewarding!
@@California_Carnivores I let my Nepenthes dry out a lot more than most people do as well. Keeps me sane not having to spend so much time watering and a lot of the plants seem to appreciate it too.
@@nimbulan2020 yo same I completely underwater my nepenthes lol, they're really tough plants when it comes to that..
@@gregbey9237 Have to be careful not to let them dry out too much, they'll drop all their pitchers very suddenly if they get too dry.
Yep ive killed heaps with overwatering then i saw a photo with them covered in water and from then on ive poured water over the top of them just a glass but sit it on a sink to totally drain and they have never looked better i don't sit them in water and i do the same with heliamphoras
Cephalotus has been on my wishlist for a while now but I’ve been too intimidated to actually buy one. This guide definitely gives me more confidence I can succeed with them.
I've been told it's like watering nepenthes (maybe a terrestrial species like tobaica or ampullaria)
Over the years, I got all my Ceph's from Phil Mann, Allan Lowrie and Fred Howell, but sadly they are no longer with us. Every Ceph I grew always died despite taking great lengths to mother them. This video has given me inspiration to try again. Thank you.
We were so sad when Allan passed last year. It’s the end of an era!
Definitely one of the best all around guides to growing cephs. I have always thought when the traps closed it meant they need more water. Knowing that it could also be too much water is really helpful. I started watering them more often because of the closed lids, but I'm going to let them dry completely out now and take a little break from water. Great tips and an awesome video, thank you!!
Excellent coverage on these! I grow mine just about the same way, and they're doing great.
For smaller pitchers, I suggest trying shrimp meal based Betta fish food. Similar price to osmocote, but significantly smaller, so persnickety people can tweezer 1-3 into incredibly young pitchers without worrying about burn/dieback.
I'll even do this with newly opened pitchers on larger plants, and save heavier meals towards the end of the pitcher's life. Experimenting with larger carnivorous fish food for larger meals currently, and seeing some promise :)
Thanks for the tip about the shrimp meal!
Think this is probably the best all round instruction book video I’ve seen on growing plants. As a horticulturalist of forty odd years and now a plant health inspector I’ve read a few books and seen a few vids on growing. For the hobby grower this one takes some beating. I’ve a few carnivorous plants already but you’ve inspired me to get more. Thanks. My wife’s gonna love it 🙄🤣
Thank you so much!
10:54 - “I’m surrounded by my resume.” I am shamelessly stealing this phrase.
Fabulous growing guide for this beautiful plant
Thank you SO much for this. I adore this plant and you’ve armed me with knowledge I feel it’s invaluable for when I get one. Best wishes 🌿
A quick note Damon. Cephalotus are self fertile, you can produce seed with only one plant, therefore you don't need more than one clone to get seeds. The trick with these flowers is that they are protandrous, meaning the pollen matures before the stigmas mature. So you can waste pollen if you try pollinating flowers as soon as the pollen is ready, because the stigmas aren't ready to be pollinated. The stigmas are ready for pollination when the 'bundle of stigmas' (not sure what this is called) in the centre of the flower opens. Now get the pollen from a newly opened flower and pollinate!!
This is the best Cephalotus guide video anywhere, great work. I think the large, tall pots provide a greater margin of error for watering, sunlight etc., they are a must.
Thank you so much! This was super helpful and made Damon’s day when I showed him the comment!!!
@@California_Carnivores That's great, thanks for the reply ☺ I think the delayed maturity of the stigmas is what causes a lot of trouble when people try to fertilise their own plants.
I hope all your plants are growing well
Spectacular Cephalotus ^^ Thank you for your excellent video! I just got my first Cephalotus (and my first Darlingtonia) recently, and they’re doing pretty well out on a hot, sunny balcony here in Denmark. I check the soil temperature every day on my Darlingtonia and the water evaporating off from the tray really keeps it nice and cool. The Cephalotus gets a little water daily, the soil is only slightly moist in the evening before the cool night temperatures.
Not looking forward to peeling apart all the little folds in the plant to nip aphids and such off of it when I move them inside for the winter in a couple of months, but at least only the Cephalotus has to come inside.
Keep us posted on what it’s like growing the Darlingtonia in Denmark! I love hearing about growing these plants all over the world!
I love carnivore plants because they look alive, like organs or some stuff like that. They look so awesome. For this particular plant i love the ones pink and white the colours are just so lively.
Thank you for this!! You guys are awesome :) haven’t tried a Ceph yet for fear of its reputation but look forward my first one!
Great information. Nice to listen to.
The best video of cephalotus that i've never seen before
Great information. Especially since so many carnivorous plants need to sit in distilled or rain water. Thanks,
You are 100% correct, 'you can never have enough Cephalotus' 10:25
Thanks for video. Very informative. My cephalotus have a lot of leaves and just few small pitchers. But now I think I am over watering it and not giving enough fertilizer. I really hope I can save it. If not ,I will give another shot. Really love this unusual plant
Thank you for the excellent tutelage, very complete. I, too share your love of Cephalotus, though not your awesome success...a few of your tips will definitely help.
Great video as always! But I was really hoping to see how you repot your Cephs. Will you do a follow up video about repotting? When to do it like at what size, ratio of pot size to go up, and suggestions for soil mix (like for more humid conditions vs dry conditions).
We usually only repot at very specific times of year for plants like the Cephalotus and I (Daniela) just repotted most of these big plants this year, thats why the pots aren’t totally over flowing with pitchers yet! We probably won’t repot a lot of them this year but if we do, we’ll film it!
@@California_Carnivores awesome!!! Thanks! I have a small 3 pitcher plant with the last 2 pitchers 2-3 times the size of the original pitcher with more coming. I wanna move him into a bigger pot.
Hoo wee!!! A couple of my Cephs are spilling over the sides of their pots now! I think it’s time to repot them. But I’m afraid!!! I hear how delicate their roots are. I just bought some agri-sand and I already have pumice and dozens of bags of your peat/perlite pro mix. Since the mix already has perlite in it do I add just a bit less sand or pumice? Your guide here says 2 parts peat, 2 part sand, and 1 part pumice.
@@pinecone.jeff.carnivoresHello friend, did you dare to do the transplant? How did it go? How are your plants?
I've almost killed my cepholotus several times and its still chugging along. Currently trying to help them recover my most recent failure there small but i at least have several growth points. I hope to repot this spring ill make sure to do some moss removal as well when i get the chance.
quick question - I wasn't entirely sure since you mentioned a spray bottle and a sprinkle - do you use the orchid fertilizer as a foliar spray or in your watering can when you water overhead?
We use the orchid fertilizer in a misting bottle so that it is a foliar spray and not watering it in with a watering can!
@@California_Carnivores thank you so much!!
Thank you so much for this awesome guide. Super useful and I'm sure I'll come back several times for reference.
Thank you for this. I grew this twice, and failure twice. I now have the guts to try it again.
Top covering of lava rock (especially black) looks amazing and prevents moss and algae
Interesting! We’ve always used sand but it doesn’t discourage moss long term
Good informativ Video! My Cephalotus "German Giant" divided into two Plants this Year and the main Plant has made only one Pitcher in the End of Spring and after dividing not even "Normal" Leafs. I wonder why! The Second Cephalotus which is obviously the Baby from the Main Plant, I mean when you want to call it so has its first Pitcher in Production but until now almost the same. A couple normal Leafs and one Pitcher and thats it. I dont overwater it. I use Rainwater or Destillt Water. I put him outside when its not to hot in the Summer, so he gets Sun and Wind. Around the Ryzom i have some Sphagnum so its not overheating. I give it a Winter dormancy on a not to cold and bright Side in the House. I learned today that I have to fill the Pitchers with Water which I havent done until now. Maybe thats why the Pitchers dryed out very quickly. Maby it could be the wrong Soil because my Shop which is Green Jaws where I got it from uses like the Soil from Gardencenters here in Germany Peat, Quartz Sand an Perlite. Until now it works at least for Dionea, Drosera, Sarracenia, Pinguicula and even Nepenthes. I heared also that you shouldnt let them outside when the Temperature goes over 77.
I'm currently stalking your website for when you release more of your beautiful cultivars. At what humidity do you keep your cephs and would you give more humidity to young (prepitcher) plants? Thank you!
Our Cephalotus are grown in two different spots, one with 60% humidity and one with a more variable humidity. And people grow them successfully outdoors here in zone 9b which can have pretty mild humidity. It is a good idea to keep young plants in more water and a bit more humidity but they do love to rot so it’s a delicate balance of not too much water and humidity vs the temperature!
I just got my 1st and found this video a great help!
Sounds like a cactus soil would work great with them planted in a terra-cotta pot. All my plants are succulents and Staghorn Ferns and I hardly water them, so this works for my watering schedule and also help with my fly problem I have with my succulents!
Thank you I just got one and I wanted more info on it
Great guide mate! Appreciated. What fungicide do tou use and how much to you apply? I have never used fungicides before.
I think you mention it in the video but I couldn't hear because my english is poor
Thank you! We alternate between Eagle and Medallion
@@California_Carnivores Thanks! One more question if i may: If I have my cephalotus under artificial light and quite cool during winter although never below 60f. Can I folliar/pitcher feed with a weak fertilizer all year around or should I stop during autumn/winter?
@@filipwesterlund3088 I would hold off in winter because that’s prime botrytis and powdery mildew time so you don’t want anything that can take hold of it!
awesome info thank you sir
awesome collection!
Great job Damon!
Been doing this many years and have found that peat perlite or peat sand is the soil mix that works very well. Physically grabbing a handful of the soil on the cliff side at coalmine beach, you see and feel almost pure sand, looking like dirty sand from the peat or dirt that is mixed into it. With them growing on the cliff, you can see constant water drips telling you the water never stays, but always runs away from the plants roots.Tried the dried new zealand sphagnum, with darn near zero growth for over a year, just a terrible soil for these plants. I dont think i have seen such a complete thorough vid on these plants, very well done!! Biggest negative I have is when I repot, the plants top almost always dies off from disturbing the roots. Giving a few months, the growth comes back. For sand, look at home depot, they sell a 100 pound paper sack of pure silica sand for 12 to 15 bucks....
Repotting is always the most stressful! They have such interesting, branching roots and those brittle ones too (we always jokingly call them sticks and branches)! We often put the plant in water with a little superthrive as we’re potting them up, to give them a little boost
Good to know! I’ve been keeping mine in the little 2 inch pot it came in so I think I’m going to move it up to something bigger tonight and definitely let it dry out more, all the growth it originally had has died back, but there is some decent new growth coming in so I think I can still save it with some TLC
Definitely want one. My Nepenthes are growing extremely well. Just nervous about caring for it
Do you sell cephalotus? I didn’t see any on your store or in your store. Appreciate your reply and thanks for all the info! Fantastic!
We’ll be restocking soon! In the next 3-6 weeks 😄
I grew Cephs in our lathouse at Cal State Fullerton. Cephs when old enough flowered in the spring. Since I had only one clone, from Joe Mazrimas as leaf cuttings, it took a while to get a flowering size plant.
The flowers open. I think the stamens shed pollen first, then the stigmas become receptive much like Dionaea. This is protandry. Noting this, I pollinated the older flowers with pollen from the newer flowers. I did get seeds and some did germinate. I had a number of stalks every year and just left them. Think small insects pollinated them to the point where I had volunteers coming up in other pots. The colder period in the winter stimulates the flowering. Climate type is like SEUS or Sarracenia country.
Just checked the Köppen climate map again. Ceph country is a Csb climate like here in Cal. Good Mediterranean climate. The difference is the summers. Here dry, Sar country warm and wet. SE US is Caf like eastern Australia
When determining pollination, observe how the flowers and their parts, especially the anthers (male part) and the pistil and stigma (female part) behave. As flower opens, do anthers shed pollen first? State of female part? Differential maturation times avoids self pollination especially during the transition time between maturation of the 2 sexual parts where the two occur in the same flower.
Stamens shed first before stigmas receptive are protandrous and the reverse are protogynous. If you have only one plant by using a shedding pollen flower as a source and pollination another flower on the same plant that is female ready and you get seed, then it is also self compatible. If no seed is produced over many attempts, self incompatible so a different individual from another seed is required. Two words can be used where both make and female parts are functional in the same flower. Venus fly traps and Ceps and most likely Sarracenia are protandrous, self compatible. Dorstenia gigas a succulent plant from Socotra is protogynous self incompatible. Plants that have separate plants of a single sex, like Nepenthes, cannot use this nomenclature.
Titan arum is protogynous self compatible proved by the Huntington around 1990 when they dissected out some stamens with part of the basal tissue and placed in an incubator to speed maturation so that by time the flower opened, they had pollen they could apply within hours of the inflorescence opening and reaching full stink. Seeds resulted!
Hey, I have one of your cephalotus - got it during the winter, it is doing fine- on my south facing screened back porch, right up against the screen. So - my question - I have juvenile pitchers - no big ones yet. Should I expect them soon? I haven’t fertilized, so will be doing that. I have sent a couple to the graveyard previously and want to get this right…
They should make mature pitchers soon. I would start lightly fertilizing in spring and that will help them to make those larger pitchers!
Great vid. I bought a cephalotus thinking it would be as easy to please as my venus fly trap and Sarracenia, but nope. Some of the smaller pitchers look to be yellowing. Too much water perhaps? I'm in the UK and the plant is in our conservatory. I'm going to try the sand and pumice mixture you suggest and hope it pulls through. 😢
They can be tricky but surprisingly tough! Even if it dies back hard, don’t give up because sometimes they’ll regrow from the roots really shockingly!
I’ve had mine for 9 years or more. I’ve taken at least fifty separate plants off of it. They survived freezing, 105° weather larva infestation which I killed by watering with hydrogen peroxide. I have about a dozen right now and I always use whatever tap water is available at my current residence.
My Cephalotus is badass, i grow it Outdoors and where i live they take like -10⁰ Celsius in winter. I cultivate them in 100% peat, a really large pot and A LOT of Spaghnum moss.
Because my pot is even higher than yours i have them sitting in like 5 centimeters of water 365 days a year. Interesting to see how many Things work :)
Hello. That moss that you said to take away, could you dry it and use it as peat moss? I know that it would take up a lot of moss.
Unfortunately it isn’t the same kind of moss
Hey what was the fertilizer for the roots called?? I seen a orchid pro I just didn't want to get the wrong one n it be to strong thanks
Here’s a link:
www.superflybonsai.com/products/orchid-pro-liquid-orchid-fertilizer-7-8-6-npk?variant=31732648214626&cmp_id=6465321247&adg_id=102428764239&kwd=&device=m&gclid=Cj0KCQjw0oyYBhDGARIsAMZEuMs5QwDaf8ko-JS7GyxpZwSjsnzUJTO-9D4FHrLFaPCjK5xIWT4MhCkaAiMoEALw_wcB
what brand of sand do you use? Ive been using pure silica sand you get in the 100 lbs paper sacks at HD.
We use a horticultural sand we get from a local nursery but the sand you’re using works well!
I keep my property looking like a golf course, deep green striped lawn, a good 5 acres. Doing so I have an arsenal of fungicides I rotate through. I use a product called Eagle 20 EW on the turf that is labeled for use on over over 200 ornamental plants/trees. It is a systemic and have used it on the cephs over the years and I never have any fungal issues.
We use that as well! Quite a good product!
Great info. Can do a video on cephalotus seeds, when they appear and how to sow them.
I’ll add that to the list!
Hello from N.Y. My small Cephalotus pitchers are turning yellow. What am I doing Wrong?
Are they all turning yellow or is it just one or two?
I am getting new leaves which are yellow and a few of the newish pitchers went from green to yellow. On one side of the plant there is a large pitcher (red) and some green leaves, which look ok. I keep them in the window for the daylight. Just not sure whats going on as one side of the plant looks fine. Thank you so much for the response. @@California_Carnivores
@@lorrainelicurse7392 they may need more light or more even light. I’d try increasing light slowly!
Thank you!
@@California_Carnivores
Really enjoyed this how-to video. As you may know Nepenthes grow very well in Hawaii. But, I am considering growing a Cephalotus as well. Any suggested cultivars?
Almost all of the Cephalotus clones grow the same way but I would recommend trying out the “Diflora Giant” as it’s a fun new one and we’re not sure how big the pitchers will get!
You guys use the black gold peat moss bales for these plants? Seems I've had biggest problems growing plants having garbage peat moss that made the plants look pale with really dull color
We’ve used a lot of different kinds of peat moss over the years but we like Sunshine and Black Gold the best
thank you much@@California_Carnivores
I think it's easier than heliamphora. I live in zone 7, it's now Fall. Gets down to around 40 at night, 60s during the day. I just leave it outside. Leaves are mostly red, growing new pitchers. I love it! I think it's less finicky about humidity and direct sunlight than heliamphora, in my experience, but definitely more particular than sarracenia, Venus fly traps. It's been raining 3 days then 4 days sunny in cycles per week.
Agreed! I think Heliamphora are some of the most picky plants to grow!
How does the moss grow do u plant it?
The moss just naturally grows in our pots, it spread by spores throughout the nursery
Great vid D C Hello from Alberta
Hi 😄
You guys growing them in the peat that's labeled black gold, pretty expensive compared to others. I've been using emerald Iii professional bales for years.
Any tips on sourcing a couple of these..I'm interested in some of those 4 in pot size ones. Not seeing any on the site currently. Any trusted sellers i could look for on Ebay? Thanks for your time!
We sell small Cephalotus on our website! www.californiacarnivores.com And if you’re asking about the pots themselves, we get them from Greenhouse Megastore!
Would you recommend having a cepholotus in full DTLA sun during summer? The temperature usually goes about 90-105 degrees.
They can take pretty aggressive sun, I have grown them outdoors in our area year round and our summers are 80-110. The pitchers will be significantly smaller and redder than if you were to grow them indoors. It’s a rougher existence for them outside. And you’ll need to really be good about watering in that environment.
Knock on wood…I haven’t had any problems growing them. This video was very informative though…thank you!
Please! We need a video on Heliamphora!
When are you getting more cephalotus on your website?
We have tons potted up and they’re just settling into their pots! They’ll be available in a month or so. We have some fun cultivars like “Daniela”, “Norma” and “Agnes” that haven’t been available in a while too!
How do I get some seed from you guys? It's imposable to get seed here in Australia.
Unfortunately we don’t sell Cephalotus seed but we may in future
@@California_Carnivores :) Literally no one has seeds or plants for sale in Australia, it's native home :(
I’ve just joined a group on Facebook called Australian carnivorous plants buy swap and sell. I noticed a couple of posts with Cephalotus seed for sale, I think it sells out pretty quickly though.
@@Oldtanktapper Awesome, thanks heaps 😎👍
Hi, where do you get those watering cans with the long neck?
They are Dramm watering cans and can be found at a lot of hardware and gardening stores!
Have you ever tried that orchid mix to water your drosera? I’m going to try it.
We have tried it and do like the results!
Hooray thank you so much for your feedback you guys are awesome!
So many ceph and yet I never see any listed on the website
They sell out really quickly every time I add them to inventory!
Do you guys have any of these for sale??? They look amazing!
We’ll have more very soon!
I got a cephalotus and there are multiple crowns growing on little stems and some growing on top of the dirt what do I do. Do I take it out of the pot and separate them?
They like to grow quite clumpy so I would let them grow as they are and do not repot
I knew I was overwatering mine, but just realized that is why mine suddenly lost it's pitchers, I thought it was frost but now realize it was too wet in the cold.
I’m glad this was helpful for you!
Any modifications for hot summer/semi-arid climates with summers at 60-65 F at night and 87-94 F during the day? Full sun only available 😅
I would consider putting up a 30% shade cloth over the plants. They can take the heat and sun, but to look their absolute best, a little protection will make all the difference. Without any shade cloth, you can grow them but you’ll want to water more frequently to offset the heat. And the pitchers are likely to be smaller and more compact from the intensity of the sun.
I've finally gotten the hang of Nepenthes and Drosera pretty well but I've never gotten the hang of Cephs.
My cephalotus will not grow traps. It only has noncarniverous leaves. I'm going to move them under stronger lights. Do you think that will solve the problem or should I try something else?
That will probably work
@@carnivorousplants5217 I hope so. I had them next to my nepenthes which are pitchering wonderfully, so the light wasn't 'low' If this doesn't work, I'm out of ideas. I'll just look on the bright side: at least they're not dead
Yes, I would transition them to more light over a day or two and you should see them start to grow traps. And mist them with the orchid fertilizer to give them a boost. They like a bit more light than Nepenthes; so it could be the perfect light for your Nepenthes and just not quite enough for your Cephalotus
Hello thanks for awnsering my last question on more thing on feeding orchid fertlizer thru the roots should u sprinkle that on top or let that orchid fertlizer go thru the water under the plant for it to soak up I just don't no how strong it is I bought the dyno grow but I just don't qant to burn my plant up he never said about how much to use on a plant like ml? Or just a few drops? Js wondering
We do a heavy foliar feed with a watering can to sprinkle it in. Some goes through the soil but it’s mainly a heavy foliar feed. We use 1/8 teaspoon per gallon of water
Thanks for responding confuses me in the video because he Says he feeds thru the roots n the pitchers so just a little confused on that. I have been using it for the past few weeks sprinkling it in the soil got me worried now because cus I thpt he said he was watering the soil with the orchid pro but I'll start foliar feeding it from now on.
Also I had one more question I been using bloodworm fish food in my pitchers and recently with a czech giant it started wilting my pitchers on 3 of them maybe they were just at the end of the life? Or should I be using mealworms instead 🤔 i not8ced also if I make a water bottle full of bloodworms mixed with water it makes some kinda gas it produces n the eye dropper part of it blows up like it's creating some kinda gas I wondered is it safe to even feed freeze dried blood worms now?? 🪱
@@matthewreynolds7336 it may be that you overloaded the pitcher with too much food, using a fertilizer may be easier on the plant
Why are they not for sale in the online page? I need to get one , so bad…
We will have more available shortly! 😊
So if I want to pollinate a ceph I need 2 different clones genetically? 2 grown cuttings from the same plant won't work? Does plant sex play a role, like do I need the pollen from a male plant to go into a female plant? Or as long as I flower out 2 different genetics I'm good to go no matter the sex?
It’s best to use two separate plants to make seeds. As long as you have two flowering, genetically different plants, you can make seed!
@@California_Carnivores Thank you!
What was the name of those pellets that you used to feed your Cephelotus ? And where can I get them? Do you sell them?
We use osmocote 14-14-14 pellets. We have them on our website and you can find them at most hardware stores as well!
does CC sell location data cephalotus plants such as coal mine beach?
We don’t at the moment but we may next year!
I have a bonsai fertilizer 7-8-6 also
What sort of fungicide?
One of our new favorites is Medallion
@@California_Carnivores is it a systemic?
Any one grow cephs outside? Any tips for watering when I live somewhere really warm? I’m scared if I only top water it will dry out to much during the day but I’m also scared if I leave them in a tray that they rot… I’m getting mine sometime next week so
Is it really humid where you live as well or just a dry heat? They can be grown outdoors in mild climates, we’re in zone 9b and I’ve grown them outdoors here
@@California_CarnivoresGoogle says its sub tropical, it’s here in Pretoria, South Africa.
@@nielsmit6482 so we have a Mediterranean climate, hot and dry in summer, cool and wet in winter. We don’t get many freezes but we do have very high heat. And they can be grown outside here but, honestly they look better grown under lights or in a greenhouse. Where you are, you’ll have to worry about humidity. If your humidity is high you’ll want to let the water in the trays dry out between watering. You can use the tray method in summer but I would avoid it the rest of the year, and water overhead. It’s always best to dry these plants out rather than over water them. Also, remove any brown leaves immediately to remove pathways for rot. You may also want to grow them under 30% shade cloth
@@California_Carnivoresgreat!! Thanks
What king of moss is that? it looks too short to be sphagnum, but i might be wrong :)))
We have some little star misses that grow happily in our pots
I bought a cephalotus from you guys over a year ago and it’s doing amazing!
Thank you for this video!
I found it to be easy to grow.
Also confused on why people are so scared of growing one.
Also my favorite carnivorous plant 😁
I’m so glad you’re loving it!
It’s wild to think that unrelated plant lineages could independently develop into pitcher plants. The poster plants for convergent evolution!
Sir, I bought seeds, for germinating
Fertilizer free cocopeat+ sand pieces cover it with water and do we keep inside the fridge? This is from India , Vizianagaram, Andhrapradesh. Please give written guidance. Even for you tube also need description with English titles.
www.carnivorousplants.org/grow/guides/Cephalotus
Check out this guide from the International Carnivorous Plant Society!
Me: Why do they look like they want to hurt me?
“Australian Pitcher Plant”
Me: Oh…
HI, I LIVE IN EASTERN AUSTRALIA. DO YOU SELL YOUR PLANTS INTERNATIONALLY AND POST TO AUSTRALIA?? ? I AM VERY MUCH INTERESTED IN STARTING TO GROW THESE PLANTS, CEPHALOTUS, FLY TRAPS, SUNDEWS, AND PINS. PLEASE DO LET ME KNOW IF YOU DO OR CAN YOU RECOMMEND A NURSERY IN AUSTRALIA. MANY BLESSINGS TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY AND STAFF, ANNETTE VOSS QUEENSLAND AUSTRALIA.
Unfortunately we cannot ship live plants outside the U.S. I’d recommend looking for a local Facebook group all about carnivorous plants and you’ll find people selling them there!
My cephs never have all they're lids as open as yours...
It could be a moisture or light related
@@California_Carnivores they get a bunch of light I grow them under a t8 and they get and clamp light humidity is never below 60 and I mist em, they got new pitchers about to open so I'll see cause one opened and it's pretty open, I also read that some just don't keep em all the way open unless conditions are perfect, or if they're just being fussy..
@@gregbey9237 they can be a little fussy for sure, it may be that just a slight increase in humidity or day length would cause that. Or it could be the cultivars you have don’t like to have their lids open quite as far
Its a Australian plant, it wont grow in Fahrenheit temperatures, it only knows Celcius 🤠
😂
They are so cool looking; unfortunately, I live to far inland to give them the proper environment.
I've noticed certain plants have a reputation for being very hard to grow expert ppants, therefore people are afraid to even try, therefore the supply to spread around is more limited and they become more expensive, which leads people to associate them with being hard to grow expert plants and then the cycle continues all over again
I don't take care of plants, I take care of pots and aie and then the plants will take care of themselves.
These are especially tricky
I should know, We are in Australia
They definitely are a Level Up from a cape sundew!
@@California_Carnivores definitely
do you have a video of transplanting cephalotus,
@@CarnivorousPlantsSydney not yet, we don’t transplant them this time of year but when we do, we’ll film it
I was wondering where to purchase real cephalotus seeds? I have bought so many duds and buying a plant is out of my budget!
I’m not sure where to get Cephalotus seeds, we don’t sell any and I’m not sure if the ICPS does but they are a reputable source
You water overhead so CROWN rot is not a problem at all? "They say" crown rot is a big ceph killer. I always bottom water mine for fear of crown rot.
I think people may be misidentifying the problem with how Cephalotus rot. And there is a balance with the overhead watering; in the winter when powdery mildew may be more prevalent, we don’t overhead water