# Ceph care?



## buddhistsoldier88 (Nov 29, 2007)

Anybody know how to care for a cephalotus? Any info would be great. For those that dont know, its an Austrailian pitcher plant. REALLY tiny! but weird and cool!


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## Andrew (Nov 30, 2007)

Actually, cephalotus turns into a fairly decent sized plant. Not huge, but definately not tiny. Basically keep them like sarracenia, they just aren't as cold tolerant.


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## buddhistsoldier88 (Dec 1, 2007)

Andrew said:


> Actually, cephalotus turns into a fairly decent sized plant. Not huge, but definately not tiny. Basically keep them like sarracenia, they just aren't as cold tolerant.


Lol about that... all my sars died and idk why...seem pretty dry but i watered them quite often keeping their soil mosit and keeping the dish semi full... when i picked up the plant it was dry which is weird to me...what happened?


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## Andrew (Dec 1, 2007)

I'm not sure what you're trying to say...even though you watered the plant a lot, the soil still remained dry? In that case, I would try a bigger pot.

Where were you keeping the plant?


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## buddhistsoldier88 (Dec 1, 2007)

Andrew said:


> I'm not sure what you're trying to say...even though you watered the plant a lot, the soil still remained dry? In that case, I would try a bigger pot. Where were you keeping the plant?


No, what i meant was that the plant was dry and i kept it in a huge pot. I watered often..actually sprayed... As for keeping the plant i tried to keep it in a window sill but it got too cold and the sun hardly shined so i tried a lightbulb...


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## Andrew (Dec 1, 2007)

Ok, now I'm starting to understand. You seem pretty new to this whole thing, so I'll cover the basics.

There are three basic needs of sarracenia, or any carnivorous plant for that matter. They are Light, Water, and Soil.

Light - Sarracenia are outdoor plants, and must be treated as such. They need full sun outdoors or in a greenhouse at least 6-8 hours a day, and can tolerate temperatures excess of 100F.

Water - It would be good to check the specifics of your local water company. I use water from my refrigerator, but this doesn't work with everyone. You must use water with as few minerals or chemicals as possible. Since it is winter, you might be able to catch some rainwater and bottle it up for later use. Otherwise, buy distilled water. Even bottled spring water has stuff added to it that would be bad for your plants.

Soil - There are three main ingredients that people use, and they would be peat moss, perlite, and vermiculite. Personally, I don't use vermiculite much. About 1 part perlite to two parts peat moss would probably work fine. Never use potting soil, or anything with fertilizer in it.

Lastly, nearly all carnivorous plants require a cold dormancy(excluding nepenthes, and probably utricularia). During this period, they will appear to be dead. They still require watering, but not as much. Most sarracenia and venus fly traps are very tolerant of cold, even snow, but I think most reccommend to protect them from freezing wind.

I would really reccommend purchasing Sarracenia Northwest's "Secrets" e-book. I own it personally and it includes all the information you could need to get started in CP's.

http://cobraplant.com/index.php?main_page=...126fda1aa658a39


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## buddhistsoldier88 (Dec 1, 2007)

Andrew said:


> Ok, now I'm starting to understand. You seem pretty new to this whole thing, so I'll cover the basics.There are three basic needs of sarracenia, or any carnivorous plant for that matter. They are Light, Water, and Soil.
> 
> Light - Sarracenia are outdoor plants, and must be treated as such. They need full sun outdoors or in a greenhouse at least 6-8 hours a day, and can tolerate temperatures excess of 100F.
> 
> ...


I know the basics except watering...im afraid to get the roots to rot so i just sprayed...probably dehydration that killed them...


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## Andrew (Dec 1, 2007)

The roots aren't going to rot. Gotta keep the plant thoroughly watered.


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## bellerophon (Dec 1, 2007)

The tray method has always worked best for me


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## joossa (Dec 2, 2007)

I don't use the tray method. I find that it keeps the plants too wet. Instead, I just top water when the visible growing media (at the top of the pot) looks dry. I have never had to deal with any rot with Sarrs, only with VFTs.

Overall, Sarrs. are pretty much the most hardiest plants I have ever kept.


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## Andrew (Dec 2, 2007)

I don't use the tray method either, mainly because it gets so hot here in the summer and the water basically boils the roots of the plants. So I just water every 2-3 days, when the soil looks dry, like Joosa does. I have never had any problems with root rot, my VFT's grow right alongside my sarrs.


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## buddhistsoldier88 (Dec 2, 2007)

Andrew said:


> I don't use the tray method either, mainly because it gets so hot here in the summer and the water basically boils the roots of the plants. So I just water every 2-3 days, when the soil looks dry, like Joosa does. I have never had any problems with root rot, my VFT's grow right alongside my sarrs.


should i water my ceph like that?


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