My two plants have never given be any problems since I was given
them some years ago (they were tiny then). I have just treated
them like my Drosera or Sarracenia. Peat + maybe sand or grit for
soil, and stood in the water tray - maybe I took them out in Winter
but I don't know that it made any difference. They have been
uncovered, in an average U.K. cool greenhouse, which means say
down to 45F/7C in Winter, and as hot as it happens to get in Summer.
The pitchers get quite red on the sunward side, and I turn the
plants round to even things out. Don't take my mentioning peat as
meaning that sphagnum moss is no good - it's more likely that the
plant just doesn't mind which.
One has always grown better than the other, and is just developing
flowers for the first time.
Some people say they don't like transplanting and are likely to lose
the pitchers when this is done, hopefully growing again from
underground. This hasn't happened to me, but I've only moved them
twice so far. Someone said the problem might be due to tipping
the liquid out of the pitchers during the operation, and to top
them up again afterwards.
Do Cephalotus ever catch anything? I don't think mine do - I've never
found anything inside when examining a dead pitcher. Is there
some insect specially adapted to get caught by it?
-- Clarke Brunt (clarke@brunt.demon.co.uk)