Date: Thu, 28 May 1998 11:26:11 -0400 From: BREWER_CHARLES@ecomail.damneck.navy.mil To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg1836$foo@default> Subject: Re[2]: Cepalotus Growth Patterns...
David and others,
I do have first hand experience with growing Cephs in freezing
weather, DON'T!. They can take a mild frost without much difficulty,
but a hard frost will kill them. I allow my adult plants to go dormant
in the greenhouse with temps droppings down to 35 degrees at night, 45
degrees during the day, but that's all. I am currently growing several
hundred of these plants right now and plan to sell only the adult
soon. Adult plants are plants that are flowering with 4 cm or bigger
pitchers on them. These plants should be available around October of
this year.
I have two 40 gallon aquariums, full of cuttings, that grow under
ideal conditions. Once they reach medium size, I transplant them into
pot and move them into the greenhouse. There they continue to grow for
another two to three years before being offered for sale. The
greenhouse provides just the right amount of winter dormancy to keep
these plants strong and healthy. Each spring, my Cephs reward me with
very large healthy pitchers and leaves and lots of flower stalks. I
usually remove the flowers and i rather use cuttings to produce more
plants rather then seeds.
I have tried growing Cephs all year long inside aquariums. This
method works fine, but by far, a cool dormancy of about three months
produces a much more healthier looking plant that will withstand a lot
more stress then aquarium grown plants do. I do admit to losing a few
small plants, inside the greenhouse, every winter, but these are the
weaker plants and would probably have died anyway.
Cephs are prone to root rot if their are kept to wet during winter.
One way to avoid this is to use large pot with no bottom saucer or
hanging baskets.
Hope this helps,
Charles
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