Ceph Pullings Update

Leaf Pullings Now

Just about a year ago, I received some Cephalotus leaf pullings. I did a little experimentation and learned that, in my conditions, a mixture of live sphagnum and perlite was best for Cephs. Still, I have a few plants in other mixtures. Most notably is this mixture of sphagnum peat and coarse sand. These plants are small, but growing bigger as they become more established. Eventually, I will probably repot them into a mixture of sphagnum and perlite.

Ceph Leaf Pullings Transplanted

I haven't transplanted many of the Ceph leaf pullings because I was worried about the effect on their delicate roots. I did, however, transplant a few of the pullings. Those were the ones I put in the Nepenthes mixture - coir + long fiber sphagnum + perlite + orchid bark + charcoal. That mixture was too dry and did not appear to allow for enough ambient humidity. As a consequence, the plantlets were much, much smaller than the mixture of live sphagnum and perlite. About a month ago, I transplanted them into the live sphagnum and perlite mixture and they appear to be growing much more rapidly now.

Ceph in Sphagnum and Coarse Sand

The best performing Ceph in sphagnum and coarse sand has to be the one above. It has produced a bright red pitcher which is so far sunken into the soil mixture that it's almost level. The perfect trap for an unsuspecting crawling insect, if any were present. It's quite nice, but not as nice as Jim Toska's Ceph.