Expert: Christopher Littrell - 2/18/2008

Question
I recently bought a cephalotus from a seller in Oregon who was probably growing it outside.  I'm in Virginia, and we have deep freezes and hot summers so I have to grow it indoors, so my issue - I belevie - is lighting.

I've got tons of lighting (have many sundews, utrics, nepenthes, pings all enjoying the lights) which consist of:
6 x 120w helix/compact fluorescent bulbs (soft white)

Now, when I tried using a 'cool white' bulb - almost all of my other plants declined, but responded well to 'soft white'.  I didn't try a 'cool white' on cephalotus, however - so this may be the problem.  Can you advise on a bulb brand and model?  I've found much variation in color, so any recommendation would help.

In addition:
I water it tray method,
have applied 'RootShield' fungus,
a companion 'D. Hamiltonii' is in the same pot and doing well,
humidity goes no lower than 50% and no higher than 75%.

If you see anything out of place, let me know.
Thanks in advance,
Jacob


Answer
Hello Jacob,

Cool white or True Daylight types of florescent lights should both work fine, I have tried both with good results on a variety of carnivorous plants. The main issue with lights is lumen intensity. A bare minimum for most carnivorous plants would be around 6000-10000 lumens. The more light intensive plants, like Venus Flytraps and Sarracenias would require at least 10000-25000 or more lumens to do well.

In any event, I have very limited experiecne with Cephalotus follicularis as I mentioned in my profile, so asking Sarracenia Northwest would likely be your best bet.

Christopher