Expert: Christopher Littrell - 4/10/2008

Question
QUESTION: I recently bought two Cephalotus, but as of this moment, I only have one.  I found a bit of gray/white fuzzy stuff and gently sprayed it with Neem oil/water.  I have it a few inches away from a cool white 100 watt fluorescent daylight bulb.  All my plants get at least 16 hours of light.  The plant is in a 6 inch pot and I give it a trickle of water every day (rather than a regular watering) to avoid drowning it.  As of this moment, I have my room at 50 degrees, so including the heat from other grow lights I have combined with a closed door, the temperature is somewhere around 60-70 degrees with cool nights.  Once the weather gets warm, I will bring in a fan to keep the room from getting too hot.  Once I get the second Cephalotus, I will use the same care as the first.  So far, so good.  There is no negative reaction from the plant aside from a couple of pitcher lids beginning to close.  I assume that's from water that may have gotten inside.

Is there anything else I need to do?

ANSWER: Hello Talisha,

It sounds like you are doing a good job so far. Keep up the good care. Fungus can be a recurring problem, so just keep watching out for those greyish "hairs" and spray with neem oil every so often as the bottle label directs.

When pitcher lids close it is usually from wilting, as with humidity dropping quickly, or when pitchers reach the end of their life span and begin to dry out and curl closed. I would suggest placing the plant and its light in a morning sun window so it gets an extra dose of light for a few hours along with a little fungus killing ultraviolet light from the sun. The plants will color up well in good light and will have fewer health problems.

Since my experience with Cephalotus is limited, I suggest talking with Sarracenia Northwest to see if their is anything specific I have overlooked.

Christopher

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks a lot!  I think the sun requirement has been taken care of.  I don't have any "full day sunlight" windows anywhere, but after taking a day off from work, I noticed that afternoon sunlight gets in and hits the plants for a couple of hours.

Answer
Hello Talisha,

The windows really do not have to be full sun windows, but any extra light they get is icing on the cake. So long as the plant is developing its yellow and red markings across its lips and reddish purple splashes of color across its pitchers and hoods it is getting plenty of light.

Christopher