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Carnivorous Plants/Ceph changing colours

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Expert: - 1/5/2011


Question

Ceph
Hi Jeff,

I am giving it full sunlight. Not sure if this is too much as I've had it for about 6-7 weeks. Yes it was mailed but it looked "healthy" up until last week. Yes, we are in the middle of summer at the moment. I also gradually introduced it to full sun for 4-5 weeks.

I water only with rainwater.

I've attached an image of what it was like 1 week ago.

Your Question was:

Hi,
My Ceph's leaves have changed colours. The on-carnivourous is now red and the carnivourous leaf is going yellow. Am I doing something wrong?
Soil mix is 60-40 perlite-peatmoss and the mix is damp-moist, not wet.
Please help!

Following is the reason:

Hi Rupert,

I need to know a bit more about your growing conditions. What kind of light is this plant getting? How long have you had it? Was it transplanted recently? Was it sent through the mail (post)? What is your water source? Is the water hard? What are temperatures like in your area right now? I'm assuming you're in the middle of summer.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Good Growing!

Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.cobraplant.com

Answer
Hi Rupert,

It looks like you may have some transitioning going on since you've moved it to full sun.  You may be loosing the pitcher, and that can happen if it was previously grown in shadier conditions.

I recommend providing some shading for your plant.  A simple piece of screening or shadecloth could provide this, or placing your plant among other plants that dapple the light some.  Cephalotus don't like their soil overheating, so anything you can do to protect the pot from overheating will help.  Since it's summer, I would provide plenty of water by top watering the pot.  This will also help cool the roots.  One technique that works well for this is to place the plant's pot down inside a larger, light colored pot so that the sun can't strike the plant's pot directly.  After that give it some time.

Good Growing!

Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.cobraplant.com

Sarracenia Northwest

Expertise

If your plant is showing poor growth, discoloration, abnormal leaves or possible infestation, the growers at Sarracenia Northwest can help! Carnivorous plant experts Jeff Dallas and Jacob Farin will help you diagnose the problem and get your plants on the right track. Their no nonsense approach has helped thousands of growers all over the world. They can help you too!

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