Intro to Growing Cephalotus; the Australian Pitcher Plant

Cephalotus, the Australian pitcher plant is wildly charismatic and we get asked about it all the time! Daniela will give you an introduction to growing these charming plants, but these aren’t for beginners. Checkout our website for more information or to order plants www.californiacarnivores.com
#carnivorousplant #plant #botany #horticulture #cephalotus #pitcherplant #houseplant #plantcare

[@FriskyBiscuit12]

My bf unexpectedly got me one from you guys and tbh I am so excited!! This video has helped me feel pretty confident :D

[@California_Carnivores]

That's awesome! I’m so happy to hear that!

[@kyawthuta9058]

Finally! I have been asking for this videoed for months!

[@kenjiro2676]

Same! I’ll use this video as a reference and general guide.

[@nealsausen4651]

@@kenjiro2676 : Good idea I’ll do the same!

[@cjtuba1]

Great useful video as usual. Please keep posting, love the useful info. Cheers! Chris, UK

[@bluecapeprincestudios3446]

Serving face and blue hair

[@billmfjackson]

Thank you so much! I had a few nepenthes and bought one of these recently and have been looking for this info! Your awesomeness is inspirational!!!

[@California_Carnivores]

Thank you!

[@Gloria-a-Dio-in-eterno]

Great advice🙂👍🏻🌱 This plant is so special and not easy to cultivate. Thank you😊🙏🏻

[@monke1919]

It's not hard either it's kinda in the middle

[@randomthings92497]

Love your in depth discussion of principles. Up to now I still wonder how there are some people who use pure sphagnum when cephs love well draining and by far your content is the one that makes sense and aligns with all other books i have read

[@California_Carnivores]

I’m so glad you enjoyed the video!

[@randomthings92497]

@@California_Carnivores thank you once again gosh if only I could afford shipping to get plants from you guys. I'm from the Philippines ahahaa just recently got a cephalotus (after two yrs of Venus flytraps) now that i feel a bit ready-er

[@lukelee482]

These grow in my back yard, lov em 👍

[@deandavis8165]

Great tutorial, thank you!

[@Gargarothhhh63]

Thanks for the tips im very greatful. I love carnivore plants, i fell in love with a sundew which i called DA KRAKEN as i used to put it by my window and it would catch all the annoying little flies that would accumulate often next to the fruits and curl up like tentacles once it catched the mfs. Carnivore plants apart from being cool and beautiful they can be useful as well!

[@Tommyr]

Bought a ceph from you guys last fall and it's doing GREAT! Such great little plants!

[@janstewart2041]

If you spray down the mat before you pour the water it will soak up easier

[@Trekmario1701]

Love those pitchers. Not too big just right.

[@beveridge1942]

Brilliant! So helpful!

[@California_Carnivores]

I’m so glad!

[@jarbasthomaz2599]

Very good

[@lesleymcgraw3118]

Can you please do a care video on Drosera Spatulata and one a Nepenthes? Please.

[@monke1919]

They've done a lot of those

[@pinecone.jeff.carnivores]

It'd be great if you could do a video on repotting Cephalotus plants! :)

[@California_Carnivores]

They’re tricky to repot - I’ll add this to the list!

[@solaryse_]

thank you for the intro, it was so helpful! I was wondering if they could be fed live food, like flies and those sorts of things? I did that for a venus flytrap and it grew very well, but is it okay for these plants too? tysm

[@California_Carnivores]

You can but they tend to have smaller mouths and it’s harder to plop things into the pitchers. If you have an appropriately sized bug, you could totally feed it to your Cephalotus but make sure there is fluid in the pitchers first!

[@plantguy9]

If I get this plant I'll have to grow it outside. My family won't let me have it inside, but I'm working on taking down a tree to get a greenhouse.

[@vivimannequin]

How come?

[@plantguy9]

@@vivimannequin I still live at home with my parents. It's one of those my house my rules kind of thing. My mother will say there is no room as well.

[@chevyvega6622]

just remember when you transplant or divide you will get pitchers dying back, but if done correct you will see new growth

[@joshuajacome8803]

I've already killed 3 of them :(. They've all died in the same way... First they close their lids, then the pitchers lose their firmness and then they dry out... As soon as I observe their lids close I water them more but that's not working. Am I missing out something? :(

[@California_Carnivores]

You may be letting them dry out a bit too much in between watering or the light is stronger in combination with drying them out. I would try watering a little bit more deeply each time you water.

[@joshuajacome8803]

@@California_Carnivores Thanks so much for the advice!! :D

[@anthonyulloa4408]

@@joshuajacome8803 :0 did they live this time?

[@kenjiro2676]

Sources say they are ppm tolerant of minerals, can you guys confirm this?

[@California_Carnivores]

Our growing experience would disagree with that. They definitely prefer lower TDS.

[@CalamitySymphony]

I'm searching your catalog for a repotting video, but I can't seem to find one. Have you all made one yet? Thanks!

[@California_Carnivores]

We haven’t made a Cephalotus repotting video yet - they’re a little fussy and we usually only repot the large collection plants once every few years but we can make a video of potting up smaller plants

[@CalamitySymphony]

@@California_Carnivores No rush by any means. And thank you for your reply!

[@seizedcarcass8440]

How large do these get? I’m considering getting one for my collection.

[@California_Carnivores]

The pitchers usually only get to be about 2”

[@HelgrafFireHammer]

I just noticed my flytrap is dying due to a lack of light, which is a bummer because the grow light I use is perfect for my nepenthes, just not good for my flytrap I guess lmao But would a Cephalotus do good on a west facing window with the kind of light a Nepenthes would normally do well in?

[@California_Carnivores]

Flytraps often dislike being grown inside and want full sun and while Cephalotus do need a lot of light they’re not quite as demanding as that. It may do well alongside the Nepenthes or you may need a little more light for it, it’s hard to know for sure.

[@wildaxolotl7547]

I have two neps a sarracenia, two sundews, and a vft. Am I two inexperienced, I have wanted a cephalotus forever, and never been able to find one. Up until now on California carnivores. I do not understand the water thing though, Am I ready?

[@California_Carnivores]

Cephalotus are definitely a bit more tricky to grow. You have to let them dry out between watering them so that they don’t rot. They’re wonderful plants but can be hard - I would say to give it a try if you’ve always wanted to but keep an eye on your Cephalotus so you can start to learn its cycles and maintenance needs

[@juicejox3]

Can you feed them with live works or crickets or anything

[@California_Carnivores]

A slow release osmocote fertilizer pellet works well!

[@stephaniefalzone5703]

Mine was doing well until it got a brown scale insect. Ack! Any tips on getting rid of them? I've just been scraping them of with my fingernail. I know not to use insect soap.

[@California_Carnivores]

You can use a little rubbing alcohol dipped cotton swab to help scrape them off and then spray with TakeDown garden spray to help kill the pests

[@frankied.2828]

Since it doesn't mind fertilizer, does that mean I can water this with tap water?

[@California_Carnivores]

It’s best to give carnivorous plants distilled water always. We fertilize with a misting bottle on the leaves to avoid getting too much fertilizer into the soil 😊

[@rheaperry9291]

Do you avoid watering over the pitchers like water the soil only?

[@California_Carnivores]

In winter and early spring, when they are prone to powdery mildew, we avoid top watering. In the full heat of summer, they appreciate a little sprinkle from above so we both top water and tray water.

[@Trekmario1701]

Which is a better grow light .yesscom blue/white or all white?

[@California_Carnivores]

All white or pink!

[@Trekmario1701]

@@California_Carnivores all white

[@JackoAlamer]

Can i have some seeds plzzzzzzzz..

[@zephro666000]

When do you recommend repotting?

[@California_Carnivores]

About 3-5 years in, you can repot them. The roots are very brittle so it’s a careful, slow job.

[@ninobercilla1474]

what if the sun burn the leaf?

[@California_Carnivores]

These plants are from Western Australia are quite sun tolerant; as they are exposed to more sunlight they respond by growing smaller leaves or sending more pigment to the leaves as sunblock so you’ll see the leaves growing smaller and redder in more sunlight. You can always sunburn a leaf or two but as long as the plant is watered carefully you should be able to help the plant adjust to the light and balance it’s needs

[@Jeff-zj1vi]

What kind of humidity do they take?

[@colleenleyrer3980]

60-70 is best but 50 is fine

[@California_Carnivores]

Colleen is correct! They appreciate humidity but don’t need it. And in winter, it can be a problem if it’s too humid as this can encourage a bit of botrytis.

[@mike198658]

Are 14 hour photo periods too much?

[@michaeljenardligan6173]

They're better, just observe the reaction of the plants first

[@mike198658]

@@michaeljenardligan6173 my plants are very red, the biggest pitcher looks really healthy. They just aren’t growing any bigger, one big pitcher and a clump of small ones.

[@California_Carnivores]

You can do a 14 hour photo period, but you may need to water a bit more.

[@California_Carnivores]

Be sure to fertilize foliarly once a month too, that should help.

[@mike198658]

@@California_Carnivores thanks for the feed back ✊

[@fearsomefighter1399]

This giant Venus flytrap on other videos is real or fake?

[@California_Carnivores]

It’s a sculpture!

[@fearsomefighter1399]

Oh, okay, you did a great job with that anyway