How to Grow Cephalotus follicularis On A Desk - Jeff Kung

[@bosrican]

Excellent video. Those plants look absolutely beautiful.

[@pinecone.jeff.carnivores]

Thank you so much! I had fun making it. :)

[@Chrisfeb68]

Curious what type of light that you're considering in the future.

[@pinecone.jeff.carnivores]

I’m looking at the Spider Farmer LED lights. Specifically the SF 1000D panel lights. They’re similar to my old Yescoms but they’re higher quality with a 5 year warrantee. They’re also waterproof and have a dimmer.

[@williamlush9115]

Good info, your plants look great!

[@pinecone.jeff.carnivores]

Thanks so much! I’m having a ton of fun growing them!

[@geraldineenslin3701]

Hi there! Thank you for such an excellent video! I have learnt so much. What soil mix do you use for your cephs?

[@pinecone.jeff.carnivores]

I use California Carnivore's Professional Peat and Perlite Mix which is a 1 part perlite to 4 parts peat moss mix. To that, I add 1 part perlite to 1 part Pro Peat and Perlite mix for a much more porous and aerating soil.

[@geraldineenslin3701]

@@pinecone.jeff.carnivores Thank you! :)

[@toxictears3642]

Great video, very Informative! 🙂 In your opinion, what would be the general care routine for smaller baby Cephalotus until they reach the size that you have, apart from light and watering, at that stage the pitchers are tiny to be be fertilized.

[@pinecone.jeff.carnivores]

Well, my UC Davis came as a tiny, 2 pitcher leaf pulling and I experimented with it's care quite a bit. At first, I had it growing with my Drosera under some gooseneck LED lights in my living room. It seemed to be doing well but in hindsight, I think I was watering it too much. I had a bad moss growth problem, which clued me in about the water. But I didn't know that at the time. Then I put it in my Ikea grow cabinet with high humidity and it really didn't like that. Of the few new pitchers it grew, I lost 2 of them in a matter of weeks. So that's when I decided to put them on a heating mat on top of my computer and that's when I started noticing the lid drooping when it was thirsty. Once I realized what it needed in terms of watering, it got easy to care for these wonderful plants! So, if I had a small, young Ceph, I would make sure to watch it's watering needs first and foremost. And with a small pot, I would not put it directly on the heat mat. I think it would dry up the pot too fast. I would raise it a bit with an upside down drain saucer. The ambient temp around the mat should be sufficient for the little pot, though I haven't tried that yet. Its what I've been thinking about doing with some leaf pullings I'm planning on doing. I hope this answers your question. Please reach out if you have more questions.

[@toxictears3642]

@@pinecone.jeff.carnivores Thanks mate, interesting experience that surely helps. On the contrary I'm from a tropical country soaring above 40C degrees currently so they are in an airconditioned room. As you've mentioned, I'm only focusing on watering. Perhaps when they reach a decent size I'll think about fertilizing to achieve better results.

[@pinecone.jeff.carnivores]

Wow!! 40C!!! That’s scorching hot!!! Good luck with your little Cephs!!!

[@ekaww]

What substrate do you use? I use sphagnum moss with perlite but the results are not good! THKS

[@pinecone.jeff.carnivores]

I use California Carnivore’s Pro Peat and Perlite mix (which is 4 parts peat to one part perlite). Then mix 1 part Cal Carns Peat and Perlite Mix to one part perlite. So a bit more than 50% perlite. For my 2” to 4” pots, tray watering like I show is enough for them (3 small tray waters per week). I imagine with sphagnum moss, it stays wetter for a longer period of time and therefore requires less frequent waterings. I would worry that the sphagnum moss will stay too wet for too long. I know growers who only use perlite as their growing media! And it works! Currently, my big UC Davis clone was just potted up to a 7” square, 9” tall hydroponics pot. It sits in a 1020 tray that has a seedling heating mat under that. I pour in about a quart of water once a week and that looks to be a feed schedule for it so far. Here’s a link to my repotting (potting up) of my UC Davis clone. kzbin.info/www/bejne/iZ_Idmx_r8RmY7ssi=fqXb1NHBMJ1VjU9D

[@Fennekin88]

do you have a link to the cabinets

[@pinecone.jeff.carnivores]

However, I don’t grow my Cephs in these cabinets. I literally grow them on my desk. :)

[@teixeir3]

Which miticide do you use for spider mites?

[@pinecone.jeff.carnivores]

I use both Floramite and Avid and I alternate their use. I alternate to decrease the chances of any surviving mites from getting resistance to one miticide. Thanks so much for the question! :)

[@95_Nepentheses]

You mentioned a pretty strong miticide, but you didn't name it. What is it?

[@pinecone.jeff.carnivores]

AH! Sorry about that. I use 2 and rotate them as needed. The first one is Floramite SC and the other is Avid EC. These pesticides are extremely strong and you use a very tiny amount per gallon (read the instructions carefully, wear gloves, and mix outdoors).

[@95_Nepentheses]

@@pinecone.jeff.carnivores Thank you!