Some random considerations on Cephalotus horticulture.

I've been trying to keep Cephalotus for as long as I've been cultivating carnivorous plants: a little more than 10 years now. So far, this is the best I managed:

It was three years ago. That plant is dead now.

It didn't look too bad one would say but it was far from satisfying as far as I was concerned. I have always dreamed that I would be one day the proud grower of a large clump of Cephalotus reminiscent of the (rare) beautiful populations that are sometimes seen through the internet. If you have never seen any, check the selection of pictures in the link below, taken from Barry Rice's excellent website:

http://www.sarracenia.com/faq/faq5135.html

Sadly, inevitably, all the Cephalotus plants that I got eventually declined then died after a few years - I think I kept one plant during 5 years once. Often, the end of winter was the critical period. Fungi then rot was the best case scenario. 

I have tried various kinds of cultivation methods: on the windowsill, in a closed terrarium, in an open terrarium/jar outside or in the conservatory... I have also prepared various kinds of soil recipes as well: some friends would advise to add charcoal while others were very successful without that component. Some would avoid to let the plant sit in water even in summer whereas others like my very seasoned friend Christian Klein from Germany would grow their beautiful Cephalotus with Sarracenia in a cold house AND in a tray of water. It is to be noted that Chrisitian uses to keep his Cephalotus plants among the Sarracenia. I mean the Cephalotus pots were placed in the middle of the tall Sarracenia so they would be protected from full sun thanks to the surrounding Sarracenia pitchers. It seems to be quite a general rule: most growers do not provide full light to Cephalotus, at least not all day long. 

Below is a very nice plant grown by Christian Klein.

Martin Hingst, also a German grower, keeps a 12+ years old Cephalotus in an opened tank and his Cephalotus clump is arguably one of the most exquisite sights of this carnivorous plant there is in cultivation:

Martin waters from above on, roughly, a weekly basis. You can read his comments about Cephalotus cultivation in the following CPUK forum topic: 

http://www.cpukforum.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=44174&page=2

According to Martin : 'it is a too low light level, too high night and winter temperatures and stagnant air that makes Cephalotus prone to fungi attack'.

Words of a wise man, I would say.

Fortunately for me (and for most of you) you don't need to be German to grow successfully the Albany pitcher plant as Cédric Azais, a talented French grower whom I visited recently, shows. Cédric grows his Cephalotus in his highland greenhouse with his Nepenthes and Heliamphora. Therefore, he treats it like a highland plant. There, all his plants benefit from filtered light, a swamp evaporative cooling system and are kept moist to damp. The result is highly impressive. The biggest post below are about 30 cm large.

Incidently, I have just received several Cephalotus from Cédric. I do hope I will be really successful this time and that I will manage to get one of these large clumps that constitutes such a pleasant sight for any carnivorous plant grower.

Along with three "typical" Cephalotus that will enable me to start a beautiful pot (I hope so), I ordered from Cédric a nice starter of Cephalotus "Hummer's giant". However, though I have been quite impressed by the large Cephalotus pitchers that some growers manage to produce in cultivation (roughly, up to the size of an egg), I am quite puzzled by the increased 'production' of Cephalotus (un)official cultivars that seems to pop up in many collections around the globe. Cédric Azais grows quite a large selection of these special plants and, frankly, it's hard to tell a significant difference between any of them, size apart.

Did you read Richard Nunn's article in one of the latest Carnivorous Plant Newsletter issue?

http://www.cpukforum.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=52149

In his paper, 'Cephalotus follicularis cultivars and forms in cultivation - is there a basis for the current naming protocols?', Richard implies (that's how I understood his article) that all this recent trend of Cephalotus cultivars should be regarded with scrutinity. I will join Richard's opinion on this without hesitation. Below is the famous Cephalotus follicularis 'Eden Black', an official cultivar coined by Stephen Morley, a British grower. I have to say I was fairly disppointed when I saw this plant. 

Although it can be argued  that the plant below is not fully mature, the pitchers produced were already 4/5 cm large. Yes, I would say that the plant is, maybe, a bit darker than its counterparts (maybe), but it is nowhere as dark as the description implies. Check by yourself.

I also photographed the 'Eden Black' with a flash but that wasn't significant either to me.

You can see (and compare) C. follicularis 'Eden Black' in the pot in the bottom right of the picture below: it's certainly not black. 

While it is interesting to have a plant with giant pitchers (size matters apparently), I'm not buying at the moment any of the latest so called 'cultivars ' that were recently advertized via the various carnivorous plants forums. As Richard underlined, there is a need for a clear protocole in naming a Cephalotus cultivar . That said, I am a man who can change his mind :-)