Question
Hi there. I'm trying to help my Cephalotus grow a bit faster and I read several online sources that they can take Osmocote pellets in mature pitchers once they develop them. My problem is that I've tried this several times, even with newly developed mature pitchers, and it seems to kill them off in a short amount of time. One pitcher started dying within a week but another lasted a month and eventually began to discolor and die. I only put one pellet inside, but the pitchers eventually develop discoloration at the bottom of the pitcher that eventually kills off the entire pitcher to my dismay.

I grow my Cephalotus outside and they receive lots of sun but avoid the intense afternoon light. Our humidity is pretty low here in California (10-20%). I tried using the pellets several months ago during winter and simply lost 2-3 mature pitchers. Do the pitchers die because my Cephalotus aren't able to hold water in their pitchers or could there be some other problem? Is there another easy alternative to Osmocote? I had the Ceph for several months before I tried it, so it should've been acclimated. I started feeding them fish food pellets recently but it hasn't been long enough to notice a difference yet. Thank you in advance.

Answer
Hi Nicholas,

I recommend not using Osmocote with Cephalotus.  Your experience already shows it may not be appropriate.  We use a very weak foliar fertilizer spray weekly on our plants and they seem to do fine.  We use Maxsea, but any good orchid fertilizer mixed to 1/4 strength would be fine.  If you have pitchers on your plants simply giving them small insects will help too, but growth will never be fast.

The bottom line with Cephalotus, however, is that they are slow growing.  You're not going to speed their growth very significantly, and you have to be resigned to that as a condition of growing them.  Cephalotus along with some of the ultra-highland Nepenthes are not plants for the impatient gardener.  We currently are propagating from seed, and it takes us 3-4 years to get a small marketable plant.  Even from cuttings it's about two years.

California weather is pretty close to what they experience in nature, so just be patient with your plant.  Growth in these little guys is measured in months, not weeks.

Good Growing!

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