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Post by vraev on Jun 21, 2014 13:26:33 GMT -5
I don;t know about aquarium gravel. Just try the mix I suggested.. peat, perlite or sponge rock and bark...perhaps a bit of orchid charcoal. Different kinds of aquarium gravel, I don't know if they can leech something into the media (They shouldn't ....but still) and the ceph may not like it. About white spots..sorry can't help without picture. But keep the big one going as you currently are keeping it. Even the smaller one. As you can see, cephs have a very hardy root system. If that is still ok, the plant may recover. My first pic of the huge un-potted ceph, that is a declining ceph. Pure green growth, but grown in very low light (still 2' under 4 T5 + 2 T8). I chucked a bunch of pieces away and cut it up to grow the others with higher light.
Remember, light makes a big difference as well. Good light, good water quality, good media and as long as it is not sitting at > 85F and stale air, cephs keep their own.
PS: Also with such an open media as mine...I recommend top watering. It helps aerate the roots, gives it a nice cool flush. I have never grown anything without top watering so I can personally only recommend my methods, although it is just one of many.
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Post by Dennis A(cook1973) on Jun 21, 2014 14:37:09 GMT -5
I don;t know about aquarium gravel. Just try the mix I suggested.. peat, perlite or sponge rock and bark...perhaps a bit of orchid charcoal. Different kinds of aquarium gravel, I don't know if they can leech something into the media (They shouldn't ....but still) and the ceph may not like it. About white spots..sorry can't help without picture. But keep the big one going as you currently are keeping it. Even the smaller one. As you can see, cephs have a very hardy root system. If that is still ok, the plant may recover. My first pic of the huge un-potted ceph, that is a declining ceph. Pure green growth, but grown in very low light (still 2' under 4 T5 + 2 T8). I chucked a bunch of pieces away and cut it up to grow the others with higher light. Remember, light makes a big difference as well. Good light, good water quality, good media and as long as it is not sitting at > 85F and stale air, cephs keep their own. PS: Also with such an open media as mine...I recommend top watering. It helps aerate the roots, gives it a nice cool flush. I have never grown anything without top watering so I can personally only recommend my methods, although it is just one of many. I tried, I went out today looking for Perlite and that only, 4 hours later and pissed off found no perlite so I was going to try styrofoam or get it in a clear plastic cup and since I can only find peat for youe suggested mix was going to try some methods I found online and check on it daily so I can keep a eye on it but thanx for the help,if I could get my hands on stuff I would use your method without a second thought I will keep you updated on my results starting Monday or tomorrow night. Top watering is how I got the stained ceph but will mist until moist with a pumper bottle I cleaned and used alot it held computer screen cleanerFor lighting I use a 36 mini-bulb LED light shining bright white light,I germinated seeds and plants do well under it My Ping Aphrodite seperated to give me 2 plants and both are sending up new leaves all the time and fast(seems like every week)!
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Post by vraev on Jun 21, 2014 17:55:21 GMT -5
I don't know where U are located.. but orchid bark and dry lfs can be found at Sheridan nurseries. Or else buy it online. Easy to find.
Perlite can be found at home depot... look for Schultz brand a..very common brand. Sponge rock harder to come by. Also peat quality may be important. I started washing the primier peat moss and I am still getting algae on the surface of soil. Misting is a general no for cephs... water at the crown or growth point is often associated with sudden ceph death syndrome. But given good airmovement the water should dry quickly and the plant should be fine. I grow my plants being misted with a misting system and top watered and they are fine. But misting with a lcd cleaner spray bottle is pointless. Canadian tire or home depot have some nice pump action misters which work well for top watering and aerate the water.
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Post by Dennis A(cook1973) on Jun 21, 2014 18:10:39 GMT -5
I don't know where U are located.. but orchid bark and dry lfs can be found at Sheridan nurseries. Or else buy it online. Easy to find. Perlite can be found at home depot... look for Schultz brand a..very common brand. Sponge rock harder to come by. Also peat quality may be important. I started washing the primier peat moss and I am still getting algae on the surface of soil. Misting is a general no for cephs... water at the crown or growth point is often associated with sudden ceph death syndrome. But given good airmovement the water should dry quickly and the plant should be fine. I grow my plants being misted with a misting system and top watered and they are fine. But misting with a lcd cleaner spray bottle is pointless. Canadian tire or home depot have some nice pump action misters which work well for top watering and aerate the water. I am located in Newfoundland I never heard of Sheridan Nurseries The nearest Home Depot is 6 hours drive from me an I can no longer drive I use Premiere Sphagnum Peat Moss as well but instead of misting I get the pot to be used a little filled with the soil mix of your choice a little(needless to say let it cool before using(lol) from the top,add some water by misting then I put it in the microwave for 1 minute or so or until you see steam Nothing short of springtails will survive that !! so mold and algae are no longer a concern I will look for that orchid bark in stores garden centers there is a nursery here so they might have some I will call tommorow will the bark and peat be good enough ? As you can tell growing CP's here is a challenge at the best of times because cities get first pick and we end up with whats left so we need to improvise lol !!
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Post by vraev on Jun 21, 2014 18:31:26 GMT -5
Microwave is fine... but I never do that. I think it kills moss spores which can grow and retard algae. Now algae grow due to nutrients in soil. So proper washing is not replaced by microwaving. U cannot remove too much nutrients in soil without washing. U do also loose peat in the process, but I typically discard the run off in my backyard so... back to the soil per se.
Then just order the materials online if U can't find it. Although I find it hard to believe U can't get perlite... it is very common.
If U can get some nice coarse orchid bark, that is enough, I have grown flytraps with orchid bark and peat. The bark just adds spaces to the mix for my purpose.
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Post by Dennis A(cook1973) on Jun 21, 2014 18:38:08 GMT -5
yeah I am gonna try that the order online thing is not possible unless they take money orders cause I do not own or use credit cards The reason we cannot get perlite here easy is cause construction companies buy it to clean up water of any kind of a wet surface so I just add the bark as I am mixing the peat?the microwave is more for a small amount My brother is getting me enough peat to fill a 8 inch deep pot,and since rain is free I was going to set the pot out in the rain and let the rain rise it for me.
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Post by hal on Jun 21, 2014 21:23:49 GMT -5
The WalMart in Gander should have Perlite, and if there's a Home Hardware in your town they can order it for you.
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Post by Dennis A(cook1973) on Jun 22, 2014 9:59:41 GMT -5
How much for a small bag? I don't wanna order more than I need lol!
On a diffrent note the small ceph that had white spots on it is no more turns out it was mold The pitchers on the big one are easier to see and no mold on it! it has even sized up some! When my Flytraps develop its traps we have a florescent light in our kitchen encased to when we clean it I am taking all the dead insects to feed the flytraps..it a good month of food there at least. when I get a decent pic I will post some my camera phone is crap at best and I broke my digital camera I might try to get it on webcam as a small video yet once I figure out how to post a video.
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Post by Dennis A(cook1973) on Jun 22, 2014 10:19:25 GMT -5
The WalMart in Gander should have Perlite, and if there's a Home Hardware in your town they can order it for you. I can get this ordered from Home Hardware, Is this the right stuff?
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Post by hal on Jun 22, 2014 10:57:55 GMT -5
That's it. Should be less than $10.
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Post by LucST on Jun 22, 2014 11:55:16 GMT -5
I would listen to this guy. He looks trustworthy.
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Post by Dennis A(cook1973) on Jun 25, 2014 9:41:23 GMT -5
Don't worry too much about it. 100% peat means every time you top water, the soil will compact down. That is very dangerous with these plants. However, you can tweak it by: 1) Decrease amount of times you water 2) Use a skewer to poke holes in the soil.. opening it up. The soil needs to be nice and fluffy. Also, notice the sheet moss in the last pic. Once that starts to take over, cephs decline because the sheet moss chokes the air holes in the media. That is a concern with pure peat. Show us a picture of your plants. Perhaps you can try something.. repot one into the media mix that I recommend/use. Leave the other as is. We can then compare how they do. If both your plants decline, give me a shout and I'll send you a division from my plants.I lost one it got really small.developed white specs on it so I tossed it I was wondering if I got a cutting of a ceph from you what you would want for it.[/i][/u][/u][/b]
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Post by vraev on Jun 25, 2014 9:53:02 GMT -5
I am still not un Canada ATM. Once I head back then I will clean up one of the pots and see if I can send you a couple of leaf cuttings. I do not guarantee that they will take as I still don't know how you are growing them. (you haven't shown any pics of your setup/conditions).
Focus on growing the other plant as you have it. Don't mess with it un necessarily. Cephs hate to be disturbed. Leave it alone and it will take its own time to grow.
Sent from my Surface 2 using Tapatalk
Sent from my Surface 2 using Tapatalk
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Post by Dennis A(cook1973) on Jun 25, 2014 10:24:44 GMT -5
Sorry for no pics my cellcamera is 2 MPannd does not take good pics it just looked like a blurry leaf on blurry soil I have it in a peat,Perlite mix at the moment and in a sealed baggie with very little water to give it high humidity little water cause I boiled water to clean the soil then as soon as it cooled I saturated the soil in pure water until I seen it fill the water tray (2x)and reused it and replanted the ceph(the peat was still damp)thats when is went in the baggie and apart from adding water I never disturb it.
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Post by Dennis A(cook1973) on Jun 26, 2014 19:41:53 GMT -5
I have my cephalotus plantlet in a baggie sealed with some pure water to give it high humidity and today as I went to add water and see if it showed any stress signs and since I put it in the center after i re-rinsed the peat until it filled the tray 2 times and put it in the sealed baggie and very little water,it has been there not disturbed until today when I seen a green stalk or shoot coming out of it near the center and looks like something hairy on the top what it this?? if its a flower why now?? the plantlet is still really small and has pitchers only as big as a baby fingernail!
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