Question
Hello Jeff and Jacob,

I have recently been looking into getting a Cephalotus follicularis and I noticed you have some listed. I have been digging around on the internet about growing them outide and from what I understand it can be done in Zone 9. I live in San Antonio Tx and from the usda zone maps I have been looking at indicate the it is Zone 9 but others say it is zone 8b. What exactly is the difference? I was just wondering if it could be possible to gro them outside year round down here.

Answer
Hi Garrett,

Most likely you could have Cephalotus outside in San Antonio during the winter.  Whether or not your Zone 8b or 9 may be a bit academic; what is the coldest you've ever seen it get there?  That's the question you want to ask yourself, because that is what the USDA climate maps are based on.  Cephalotus will take brief, and I stress brief, frosts down to around 28 degrees.  Where Cephalotus comes from in SW Australia it is very similar to Central California in climate.

Having said all that, there is no way Cephalotus would handle a San Antonio summer outside.  They are not very heat tolerant at all.  We get warm days in the summer here in Oregon and it can be in the 90's in the greenhouse, but it cools down to the 50's at night.  I'm guessing you don't have that luxury in Texas.  A Cephalotus will be far happier in an air conditioned house.

Good Growing!

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