The Cephalotus plant was inside a warm, not hot, greenhouse, heated by
gas heated air. And, it was inside a clear glass terrarium type enclosure
within
the greenhouse...dimensions roughly 3-4 ft. wide by 8-10 ft. long by
2-3 ft. high, on an elevated bench. It shared the terrarium with
Nepenthes, Sarracenia, Drosera, Heliamphora, VFT, etc. The terrarium
had glass sides and a glass top. The greenhouse was whitewashed,
but the side on which the terrarium was located was a south facing
side that was clear, unwhitewashed glass. However, the greenhouse
roof overhead was all whitewashed glass. Direct sun occurred during
morning hours 8-10 or so, and late afternoon hours 3-5 or so (wasn't
there in the late afternoon, this is just a guess judging on the
angle of the sun and the location).
The rest of the time. lighting was indirect or muted by the whitewashed
roof. These are winter observations...I don't know what things are
like there in Summer. The terrarium contained these plants, but the
plants were all in pots with a little standing water in the saucers.
Pots were clay ceramic. Most of the plants grew in a combo of
milled spaghnum or mixed live and milled spagnum. The short periods of
direct sun probably was responsible for the intense colors on the
Cephalotus. Outside temps during day were probably about 45 to 50.
Nighttime temps about 35-38. Weather that morning was mostly clear
with some haze. Conditions inside the glass case were more humid
than outside, due to the enclosed moisture. Again, an absolutely
fantastic Cephalotus specimen. The sun angle was not low
enough to directly shine on the plants at 11 a.m. to noon, however,
earlier or later in the day I'm sure it must have. Conditions inside
the greenhouse were sufficient to allow specimens of spanish moss
to grow, so it must have been at a minimum humidity level. Humidity in
the terrarium was somewhat higher, though the temperature seemed to be
roughly the same, and there was a modest amount of water condensation
on the glass. That's about all I can tell you from what I observed.
---Steve