PUSHING THE BORDERS

Chad and Paul,

Yup, these guys can get very impressive. I have 5 in total, plus another that looks like a hybrid plant. All seed grown back in 2011 or 2012.

They do stay out all year now since I can't house them inside anymore. I do try to put them under a veranda during the worst cold and if it's snowing hard. They've endured frosts up to -4 C or so, and can withstand prolonged temperatures below 10 C. The leaves are damaged most years, but never get totally fried.

Only one plant has coned so far, a male. A plant I gave to Scott Wysong years ago has coned for him in the past and is a female. No seeds as yet, but god willing I'll eventually get some going, if not on my plants, then I'll try to do a pollen transfer to Scott's at some point.

He has grown his in the ground for years, but it has been moved around 3 times if memory serves. Perhaps he will post a shot of it.

Great cycads, Tom!

I only have the one debaoensis now, and despite being mistreated and moved too often, it has come back with a nice flush this summer. I have to spray it with bug spray when the shoots are tender or the bugs gobble them all up!

Looks sweet Scott! That's a female! Keep her happy.

OK, I'm now actively searching for seed!

Seed is available from Rare Palm Seed, bu it isn't in their 'New' listings, so I don't know how old the seed is.

Without impugning the company, none of us want to be sued, what are the chances of old cycad seed germinating?

And a second question,  pictures of cycads in small pots are all over the internet, I borrow one here from Rare Palm Seed.



I have my, smaller than the one pictured, Cycads in 70L tubs, am I over potting them?

Chad

Chad wrote: ↑Wed Aug 20, 2025 7:03 am
I have my, smaller than the one pictured, Cycads in 70L tubs, am I over potting them?

What is depicted is newly potted nursery stock, rather than an established potted plant. The plants are hacked out of the wild (or, in a perfect workld, cycad farm), roots cut off, arriving at the nursery as a rootless, leafless caudex. It is possiible to fit FAR more plants into a shipping container if they are prepared like that. This is then squeezed into the smallest possible pot so that a/ it doesn't sit in tons of empty damp compost while it is rooting and b/ saves money on compost and pots. TBF such rough treatment actually makes little difference to the plant and makes it a lot cheaper to buy, plus the customer has to dig a much smaller hole. Win all round.

Thanks Paul, as always once I have been told what is going on I feel mildly stupid for not having known that before. And hugely relived that I don't live in that ignorance any longer!

I was given a heads up for a Cycas debaoensis on e-bay.

I've bought it in the knowledge that it might not tun out to be the right thing; on e-bay you can never be sure.

Any advice on the seed though?

I fancy a small grove of them, and I could bring in a couple of Cycas multipinnata for years...

Chad

Chad, I've never had problems with RPS seed. I always seem to get good germination. The plants shown in this thread, including Scott's, were all grown from RPS seed. One issue though is time. I've been growing these plants for something like 15 years, so time to adult size is pretty slow. My growing conditions were not completely favorable however, so if you could grow them optimally they would probably reach this size in half that time. C. debaoensis is pretty fast when happy.

Interesting Paul. So they are handled much like Dicksonia "logs" in a sense. As for pot size I repot only when the roots actually burst the container's sides, and there is no other choice. So, cycads are quite content with living comfortably in undersized containers. Here's one the C. debaoensis showing the pot. The difficult part is keeping them from falling over!

Great plants Tom. My collection turned out to be the most common-but i enjoy them anyways. That Dioon of yours' with reddish fronds is a good one. The garden looks lush! Summer here has been below average in temps. 80's have been rare all summer..no real streaks of them. Mostly 70's.

Tom,

What volume is that pot?

To my eye it looks a tenth the size I would expect to be adequate to support such big leaves.

I've clearly not 'got my eye in' for Cycad culture!

Chad

I've just been reading Rare Palm Seeds reviews on Trust Pilot.

Given that none of the Cycads I'm after are in their 'new' listing I think I'll give them a miss.

A pity, they were THE 'go to' 20 years ago, the last time I started cycads from seed.

Has anyone any experience of China Gardening Nursery?

Chad