Where to buy cycads

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Like most people, I started my cycad collection with "sago palms" (Cycas revoluta). They are very common and can be purchased at any nursery, at Home Depot, Walmart, and even as houseplants in grocery stores. And, yes, they make good houseplants in a sunny area. I live in the Phoenix, Arizona area and they do quite well outdoors. If you are outside of 30 degrees latitude, or anywhere that gets snow, they really shouldn't live outside in the winter. Keep them in pots and let them summer in nice weather.

Once you see the other species, your task becomes more difficult. In fact, as a cycad collector, you will soon find yourself in the world of conservation, and, like me, begin to understand the fragile balance of threatened and extinct animals and plants in the world. All of this just because you wanted to make your yard look nice!

Anyway, here in Phoenix, the only other cycad that I have seen for sale in ordinary nurseries, like Lowe's, is the "cardboard palm" (Zamia furfuracea). If you are wondering why I am using the Latin name, it is not just to show off my skills in a dead language, it is the only way to be sure that you are getting the correct plant.  Since cycads are rarer than most plants, common names are not so common! So, bring along your reading glasses and look carefully at the tags!

Actually, this is kind of fun. I started wandering around in nurseries about fifteen years ago, questing for unusual cycads. I found a wonderful specimen Dioon spinulosum hidden away in a corner of Whitfield nursery in south Phoenix. I have also found some small Zamias as unmarked houseplants that were on sale at Lowe's. If you join a club like The Arizona Palm and Cycad Association, you can swap both information and plants with members. It's kind of like collecting bubble-gum cards!

Before you go spending the big bucks (and the rarer cycads can be hundreds, even thousands of dollars), do a road trip to Los Angeles or San Diego. Ordinary nurseries and even Home Depots regularly carry species of Dioon and Zamia that are not often for sale in Phoenix. As your eye sharpens up, you will begin to see these cycads, and, of course, be sure to read the tags. Keep in mind that most plants will be marked with the species name spelled out, and the genus abbreviated, like "C. revoluta" or "D. spinulosum", or "Z furfuracea".

And bring 'em back alive!

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