Beginning a cycas revoluta (sago palm) colony

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In habitat, cycads, like sago palms, grow in large groups, called colonies. In gardens they are usually planted as individual specimens, or scattered thinly around. This isn't surprising, as even the least expensive type of cycad, the sago palm, is a pretty expensive and slow-growing plant. So beginning a colony of cycas revolutas wasn't anything that I ever had in mind. But now I am starting one.

It started as I began to mourn the untimely demise of one of my oldest cycads. It's latest flush, last year, was pathetic and stumpy and it appeared to be on its last legs. I told my sad story to the Vice President of the Arizona Palm and Cycad Association, whom I have known for almost a decade, and he took pity on me. He donated the very sizable plant on the left, which was a pup taken from one of the gems of his collection. And then something very strange started happening. As if to protest this *replacement*, the *dead* sago started to grow again.

So, I have planted the new cycad only a few feet away from the old one. Hopefully they will both survive and thrive and ultimately create a cluster, or a small colony. After a few years, if they continue to grow strongly, they will probably look like they are the same plant. And someday, it will be a huge colony.
Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, Cape Town, South Africa




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