How much to water your cycads (sago palms) in the winter

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As you know, cycads, such as sago palms, don't grow at all during the winter. In fact, they usually only push out a flush of leaves once or twice a year in the spring and summer. The rest of the time they are dormant, and they are at risk.

And that risk is over-watering.

The biggest danger to your cycads in the winter is root-rot from overwatering. The best thing that you can do for the next few months (December, January, February) is to not water them. At all. I turn off the automatic watering system here at The Tropical Paradise in mid-December and turn it back on in February. I keep an eye on the temperatures - it's been exceptionally warm this November, but when it gets cold, that's the time to turn off the water.

If your cycads sit shivering with wet feet, this is what will happen: their roots will rot and the plant will die. You won't see this until spring, but when it happens, the heart of the plant fails and becomes mushy. I know - I've killed a few sago palms this way.

So go turn off your automatic watering system if it's December. If you have annual flowers or bulbs, you will want to continue to water them using the hose. And fortunately, here in the Sonoran Desert, we get "Christmas rains", so you won't need to do any watering at all during that time.

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