How to encourage your cycads to grow

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As you know, cycads grow differently from most plants. Instead of growing steadily all through a growing season, they send leaves up very quickly in a "flush", which only lasts a few days, and usually only happens once a year. And so as the weather warms up, you will find yourself going out every day to see if something is happening, looking down into the middle of the plant.


At first, it's just about impossible to tell, but once the flush gets going, you will see new leaves fast! And if you're like me, you want to encourage your plants as much as possible during that time.

I'm a big believer in positive thinking and encouragement, so as soon as you see signs of a flush, take a photo, and post it on Facebook, or Instagram, or wherever. You will find that there are a LOT of people out there who are happy to see the flush, and you'll get some good encouragement. Now go mix up some water-soluble fertilizer, you know, like Miracle-Gro, and dump it into the crown, on all of the leaves, and just generally get the plant nice and wet.

Of course your cycads are planted in soil that drains well, and any excess water will flow away. My cycads are all on little hills, which allows excellent drainage. My experience is that if cycads sit with their "feet wet" (poor drainage), the roots will rot and they will die. With good drainage, you can douse them with extra water just about every day while they're flushing. You won't kill them with this kindness.

And I know that this won't happen to you, but if you miss seeing the flush, and the plant for whatever reason doesn't get any water, especially if it's really hot, the flush will stunt, and look terrible. So keep your eyes open, and when your cycad starts to flush, go give it a drink!

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