Tricks for growing a beautiful sago palm

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I fell in love with sago palms at first sight. I had asked one of my co-workers for advice on what I should plant in my backyard in Glendale, Arizona (a suburb of Phoenix) when I first bought my house over twenty years ago, and when I saw a photo of a sago palm, I knew that I had to have one!

The good news is that they do great in the Phoenix area, and the bad news is that they're kind of expensive, and are fairly easy to accidentally kill, usually with kindness. If you found this post after killing an expensive sago palm, I can relate, I've been there. And over the years I've learned what to do. So this is a "learn from my fails" story.

First of all, they'll live in full sun, even in Phoenix, but they'll suffer, and look terrible. Find a place with some shade. The one in the pic up there is up against the east-facing wall of my house, and near a tree with dappled shade, which are perfect conditions. Don't plant a sago palm where it will get the full brunt of the afternoon sun - there are other plants for that.

And here's where most people kill them - with too much water. Yes, they like water, but their roots will root if they sit with their feet wet - get them up on a little bit of a slope. With enough of a slope you can water them as much as you water your other plants and they'll be fine. If they're in a swale, they will die.

And here's the most confusing part about these plants - they don't grow continuously, they only grow once (maybe twice if you're lucky) a year in quick flushes. Otherwise, they just sit there and stare at you. So you really can't tell if the plant is happy and healthy. When it flushes, you'll know. And those flushes are FAST! When the leaves start growing, it will only take a few days for them to finish.

So, if you follow me here, if you're watering and watering your sago palm thinking that it's not growing, there's a good chance you'll drown it. Calm down.

On the other hand, when you see it start to flush (tiny fresh leaves emerging from the middle), that's the time to be generous with the water (again, assuming good drainage). I like to fill a plastic container with a mixture of Miracle-Gro and water and douse the whole plant, generously. If for some reason the plant starts to flush and is unable to get water, it will stunt, and look terrible. So be sure that your watering system is working (since they flush in the summer).

So there ya go, now grow some beautiful sago palms!

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