Cycad - Encephalartos natalensis

-
The president of The Arizona Palm and Cycad Association was kind enough to give me this plant, an  Encephalartos natalensis cycad, many years ago, and it is doing well at The Tropical Paradise. I transplanted it this spring, so I was nervous, but it sent up a nice new flush that got just a little bit sunburned, so I am satisfied. After another year in its new location, it will be fine.

The Encephalartos natalensis is a very close relation to Encephalartos woodii, the rarest cycad in the world. In fact, the natalensis is what is being used to create a cross with the woodii. But where a similarly-sized Encephalartos woodii would be worth thousands of dollars, the natalensis is fairly common. Rarity of species of cycads can mean a huge difference in value. Me, I'm not a "deep pockets" collector, I just like the way they look. Over the years, my association with The Arizona Palm and Cycad association has taught me a lot. I enjoy going to the meetings and hanging out with "the cycad guys" but I really don't see spending so much money on plants. What I spend is time, and care. I'm a web designer, and I work out of my house, so I can keep an eye on the plants.

My professional blog for BradHallArt is here.

Cycads are not demanding plants. They grow very slowly, and mostly just ask to be left alone. It's not like you have to trim the flowers off, you know - cycads don't flower! The cycad in the foreground (just under the date stamp) is a Dioon spinulosum, and so is the one just slightly to the left of the Encephalartos natalensis. The plant in the back is a Phoenix roebellini, which is a palm, not a cycad. The cycad at far left is a Macrozamia mooreii, and the cycad leaves trying to poke into the picture at the very far right are from an Encephalartos manikensis. The tiny cycad with the long leaves which is growing just to the right of the Encephalartos natalensis is a type of zamia. And that familiar-looking leaf just above the Encephalartos natalensis is a common croton, just a houseplant from Lowe's, which has survived through last winter, and now, summer.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to tell if your cycad (sago palm) is alive or dead

-
Image
Cycads are strange plants. They're beautiful, and look like small palm trees, or large ferns. They grow very slowly, and can be very expensive, even common ones like "sago palms". But sago palms, in spite of their common name, aren't palms at all. They belong to a group of plants called cycads. They are wonderfully weird, and grow in strange ways. And sometimes they lose all of their leaves. Of course, if it were a palm tree that lost all of its leaves, you would know that the plant was dead. But it's not true of cycads. So don't dig that cycad up and throw it away! Not yet. If you've recently transplanted a cycad, and the leaves have all faded away, hang on. Take a look at the top center of the plant, at what I call "the pucker". There you will see some stubby, soft fronds, no more than an half-inch or so. At least that's what you should see. That means that the plant is still alive, and has dropped its leaves to focus on building r...
Read more

Rooting sago palm pups for more plants

-
Image
Once a sago palm ( cycas revoluta ) reaches a certain level of maturity, it starts to create pups. Like agaves, these are little plants that are exactly the same as the parent plant, only smaller. And yes, you can trim them off and grow them into new plants. This is how to do it. Cut them off from the parent plant with a sharp knife. If there are any roots at the bottom, try to save them, but chances are there won't be any. That's not a problem. The next step is rooting them. Douse the cut part and the bottom of the plant with some garden sulfur and some rooting hormone powder. Rooting hormone powder is pretty easy to find at your local Home Depot. I had to go to a real nursery to get garden sulfur. Anyway, the idea is to keep the little plant from rotting while giving it time to grow its own roots. Sago palm pups being rooted Bury them fairly deep in some free-draining mix. It should include volcanic pumice, if you can find it, and if not, you can use perlite. I ...
Read more

Growing sunflowers from Pennsylvania in Arizona

-
Image
It's October 21st, and I just received some sunflower seeds from a friend in Pennsylvania. Their season is ending and the season for planting here in Arizona is just beginning, and I'm kinda wondering if the seeds are wondering what's going on? It's spring again already? If you're new to the Phoenix, Arizona area, and are from back east it must seem kinda strange that fall and winter is our flower season, but it is. By springtime it will start to get so hot here that the flowers will die, and of course back east the season is just beginning.  Sunflowers growing in Peoria, Arizona, about a mile from where I live I've seen sunflowers blooming around my neighborhood of Glendale, which is a suburb of Phoenix, in the winter, and although I've never grown them I understand that they're easy to grow. I guess I'll find out - I learn best by doing! The seeds arrived safely, and it's my understanding that they were still connected to the spent flower (I do...
Read more