Flowers and a sago palm

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Sago palms, like all cycads, don't flower. They are from an ancient lineage of plants that developed before the evolution of flowers. Google *dinosaurs* and you will see them. So, combining cycads and flowers is historically and botanically wrong, but it does look kind of cool. Here are some freesia that started blooming a couple of weeks ago (beginning of March) in front of a sago palm.

As you can see, the weight of the flowers is pulling them down so I have *woven* a few stems into the fronds of the cycad. The other flowers will need to be propped up somehow, with a bamboo stick or something. This is the first time I've tried this, and didn't realize the flowers would be so top-heavy. Live and learn!

If you are going to do this, keep in mind that cycads and flowers don't like the same amount of water. Flowers like a lot, cycads like very little. To get a combination like this, you will need a slope. As you can see in the photo, the flowers are at the base of the cycad, and because of the slope, the water drains off quickly and puddles very nicely where the flowers are.

These flowers were planted as bulbs in October. Freesia are readily available at your local Home Depot or Lowes. These particular freesia I purchased online at Easy to Grow Bulbs. They are called *Sunset Sisters* and are white, yellow, red, and combination of those colors.

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