Cycad cones and flushes

[Tracy]

15 hours ago, 5150cycad said:

This second heat wave wasn’t hot enough to damage the new tender leaves on my Cycas Revoluta x cycas daeboensis. It seems to like the high temperatures. The leaves are going to be huge. 

Nice contrast with all the Encephalartos too!  Looking good Bryan!

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

Female cone and big flush at the same time. 

[Cikas]

Dioon edule seedlings has the first flush since planted in my garden.

 

[Josh-O]

just got a new flush on my Inopinus

[Palm Tree Jim]

Looking good Josh.

My ino flush is almost complete. 

[Tracy]

On 8/1/2018, 5:38:05, TexasColdHardyPalms said:

Female cone and big flush at the same time. 

Great color contrasts in the photo!  My Cycas thouarsii female does this same thing quite regularly with a flush pushing out of the megasporophylls.  I have to wonder if its a Cycas thing to do.  That said, I have had cones with simultaneous small flushes on Encephalartos as well.  My first E horridus cone (posted a little earlier in the flush) is now also pushing a single leaf in fact.

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

Zamia push leaves with cones more often than not for me. One out of four ceratozamia will as well. This is actually the first cycas I've ever had that pushed leaves with a cone but I've mainly have Chinese cycas in the past.  I'd expect the more tropical and quicker growing south asian cycas to cone&flush simultaneously but I have a few mature aussy cycas now so we'll see how they do in the future.  I think its safe to say that dioon would be the least likely cycad genus to flush & cone at the same time.  

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

Another sweet varigated cycad. Macrozamia fawcettii. 

[5150cycad]

During the last heat wave my cycas cairnsiana took a beating. I originally thought it was the heat but after talking to some friends it was seems as though lack of water was to blame. After some additional waterings the cycas flushed soon after and appears to be thriving with an 8 leaf flush. 

[Palm Tree Jim]

Very nice Bryan!

[Tracy]

On 8/9/2018, 9:29:50, 5150cycad said:

After some additional waterings the cycas flushed soon after and appears to be thriving with an 8 leaf flush. 

Major relief, both for the Cycas getting the water, and its apparent recovery for you!

[Funkthulhu]

Huh. . .   We had a couple good rains the last 2 weeks but I've been kinda busy.  Took a look on the Patio on Saturday and realize that my Sago had not only popped a new flush, but that the fronds were already 2 feet long.  Last time I watered (looked at it) it wasn't even hinting at a flush, I thought I was going to have a dormant summer.  

15 lbs Siamese for scale...

[Tracy]

10 hours ago, Funkthulhu said:

Took a look on the Patio on Saturday and realize that my Sago had not only popped a new flush, but that the fronds were already 2 feet long.  Last time I watered (looked at it) it wasn't even hinting at a flush, I thought I was going to have a dormant summer.  

Nice, very rewarding.  I'm sure you have the heat in the summer to get these to flush, the real art is how you care for it over winter.  Quite impressive, I know it must take a great deal of dedication.

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

Bifida flush hardened off (far left). These are very attractive cycads IMO. 

[Tracy]

1 hour ago, TexasColdHardyPalms said:

Bifida flush hardened off (far left). These are very attractive cycads IMO. 

 A nice selection of Cycas grouped together.

[Josh-O]

On 8/9/2018, 9:29:50, 5150cycad said:

During the last heat wave my cycas cairnsiana took a beating. I originally thought it was the heat but after talking to some friends it was seems as though lack of water was to blame. After some additional waterings the cycas flushed soon after and appears to be thriving with an 8 leaf flush. 

i love it when they do that

[Funkthulhu]

On 8/13/2018, 8:29:30, Tracy said:

Nice, very rewarding.  I'm sure you have the heat in the summer to get these to flush, the real art is how you care for it over winter.  Quite impressive, I know it must take a great deal of dedication.

I have found that if I maintain a reasonable winter watering schedule, the only thing I need to focus on is projecting enough light. (I'm in a mostly north-faced apartment)   I have several 4-foot shop-lights over the living room plant area, they have 4 different bulbs with 4 different frequencies (one of them is an LED tube) but no "grow lights" yet.  My big stuff (like the sago) seems to do okay.  But I think this winter I may have to just go ahead and get some red/blue LED blocks to help the little stuff maintain over those solar-lean months.

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

First pic male Cycas Angulata. No camera tricks on this one.  

Second dioon stevensonii brown/purple flush

[Tracy]

16 hours ago, TexasColdHardyPalms said:

First pic male Cycas Angulata

I absolutely love the color contrast on that Cycas angulata, with the tan/brown and what I would call seafoam color leaflets.  It also is giving you a nice prolific flush.

Switching gears and genus, my Encephalartos eugene-maraisii never does give out many new leaves, but they start out a nice golden color and shift to this dull grey green.  When compared to real blue cycads, I'm reluctant to call this a blue cycad.  The new leaves are still stretching and very soft (evident how they move in a slight breeze), so they haven't attained their hardened off color yet.  I still appreciate it for the stacking of the leaflets though!

[Tracy]

I was fascinated watching this Encephalartos cerinus flush this time as it seems to have reverted to what I think of as a "juvenile characteristic" of Encephalartos.  That is that instead of pushing the flush simultaneously, it reverted to pushing a couple of leaves partially before showing another and then another and finally the fifth leaf.  The previous flush was what I would have expected for an adolescent plant which was all the leaves emerging more or less together.  I guess this is it's way of reminding me that it is still a very young plant for a cycad.  Tops of leaflets on the last flush showed enough wax to give them an attractive blue tinge, so I'm hoping that pale green on this flush will eventually do the same for me.  Here the two first emerging leaves show much taller than the previous flush, but looking down on the caudex, the other leaves vary between 5" and the last just emerging at about 1" long.

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

Here are a few C. Zaragozae flush pics for @Silas_Sancona

[Josue Diaz]

My first contribution of many, i hope.  Dioon edule flushing for the first time since planting. The caudex is about the size of a baseball. 

 

[LoamWolf]

Hi all... seeing if I can get some help identifying some cycads. 

The first one is large, caudex is roughly 14". Cone emerging from one of the two that are planted next to each other. Both flushed last month as well. One was recently cleaned up, the other left alone. I'm guessing that its Encephalartos natalensis, but not 100%.

The other one is a much smaller plant, caudex is roughly 3". I just re-potted it, and a few days later 3 new leaves started emerging. I'm guessing an Encephalartos of some sort, but i'm so new to cycads I could be way off. 

Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks! 

[Tracy]

5 hours ago, LoamWolf said:

At this size, I won't hesitate a guess on which Encephalartos it is.  I could rule out plenty, but the remaining list would still be substantial, as the teeth on both the tops and bottoms of the pinnae at this stage may become less in number or even go away on one side or the other as it gets larger (depending on species).  Those who have grown many of the green Encephalartos from seed may be able to identify through experience, but I can't.

The two larger coning Encephalartos are probably natalensis, but I might have also guessed altensteinii had you not thrown out the natalensis.  My experience with both species are somewhat limited and based on my own natalensis hybrids as opposed to a pure E natalensis.  I see you are in Southern California, so I will share that if you get by the SD Botanical gardens in Encinitas (formerly Quail Botanical Garden ), you can compare yours to the many E natalensis they have growing there.

7 hours ago, Josue Diaz said:

 

Josue, nice color on the flush.

[5150cycad]

On 9/11/2018, 9:56:07, LoamWolf said:

Hi all... seeing if I can get some help identifying some cycads. 

The first one is large, caudex is roughly 14". Cone emerging from one of the two that are planted next to each other. Both flushed last month as well. One was recently cleaned up, the other left alone. I'm guessing that its Encephalartos natalensis, but not 100%.

The other one is a much smaller plant, caudex is roughly 3". I just re-potted it, and a few days later 3 new leaves started emerging. I'm guessing an Encephalartos of some sort, but i'm so new to cycads I could be way off. 

Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks! 

I think Tracy might be on to something with the first one being Encephalartos Altensteinii. The leaflets look to be a bit narrower than that of Natalensis. Either way looks like you have some nice big mature Encephalartos. The spines on the smaller one look similar to whitelockii, however  I would expect the older leaf to be a little bit bigger for a plant that size. 

[LoamWolf]

Tracy & Bryan thanks for the comments guys, really appreciate it! I agree that altensteinii it could very well be. The only reason for me thinking that the two larger cycads were natalensis is because I had read somewhere that altensteinii has a fairly long petiole and the basal leaflets do not reduce to a series of spines. As far as I can tell it looks that natalensis is the opposite and spines are present almost to the base of the petiole. Our plants seem to match natalensis better in this regard, at least from what I can tell with my limited knowledge. I'll have to get back to Quail and compare them. Now just figuring out if its female or male... time will tell i guess. 

Thanks for the input on the smaller one. I'll have to get it in the ground soon to get some more growth hopefully. Bryan, from what I can tell, its different then whitelockii, comparing to the one i got from you. 

Edited September 12, 2018 by LoamWolf

[5150cycad]

1 hour ago, LoamWolf said:

Tracy & Bryan thanks for the comments guys, really appreciate it! I agree that altensteinii it could very well be. The only reason for me thinking that the two larger cycads were natalensis is because I had read somewhere that altensteinii has a fairly long petiole and the basal leaflets do not reduce to a series of spines. As far as I can tell it looks that natalensis is the opposite and spines are present almost to the base of the petiole. Our plants seem to match natalensis better in this regard, at least from what I can tell with my limited knowledge. I'll have to get back to Quail and compare them. Now just figuring out if its female or male... time will tell i guess. 

Thanks for the input on the smaller one. I'll have to get it in the ground soon to get some more growth hopefully. Bryan, from what I can tell, its different then whitelockii, comparing to the one i got from you. 

Can u try and get a better picture of the entire leaf. It will help with ID. Thanks 

[Palm Tree Jim]

Anyone else in Southern CA getting some late flushing?

I have about 6 cycads flushing that normally do not this time of year.

Maybe the heat wave we have back in July?

By the way, I'm not complaining here.....a flush is always a great thing!

[5150cycad]

6 minutes ago, Palm Tree Jim said:

Anyone else in Southern CA getting some late flushing?

I have about 6 cycads flushing that normally do not this time of year.

Maybe the heat wave we have back in July?

By the way, I'm not complaining here.....a flush is always a great thing!

After we spoke yesterday I went out to see if I had any cycads flushing and low and behold I had one true blue arenarius, one arenarius and (2) longifolius. Maybe it was that last heat wave we got. The only time I ever complain about a Cycad flushing  is when my whitelockii starts flushing late November/early December. This will be the third year in a row it flushes through winter. Wish I could get it to flush earlier in the year. 

[Tracy]

4 hours ago, Palm Tree Jim said:

Anyone else in Southern CA getting some late flushing?

Yes, with my smaller Encephalartos I expect a second late flush since they often open just a few leaves at a time, but do it in sequence.  That said, I have a few things on second flushes this year right now: E (aren x horridus) x latifrons, E. (aren x latifrons) x latifrons, E horridus (the coning female), E whitlockii x sclavoi, E middelburgensis.  Cycas are also popping right now: C thouarsii which pushed male cones or female megasporophylls, C tropophylla x micholitzii and Cycas szechuanensis ssp fairylakea.  Dioon mejia is flushing, but it is it's first flush of 2018.

[LoamWolf]

On 9/12/2018, 3:34:34, 5150cycad said:

Can u try and get a better picture of the entire leaf. It will help with ID. Thanks 

Here is the best photo I have right now. I’ll have to get a better one when I get home. 

[Chris Wilson]

My Cycas Revoluta in Ohio growing its second flush of leaves this year, its first flush was around the beginning of July. I didn't think my growing season would be long enough for a second flush. 

[JeffP]

Dioon caoutoi first cone

[Tracy]

9 hours ago, JeffP said:

Dioon caoutoi

Dioon caputoi?  Nice big specimen of so.  My Dioon knowledge is somewhat limited to the most common species.

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

@JeffP i should get up there and check that out!!

[JeffP]

1 hour ago, Tracy said:

Dioon caputoi?  Nice big specimen of so.  My Dioon knowledge is somewhat limited to the most common species.

Yes it is a caputoi. Sorry I used my phone and misspelled. 

[JeffP]

23 minutes ago, TexasColdHardyPalms said:

@JeffP i should get up there and check that out!!

Definitely! I still need to get down to your place as well!

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

Cycad calcicola

[5150cycad]

14 hours ago, TexasColdHardyPalms said:

Cycad calcicola

Nice Joseph. Beautiful specimens. 

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

Cycas Angulata flush