Cycad cones and flushes

[Tracy]

Jetz habe ich drei, aber kein Zapfen.  Now I have 3 but no cone. Encephalartos lehmanii

[Tracy]

On 4/25/2019 at 11:39 AM, Tracy said:

oing in the opposite direction for size, this is a Zamia standleyi male coning again.  The flush it is holding looks pretty rancid at this point in time.  It keeps coning (old cones along with the new ones popping up), rather than flushing.  I went back and searched and see thes same leaves were in place as far back as August 2016, so it flushed them sometime prior to that.  It could be 3 years now since it has flushed, but it's definitely still viable as the cones prove.

Anyone have this problem with Zamia standleyi males (or females), which keep coning without giving flushes?

As we enter September, this Zamia standleyi finally decided to take a break from pushing out male cones and flush instead.  As noted, the last time it pushed leaves instead of cones was 3 years ago in 2016.  I'll soon be removing the two old leaves that remain because most of the leaflets have fallen off with only a few green leaflets coming off the rachis they are ugly!

[Brian]

Here is one of my favorites

 

[Brian]

View from a different angle

 

Edited September 4, 2019 by Brian

[Tracy]

14 hours ago, Brian said:

View from a different angle

 



With no mature leaves held on it, it is pretty difficult to identify at this point in the flush.  What is it?

[Brian]

6 hours ago, Tracy said:

With no mature leaves held on it, it is pretty difficult to identify at this point in the flush.  What is it?

Dioon tomasellii

[Tracy]

Unmistakably Cycas debaoensis

[Tracy]

Cycas tropophylla x micholitzi hybrid flush progression.  Starting small and leaves about 7' tall as flush is ready to harden off.

[Merlyn]

Here's a neat photo of my first big flush on an Encephalartos Ituriensis.  The older leaves had some iron staining from hard well water, but I left them all in place while it was rooting in...and was rewarded with 7 big healthy leaves!  I'll probably cut off the older slightly-stretched leaves once these are hardened off.

[Josh-O]

Aer x hor

 

[Josh-O]

Just another Inopinus

 

[Tracy]

On 9/3/2019 at 4:15 PM, Tracy said:

I'll soon be removing the two old leaves that remain because most of the leaflets have fallen off with only a few green leaflets coming off the rachis they are ugly!

 

Close to the end result of the flush.  Very tropical and delicate looking leaves on Zamia standleyi.

[Tracy]

A little leakage on one of the three Encephalartos natalensis x horridus cones and the full monty of the plant.  While an interesting plant, I don't have any female plants I would want to use this pollen on.  I hate to disappoint this plant, but it's pollen will be spread to the wind.

[5150cycad]

On 10/14/2019 at 5:08 PM, Tracy said:

A little leakage on one of the three Encephalartos natalensis x horridus cones and the full monty of the plant.  While an interesting plant, I don't have any female plants I would want to use this pollen on.  I hate to disappoint this plant, but it's pollen will be spread to the wind.

That is a beautiful hybrid. 

[Palm Tree Jim]

Anyone else getting late flushes this year in Southern CA?

I have some cycads throwing a second flush this year which seems late in the season for me.

[GeneAZ]

12 hours ago, Palm Tree Jim said:

Anyone else getting late flushes this year in Southern CA?

I have some cycads throwing a second flush this year which seems late in the season for me.

Yes!  I have 18 very large plants presently making large whorls of leaves.  It's going to take all of November for them to expand properly.  For the first time ever, my large E. eugene maraise with straight leaves, that I posted earlier this year, is making a second even larger rack of leaves and not losing any of the last rack of leaves.  It's a second spring!

[Meangreen94z]

I’m in Houston but my Encephalartos Altensteinii, Cycas Cupida, and Cycas Couttsiana have all flushed or are flushing recently 

[RyManUtah]

On 7/4/2019 at 5:16 PM, GeneAZ said:

Couple of eugene's growing last month.

What are these? The color on the right is stunning 

[GeneAZ]

These are two of my Encephalartos eugene-maraise growing earlier this year.  The one on the right is the one that's growing at the moment while retaining all the leaves you see in the image.  All I know is it is the straight leave form; meaning it doesn't twist at the top third of the leaves.  Also the leaflets themselves are shorter than my other plants.

[Tracy]

On 10/26/2019 at 6:29 AM, Palm Tree Jim said:

Anyone else getting late flushes this year in Southern CA?

I have some cycads throwing a second flush this year which seems late in the season for me.

Hi Jim.  Just a couple of Cycas thouarsii flushing which isn't too unusual this time of year for me.  I did come home to a single new leaf pushing on my E. horridus female but it was sort of late flush on a partial flush that came out earlier this fall with the cone.  I do worry that my E laurentianus is setting itself up for a flush next month.  Unfortunately a winter flush on the laurentianus means a damaged flush, as the winter flushes are slower and consequently more prone to wind, cold and rain damage.  They are especially vulnerable since the last flush had about 14' tall leaves which are well above the fence exposing them to the wind.  Most of the action in my garden in late October and early November was with the palms which seem to be carrying plenty of momentum through Autumn.

[DippyD]

[Josh-O]

On 11/15/2019 at 4:10 PM, DippyD said:

Bret?

[DippyD]

9 hours ago, Josh-O said:

Bret?

Hi Josh.....hahah

[Josh-O]

11 hours ago, DippyD said:

Hi Josh.....hahah

hahaha. I recognized that Arenarius .lol

[Tracy]

On 10/26/2019 at 6:29 AM, Palm Tree Jim said:

Anyone else getting late flushes this year in Southern CA?

I forgot about this one which was pushing out the flush when I got home from my trip.  No water for over 2 weeks during the Santa Ana's but it did just fine.

[caixeta]

Encephalartos horridus.

[Firepalm]

Some male Whitelockii x Sclavoi cones. These are pretty large cones.  Probably close to 18 inches tall. 

[Tracy]

1 hour ago, Firepalm said:

Some male Whitelockii x Sclavoi cones. These are pretty large cones. 

Nice!  Since both of my plants of this hybrid are flushing right now, I will be waiting a bit longer for the gender reveal.  I always hope that if they take longer they will be female.  All my Cycads that cone early seem to be males, but I don't think I have a sample big enough to be statistically significant to draw any conclusions from it.  As a consequence I just continue to hope for females on the plants that are holding out.

[Merlyn]

On 12/9/2019 at 6:04 PM, Firepalm said:

Some male Whitelockii x Sclavoi cones. These are pretty large cones.  Probably close to 18 inches tall. 

Can you post photos of the whole plant?  I have some 3-4 leaf seedlings that are a nice blue-green like yours, but I haven't decided where to plant them yet.  Are they about the same size as a Whitelockii?

[JubaeaMan138]

I to would like to see hole picture of the plant I have a huge one . Wondering when this guy might cone . Here is mine it’s about basketball size caudex 

[Firepalm]

Here are a couple shots of the whole plant.  I'm 6 feet tall so I'm guessing the plant is about 7-7.5 feet tall overall.  Easily a foot overhead when I stand next to it.  Tried to reach over and get an overhead shot without impaling myself.  Dank beverage can for scale. 

[Palmzilla]

A cone and a flush , enc longifolius 

[Palmzilla]

Winter flushing lati 

[Palmzilla]

Back to back enc arenarius conage 

[GeneAZ]

On 12/20/2019 at 10:09 AM, Palmzilla said:

Winter flushing lati 

Wow, that's the forward curl variation -- that seems to be recognized in SA as seldom seen.  I only have one that does this and it is getting better every year.  Don't you hate it when important plants grow in winter!  I have about 8 very large Encephs growing now, though I haven't used any fert since October 1st.

[GeneAZ]

On 12/13/2019 at 9:18 PM, Firepalm said:

Here are a couple shots of the whole plant.  I'm 6 feet tall so I'm guessing the plant is about 7-7.5 feet tall overall.  Easily a foot overhead when I stand next to it.  Tried to reach over and get an overhead shot without impaling myself.  Dank beverage can for scale. 

Mercy!  4-inch leaf bases like that are going to produce a ginormous adult with Phoenix canariensis proportions.  It's great there's lots of room around it.

[Tracy]

Getting close...

[Palm Tree Jim]

33 minutes ago, Tracy said:

Getting close...

Sure is!

[Marius]

My E middelburgensis is flushing. It skipped last season. It appears to be nice large flush.  The pic is taken four days ago. I’ll take a new pic today and post a bit later. 

[Marius]

This morning. 19 leaves