Cycad cones and flushes

[Merlyn]

19 hours ago, Firepalm said:

After 3 years of cones, this encephalartos whitelockii x sclavoi is finally pushing a nice flush of new leaves. 

Could you post a photo of the whole plant?  I have two smaller Sclavoi x Ituriensis, the biggest has a few ~4 foot leaves now.  At the moment mine look mostly like a somewhat less spiny Whitelockii/Ituriensis, because the slightly bluish color washes off in our daily afternoon thunderstorms.  I'd love to see what a full sized one looks like!

[Tracy]

5 hours ago, Merlyn said:

Could you post a photo of the whole plant?  I have two smaller Sclavoi x Ituriensis, the biggest has a few ~4 foot leaves now.  At the moment mine look mostly like a somewhat less spiny Whitelockii/Ituriensis, because the slightly bluish color washes off in our daily afternoon thunderstorms.  I'd love to see what a full sized one looks like!

A female Encephalartos whitelockii × sclavoi.

[Tracy]

Encephalartos laurentianus flush sequence from 6/06/2022 thru 7/11/2022 and still pushing up and yet to harden off any leaflets.  I removed the older flush part way through the new one flushing because the long leaves were starting to spread out and crowd other nearby plants.  Tips of the old flush were damaged anyway because it was a winter flush when things above the wall level tend to get wind, rain and cold damage.  It is always exciting to see this flush in spring or summer because I know the flush will be much more attractive.

[Peter]

That's impressive!

[Tracy]

3 hours ago, Peter said:

That's impressive!

It is amazing how much energy these large species cycads must store up to push flushes like this.  There is a tremendous amount of work going on in the caudex and in their roots between flushes to be able to grow so much in such a short period.

[amh]

Encephalartos gratus X hildebrandtii hybrid putting out leaf number two in less than 40 days, must be hybrid vigor. I had to add a stake because the plant is getting top heavy.

[Merlyn]

22 minutes ago, amh said:

Encephalartos gratus X hildebrandtii hybrid putting out leaf number two in less than 40 days, must be hybrid vigor. I had to add a stake because the plant is getting top heavy.

Nice!  I have one of those hybrids too, bought from PT member Nate.  I think it's natetures domain, or something like that.  Mine is growing pretty quick too.

[amh]

Just now, Merlyn said:

Nice!  I have one of those hybrids too, bought from PT member Nate.  I think it's natetures domain, or something like that.  Mine is growing pretty quick too.

That is who I bought mine from, I'll have to order some more cycads from him when its not so hot.

[Tracy]

1 hour ago, amh said:

Encephalartos gratus X hildebrandtii hybrid putting out leaf number two in less than 40 days, must be hybrid vigor. I had to add a stake because the plant is getting top heavy.

Younger Encephalartos tend to push sequential small flushes rather than a big flush.  Expect fewer flushes but more leaves as it matures.   Hybrid vigor could also play into its growth over time. 

[Tracy]

I think this is pretty unusual for Encephalartos horridus to have two female cones.  I had to check Loran Whitelock's work "The Cycads" just to confirm that they normally only produce one female cone at a time.  Anyone else seen more than one female cone on an Encephalartos horridus at one time?

[Tracy]

On 7/11/2022 at 4:49 PM, Tracy said:

Encephalartos laurentianus flush

A different perspective on that Encephalartos laurentianus as it approaches the end of the flush.  This time what the neighbors see when walking by outside the wall of the plant.  Kind of a double flush here with the Encephalartos whitlockii x sclavoi on the outside of the wall also pushing a flush, followed by a closer up view of the E whitlockii x sclavoi.

[Tracy]

Still quite young and small, but it provides an attractive flush Ceratozamia fuscoviridis after it finishes flushing, I really need to plant it into a larger container or into the ground.  Photo-bombing by an Operculicarya decaryi on one side and flowers of a Pelargonium on the other side.  I really like these colorful flushing Ceratozamia species.

[freakypalmguy]

15 hours ago, Tracy said:

A different perspective on that Encephalartos laurentianus as it approaches the end of the flush.  This time what the neighbors see when walking by outside the wall of the plant.  Kind of a double flush here with the Encephalartos whitlockii x sclavoi on the outside of the wall also pushing a flush, followed by a closer up view of the E whitlockii x sclavoi.

That laurentianus is really impressive, great sequence shots

[Gallop]

Ceratozamia starting a flush.

[edbrown_III]

7 hours ago, freakypalmguy said:

That laurentianus is really impressive, great sequence shots

wow how much cold has these taken ? I am about re

ady to plant a few out 

[Merlyn]

7 hours ago, edbrown_III said:

wow how much cold has these taken ? I am about ready to plant a few out 

I bought several from Chuck G a couple of years ago, and have 7 in the ground here on the NW side of Orlando.  They take some damage around 28F with frost, like distorted leaves on a flush that started in mid-December and some minor leaf burn.  The real test was at the end of January this year, where I saw frost combined with:

• 24.4F in the SE corner (4 hours below 27F)- triple with ~80% leaf & rachis burn on 6" caudexes, all three are finally flushing single fronds
• 25.5F in the SW corner (4.5 hours below 27F) - single with 50% leaf burn on a 10" caudex, flushed in May and looks good now
• 27.7F in the nursery, no damage to a couple 6" caudex in pots, but protected from frost
• 27.5F in the NE side (4.5 hours from 27-29F) - One in the wide open 90% defoliated & rachis burn - 10" caudex and flushed a healthy set in June; one near the house & driveway with 25% burn

Overall they seem to be very slightly hardier than my Whitelockii/Ituriensis from Chuck, but this might just be due to location and frost protection.  The big damage was mostly with (relatively speaking) extreme cold in the SE corner on some younger plants, and pretty heavy frost in the NE corner.  As a reference, the nursery plants saw the same temps as the NE corner ones.  The nursery ones had good canopy and took basically zero damage, while the NE corner one was defoliated and most of the rachis were killed.  Here's the temp profile:

[Tracy]

On 7/21/2022 at 11:14 PM, Tracy said:

A different perspective on that Encephalartos laurentianus as it approaches the end of the flush.  This time what the neighbors see when walking by outside the wall of the plant.  Kind of a double flush here with the Encephalartos whitlockii x sclavoi on the outside of the wall also pushing a flush, followed by a closer up view of the E whitlockii x sclavoi.

 

8 hours ago, edbrown_III said:

wow how much cold has these taken ? I am about re

ady to plant a few out 

Ed this one doesn't get below 32.  I get some frost on the roof in winter at temps in the mid to high 30's but it isn't long lasting.   The years it flushes in winter i normally see leaf deformity on the top above wall height.   I am just a flush away from a healthy one though.  I normally only leave the most recent flush on it, because the older flush starts to take up too much space as it becomes less vertical. 

[amh]

The ceratozamia genus really needs to become mainstream; these plants are too neat to only be grown by serious collectors.

[Gallop]

On 7/22/2022 at 10:48 PM, Gallop said:

Ceratozamia starting a flush.

Edited July 24, 2022 by Gallop

[Tracy]

Male cones on an Encephalartos turneri look more like eggs in a nest at this stage.  Such a nice soft wool and fuzz covered nest, protected by armored teeth above.  It will be interesting to see if the center fuzzy cataphylls will develop into a flush or are they just sacrificial limbs surrounding this cone push.

[Sr. Califas]

Love this cycad. 

 

[edbrown_III]

On 7/23/2022 at 9:10 AM, Merlyn said:

I bought several from Chuck G a couple of years ago, and have 7 in the ground here on the NW side of Orlando.  They take some damage around 28F with frost, like distorted leaves on a flush that started in mid-December and some minor leaf burn.  The real test was at the end of January this year, where I saw frost combined with:

• 24.4F in the SE corner (4 hours below 27F)- triple with ~80% leaf & rachis burn on 6" caudexes, all three are finally flushing single fronds
• 25.5F in the SW corner (4.5 hours below 27F) - single with 50% leaf burn on a 10" caudex, flushed in May and looks good now
• 27.7F in the nursery, no damage to a couple 6" caudex in pots, but protected from frost
• 27.5F in the NE side (4.5 hours from 27-29F) - One in the wide open 90% defoliated & rachis burn - 10" caudex and flushed a healthy set in June; one near the house & driveway with 25% burn

Overall they seem to be very slightly hardier than my Whitelockii/Ituriensis from Chuck, but this might just be due to location and frost protection.  The big damage was mostly with (relatively speaking) extreme cold in the SE corner on some younger plants, and pretty heavy frost in the NE corner.  As a reference, the nursery plants saw the same temps as the NE corner ones.  The nursery ones had good canopy and took basically zero damage, while the NE corner one was defoliated and most of the rachis were killed.  Here's the temp profile:

Much obliged --this emboldens me --- I have E. hildebranditt  out by house and green house and have seen E. gratus in the ground way out at Kyle Browns in Glen St Mary FL --- salute 

[Tracy]

On 7/27/2022 at 3:45 PM, Sr. Califas said:

Love this cycad. 

 

Encephalartos dyerianus?

[Sr. Califas]

It's one of Sparkman's old creations; (Lehmannii x Arenarius) X Spineless Trispinosus. 

[Tracy]

49 minutes ago, Sr. Califas said:

It's one of Sparkman's old creations; (Lehmannii x Arenarius) X Spineless Trispinosus. 

Not as easy to distinguish when looking on the little screen of the phone.  Interesting in that it has some twist or beveling of the leaflets like an arenarius, but completely unarmed.  Now I can see that the abaxial side of leaflets are a little different color than the adaxial, which brings it back to the Cape blues. 

I got this one from George as an Encephalartos blue arenarius x latifrons, but it looks more like a straight blue arenarius.  Still happy either way with this boy.  I do have to admit I was very surprised to see it coning this young.

[Merlyn]

Here's my first ever Encephalartos Ferox cone starting.  I was *really* hoping for a spring flush, because I planted this in August last year as a 15g pot that was fairly stretched out as a shade-grown plant.  The 24F frost torched most of the inner set of fronds, and our May drought sunburned most of the others.  So of course, instead of flushing a nice new set of sun-acclimated fronds it decided to cone! 

[edbrown_III]

Zamia obliqua flushing in my lil rainforest 

[Gallop]

ceratozamia chamberlainii flushing.

[Firepalm]

Some late season flushes at my house this year.  Here are some progression shots of a hybrid (Altensteinii x Latifrons) x Horridus.  Still just a baby.  

[Tracy]

45 minutes ago, Firepalm said:

Some late season flushes at my house this year.

Living near the coast, I have come to expect that a lot of things will flush later in the season.

Encephalartos trispinosis pushing a cone and small flush at the same time.

Zamia standleyi pushing only a single new frond

Encephalartos horridus "Steytlerville" form's main caudex catching up by flusing now after the pupsflushed early in the season

Dioon mejiae doing it's thing right now

E whitlockii x sclavoi male pushing a flush that is a bit taller than earlier flushes which was a little surprising

Cycas debaoensis female adding 7 new leaves while still holding 6 from the previous flush

Cycas debaoensis male pushing out 4 new leaves a little behind the female

[Firepalm]

Lots of great shots in there Tracy! Thanks as always for sharing

[Silas_Sancona]

My mystery Ceratozamia  ...something...  flushing a little color.. 







Whatever it is, it has been pretty tough, standing up to our heat ...and my abuse.  Finally getting it into a larger pot so it can actually grow, haha.

[Tracy]

2 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

My mystery Ceratozamia  ...something

Interesting and attractive little cycad.  I don't know all the Ceratozamias, but I can't think of any off the top of my head that have the serrated/armed leaf margins like that.  My guess would have been something in the Zamia genus as opposed to Ceratozamia.  I have one Zamia/Ceratozamia that I still haven't id'd even after it coned.  When I got it from Jungle Music several years ago even Phil and Jesse couldn't agree on whether it was a Zamia or a Ceratozamia.  How long have you been growing it now Nathan?  

[Silas_Sancona]

1 hour ago, Tracy said:

Interesting and attractive little cycad.  I don't know all the Ceratozamias, but I can't think of any off the top of my head that have the serrated/armed leaf margins like that.  My guess would have been something in the Zamia genus as opposed to Ceratozamia.  I have one Zamia/Ceratozamia that I still haven't id'd even after it coned.  When I got it from Jungle Music several years ago even Phil and Jesse couldn't agree on whether it was a Zamia or a Ceratozamia.  How long have you been growing it now Nathan?  

Been stumped by the same thoughts as well.. Pretty sure this came up in 2015.  At the time, i had Ceratozamia latifolia,  Ceratozamia hildae, and Zamia vazquezii ( ...or fischeri )   C. latifolia was the only plant that was old enough to to cone and did so that year.. and Vazquez./ fischeri is the only one of the 3 that had serrated leaf margins..

No idea what pollinated it since the other two were too young to do anything and there were no other Cycads anywhere nearby  but this seedling was the result.

Interesting to see how it looks after a couple years of good growth now that it can stretch out / bulk up in a bigger pot.

 

[Gallop]

a couple pictures from this morning. 

[Gallop]

a couple pictures from this morning. 

[Jubaea_James760]

11 hours ago, Tracy said:

Encephalartos trispinosis pushing a cone and small flush at the same

Mines doing the same

[Funkthulhu]

 

My Sago threw a flush this summer, 20 new fronds!  I've been growing this for nearly 20 years in a pot in Nebraska.  I now need a hand truck to move the thing. 

 

No inflorescence yet, any idea when a Sago declares sexual maturity?

[Tracy]

On 8/4/2022 at 9:14 AM, Funkthulhu said:

No inflorescence yet, any idea when a Sago declares sexual maturity?

They don't flower so don't produce an inflorescence.  If it is a male, you will see a cone and if female, like all Cycas they produce megasporophylls instead of a cone.  Cycas is the only Cycad genus that doesn't have cones in both male and female plants.  In warmer climates, Cycas revoluta will start producing cones or megasporophylls  much earlier than 20 years.  You can see the undeveloped leaves with seeds on the Cycas revoluta below.  They are the ring just below the latest flush on this female.  The undeveloped leaves with seeds are the megasporophylls.  Some other Cycas pictured too with slightly different appearing megasporophylls, but you can still see that they are undeveloped leaves bearing seeds.  The last two photos are male cones on Cycas species.

[yeye]

On 8/4/2022 at 7:48 AM, Gallop said:

a couple pictures from this morning. 

Ceratozamia fuscovriridis and chamberlainii for the last two pics ?

Edited August 5, 2022 by yeye