Cycad cones and flushes

[realarch]

Tracy, that Encephalartos almost look artificial with the light colored caudix and green/gray color of the leaves. It has such a perfect proportion.

[Billeb]

47 minutes ago, realarch said:

Tracy, that Encephalartos almost look artificial with the light colored caudix and green/gray color of the leaves. It has such a perfect proportion.

Enc. Princeps’ form is second only to Longifolius in my opinion. But it’s a very close second. 
 

-dale 

[DippyD]

E.princeps 

[DippyD]

E. Princeps

[DippyD]

E. Horridus 

[Tracy]

On 6/2/2023 at 12:36 PM, realarch said:

Tracy, that Encephalartos almost look artificial with the light colored caudix and green/gray color of the leaves. It has such a perfect proportion.

Yes. These do have what was once described to me as a very formal look with their proportions evenly distributed.   While I have seen very large specimens with pups, it is rare to see plants my size or DippyD 's even with pups st the base.  I would agree with Dale that these and Encephalartos longifolius have the most formal shape.  Maybe throw in a big Encephalartos latifrons to the list too.

 

On 6/2/2023 at 9:33 PM, DippyD said:

E. Princeps

That is a big one.  Do I see the rim of a pot or is this one in the ground?  Did it lose the previous flush before this one emerged or did you trim it off?

[BillAndy]

Encephalartos Manikensis purchased late last year was not looking good in a half empty 3 gal. pot, but is pushing a new flush 6 months later after being repotted. 

[Merlyn]

Here's another that I've been watching with some degree of concern.  I bought three of these from ChuckG back in 2020 and planted two in the fall of 2020, and this one in fall of 2021.  It's been sitting there with a couple of scraggly leaves for 1.5 years.  Meanwhile the other two have flushed multiple times and are getting really huge.  Theoretically this is some kind of Thailand Cycas, as Chuck grew it from a batch with Multipinnata, Debaoensis, and others from the area.  The other two look sorta like Simplicipinna but also Diannanensis, so it's really a SWAG at this point:

[Merlyn]

And this one is concerning...but for a different reason!  It is a Rev x Deb (or x Multifrondis) that's been in the ground from a large seedling since October 2019.  It's got a great new flush going, hopefully without a Manganese deficiency.  But the "concerning" part about it is the one...two...five offsets around the base!  It's a little hard to see, but there are 5 random stems coming up around the perimeter.  I have several other Panz x Deb and Rev x Deb, and this is the only one that's pupping...so far!  I'm going to have to take off the pups at some point, or this is going to end up being the Cycad That Ate The Yard!!!

It also has a bunch of cycas scale on it, so apparently it's time to check all my Cycas again...

 

[Scott W]

Looks like the seed is developing on my Cycas panzhihuaensis pollinated with Multifrondis....fingers crossed.

 

[DippyD]

On 6/4/2023 at 6:22 AM, Tracy said:

Yes. These do have what was once described to me as a very formal look with their proportions evenly distributed.   While I have seen very large specimens with pups, it is rare to see plants my size or DippyD 's even with pups st the base.  I would agree with Dale that these and Encephalartos longifolius have the most formal shape.  Maybe throw in a big Encephalartos latifrons to the list too.

 

That is a big one.  Do I see the rim of a pot or is this one in the ground?  Did it lose the previous flush before this one emerged or did you trim it off?

It’s in a box, was going to plant it and it started flushing so I’m waiting.  The old flush  started going brown right before the new flush so i cut the old leaves off 

[Billeb]

Tis the season for new growth and flushes. Here’s a couple moving along nicely. 
 

Encephalartos Princeps. Looks like it’s gonna be a full set. I count 10 fronds on this one. The copper leaves are super cool on Princeps flushes! 🤘

 

Encephalartos Lehmanii Kirkwood form. I count 6 fronds so it’s a healthy push. 

 

-dale 

[tinman10101]

so my biggest lehmanii is flushing after being dormant for 2 years.  it has about 15 leaf flush.  its the bluest cycad in my garden and really sets off in the morning when the sun hits it in the garden.  

 

first start of flush 3 days ago

 

this morning ...

 

overall view on planter with morning sun ....

[Merlyn]

I just noticed that my biggest "unknown Cycas" is putting out a monstrous 40+ leaf flush!  This is the most fronds I've seen at one time out of any cycad in my yard...by a long shot!

And the baby "unknown Cycas" is finally doing a 4 frond flush.  These two were purchased at the same time, at the same size, and planted not too long apart. 

 

[Tracy]

Cycas taitungensis letting me know she is female.  I don't recall that it has revealed its gender before.   Got this as a 2 or 3 leaf seedling in a 3" × 9" band from Phil at Jungle Music a while back... a long while back. 

[Tracy]

Getting a double .... cone and flush on this acquired as Ceratozamia latifolia.  Nice color on the flushes.

[Tracy]

This came from Quail Botanical Garden gift shop, labeled as Encephalartos natalensis back beforethename changeto San Diego Botanical garden.   The leaflets are quite similar to my pair of  Encephalartos natalensis × horridus from George Sparkman.  Still too young to have coned but getting closer to the size that my hybrids first coned male.  Flush is getting close to full size and ready to harden.

[Tracy]

Encephalartos sp. "Vumba" beginning a flush.  This is one of the few cycads which I am growing that normally at least partially defoliates as the new flush emerges and rarely holds any of the lower leaves by the time the new flush hardens.  It looks to be doing the same this year.  No cones yet on this specimen.   Anyone else growing this?

[tinman10101]

On 6/24/2023 at 4:00 PM, Tracy said:

This came from Quail Botanical Garden gift shop, labeled as Encephalartos natalensis back beforethename changeto San Diego Botanical garden.   The leaflets are quite similar to my pair of  Encephalartos natalensis × horridus from George Sparkman.  Still too young to have coned but getting closer to the size that my hybrids first coned male.  Flush is getting close to full size and ready to harden.

it definitely looks like nat x hor tracy.  in fact before i read your dialogue on it i was thinking the same.  i am amazed how diverse your garden is.  you must have quite the real estate to have such great palms and cycads and still not have the jungly effect.  wish i could of made it that one time to see your garden when it was opened to the palm society.

here is a 20 leaf flush on my lehmanii

 

[Tracy]

9 hours ago, tinman10101 said:

it definitely looks like nat x hor tracy.  in fact before i read your dialogue on it i was thinking the same.  i am amazed how diverse your garden is.  you must have quite the real estate to have such great palms and cycads and still not have the jungly effect.  wish i could of made it that one time to see your garden when it was opened to the palm society.

here is a 20 leaf flush on my lehmanii

 

I was lucky to be able to retain my prior home as a rental, so have two gardens to draw upon.  Both are pretty typical size lots for Southern California suburban areas.  

That is a healthy flush you have going with the Encephalartos lehmannii. Lokks like it has great color too.  

[DippyD]

Few things waking up! 

 

[Tracy]

6 hours ago, DippyD said:

Few things waking up! 

 

Love the latifrons as well as the horridus and first one (lehmannii?).

Acquired this as a hybrid at two leaf band size, but it looks more like straight Encephalartos horridus as it matures.  It has pupped a few times, so is just a twisted hot mess even after I trimmed a few leaflets to allow the multiple flushes space to emerge.  Thus far it has remained very compact with short leaves so I am interested to see if they start to stretch a little more with this flush.

[realarch]

Lepidozamia peroffskyana male cone, an amazing sight for me.

Tim

[Tracy]

6 hours ago, realarch said:

Lepidozamia peroffskyana male cone, an amazing sight for me.

Tim

That's twisted Tim!  It does really expose the pollen for viewing though doesn't it?  These cones go from big to giant when they do their corkscrew opening.  I haven't seen any other genus do this, and since I failed with growing L. hopei, the only other species in the genus, I can't even confirm that they share this male corkscrew opening with L peroffskyana.

[DippyD]

On 6/27/2023 at 5:05 AM, Tracy said:

Love the latifrons as well as the horridus and first one (lehmannii?).

Acquired this as a hybrid at two leaf band size, but it looks more like straight Encephalartos horridus as it matures.  It has pupped a few times, so is just a twisted hot mess even after I trimmed a few leaflets to allow the multiple flushes space to emerge.  Thus far it has remained very compact with short leaves so I am interested to see if they start to stretch a little more with this flush.

No latifrons in this sequence… something a little more woodsy. Fresh lehmanii flush showing that purple Hugh 

[Tracy]

2 hours ago, DippyD said:

something a little more woodsy.

Pure or hybrid???  Those fat wide lower leaflets threw me because they are typical of both latifrons and woodii.   It still has tightly stacked leaflets at this point in the flush as well.  I'll have to post my hybrid which has 3 flushes going on the main caudex and the 2 pups.  She decided to skip coning for now and focus on flushing.  After last year's pair of cones, she deserves a rest.

[DippyD]

7 hours ago, Tracy said:

Pure or hybrid???  Those fat wide lower leaflets threw me because they are typical of both latifrons and woodii.   It still has tightly stacked leaflets at this point in the flush as well.  I'll have to post my hybrid which has 3 flushes going on the main caudex and the 2 pups.  She decided to skip coning for now and focus on flushing.  After last year's pair of cones, she deserves a rest.

That one’s pure… few different crosses flushing now also though… 

[Tracy]

8 hours ago, DippyD said:

That one’s pure… few different crosses flushing now also though… 

Someday you will have the pollen to do backcrosses which will be very cool.  F2"s of your own making. 

[DippyD]

14 hours ago, Tracy said:

Someday you will have the pollen to do backcrosses which will be very cool.  F2"s of your own making. 

That’s the goal!!!

[realarch]

Tracy, the amount of pollen visible on top of the open cone segments and the ease at which going airborne, was rather fascinating. The thought of what it must be like during habitat reproductive season where it might look a bit foggy. 

Tim

[Billeb]

5 hours ago, realarch said:

Tracy, the amount of pollen visible on top of the open cone segments and the ease at which going airborne, was rather fascinating. The thought of what it must be like during habitat reproductive season where it might look a bit foggy. 

Tim

I was gonna say Tim….capture that dust and walk 20yds to the Mrs Lepidozamia and sprinkle away. Probably the last thing you need is a bunch of babies around tho. 😆

 

-dale 

[realarch]

Dale, I briefly thought about doing just that! Thankfully Ms. Lepidozamia is not receptive yet and curtailed my habitual need to collect seed and grow MORE stuff. I wonder if there is therapy for that?

Tim

[Tracy]

On 6/30/2023 at 5:23 PM, realarch said:

Dale, I briefly thought about doing just that! Thankfully Ms. Lepidozamia is not receptive yet and curtailed my habitual need to collect seed and grow MORE stuff. I wonder if there is therapy for that?

Tim

In the cycad world that compulsion leads to a lot of hybrids.   I am guilty of not wanting to waste a female cone and sometimes try whatever pollen is ready in the garden.  The real discipline comes when you have a lagging male cone of the same species and are trying to decide whether to wait and see if it catches up while your female is receptive or just use pollen from a different species. 

Bottom line Tim, no cure, pills or therapy for the collecting and propagation bug.   The best we can hope for is spreading it to others so we can share our over abundance with other gardens.  Any of your neighbors looking to sell their homes... expansion is the other alternative. 

[Tracy]

On 7/2/2023 at 7:47 AM, Tracy said:

The real discipline comes when you have a lagging male cone of the same species and are trying to decide whether to wait and see if it catches up while your female is receptive or just use pollen from a different species. 

The dilemma presents itself... to wait for the matching male cone, which has a ways to go or use pollen from the almost ready Cycas szechuanensis ssp fairylakea cone?

[Navarro]

 

13 hours ago, Tracy said:

El dilema se presenta... ¿esperar por el cono macho correspondiente, que tiene mucho camino por recorrer o usar polen del cono casi listo de Cycas szechuanensis ssp fairylakea ?

Recuerdo haber visto un tutorial de Simon lavaud ,especialista en cycas de cómo almacenar polen ,si lo encuentro te lo paso 

[Navarro]

 

17 hours ago, Tracy said:

El dilema se presenta... ¿esperar por el cono macho correspondiente, que tiene mucho camino por recorrer o usar polen del cono casi listo de Cycas szechuanensis ssp fairylakea ?

Recuerdo haber visto un tutorial de Simon lavaud ,especialista en cycas de cómo almacenar polen ,si lo encuentro te lo paso 

[Navarro]

Justo ahora, Navarro dijo:

 

Recuerdo haber visto un tutorial de Simon Lavaud ,especialista en cycas de cómo almacenar polen ,si lo encuentro te lo paso 

https://cycadales.eu/la-conservation-du-pollen-de-cycadales/

 

[Tracy]

1 hour ago, Navarro said:

https://cycadales.eu/la-conservation-du-pollen-de-cycadales/

 

Interesting article.  I know others who preserve pollen from their rarest cycads when they don't have a receptive female.  From what I have been told, the frozen pollen yields less consistent fertilization, hence the preference for fresh pollen.  My wife wouldn't be enthusiastic about me storing pollen from my cycads in our cold storage either.  

[Tracy]

On 6/27/2023 at 10:00 AM, realarch said:

Lepidozamia peroffskyana male cone, an amazing sight for me.

Tim

Sequential firing here with cone 2 catching up pretty quickly with it's ever so slightly older sibling.  Also had to get a close up of where all that pollen is stored.

[Tracy]

On 6/23/2018 at 9:24 PM, Tracy said:

While the Encephalartos blue arenarius x latifrons isn't showing much latifrons, it is blue.  It's not quite a fair comparison between it (small center foreground) and the E horridus behind it, because the horridus has been holding that foliage for a long time.  The blue are x lat flushed in Spring, so its holding more of the glaucus sunscreen wax giving it the  nice blue color.  Well I guess if it never shows much latifrons, at least it will be a nice blue!  That said, its barely a juvenile, so it can change a lot over the next several flushes.

Sometimes it is fun to look back and compare current photos and id's and see how they change.  The plant acquired as Encephalartos blue arenarius x latifrons coned last year with a male cone that looked more like a male Encephalartos horridus.  This new flush looks to me like a possible Encephalartos horridus x blue arenarius cross, but it is still young.  I was a bit surprised when it coned last year and thought possibly the leave lengths had hit their mature size because of it.  This year's much longer leaves indicates it still is maturing and may continue to change a bit.  Time will only tell and it is fun to watch the process unfold over the years.