Growth rate of encephalartos from seed.

[Vincent]

The previous post about time to coning for certain encephalartos was good. I thought it would be helpful for many cycad growers out there if anyone would post on some popular encephalartos and how long it takes them to go from a seedling to: a 3 inch caudex, 5 inch, eight inch and ten inch caudex. If growers in California, Florida and annywhere else provide data, we can have some good comparisons to work with for the following:

1. E. gratus (the big green machine)

2. E. sclavoi (green or blue)

3. E. altensteinii (CA probablly has monster bigguns)

4. E. lehmannii (one of the best blues for FL)

5. E. eugene maraisii (yeah, we really have them in FL)

Of course, any other species info is also appreciated.

[Vincent]

Chirping of crickets.

[rprimbs]

The previous post about time to coning for certain encephalartos was good. I thought it would be helpful for many cycad growers out there if anyone would post on some popular encephalartos and how long it takes them to go from a seedling to: a 3 inch caudex, 5 inch, eight inch and ten inch caudex. If growers in California, Florida and annywhere else provide data, we can have some good comparisons to work with for the following:

1. E. gratus (the big green machine)

2. E. sclavoi (green or blue)

3. E. altensteinii (CA probablly has monster bigguns)

4. E. lehmannii (one of the best blues for FL)

5. E. eugene maraisii (yeah, we really have them in FL)

Of course, any other species info is also appreciated.

E. gratus has been the fastest grower for me. Mine went from a one leaf seedling to a 6 inch caudex in four years. And part of the secret was that I had a leaking water pipe nearby. My E. sclavoi has been slower. It's got about a 5 inch caudex after six years.

[rprimbs]

The previous post about time to coning for certain encephalartos was good. I thought it would be helpful for many cycad growers out there if anyone would post on some popular encephalartos and how long it takes them to go from a seedling to: a 3 inch caudex, 5 inch, eight inch and ten inch caudex. If growers in California, Florida and annywhere else provide data, we can have some good comparisons to work with for the following:

1. E. gratus (the big green machine)

2. E. sclavoi (green or blue)

3. E. altensteinii (CA probablly has monster bigguns)

4. E. lehmannii (one of the best blues for FL)

5. E. eugene maraisii (yeah, we really have them in FL)

Of course, any other species info is also appreciated.

I'm no expert but all of the cycads -- except perhaps the E. sclavoi -- can be relatively fast growers. Water is an important ingredient, but full sun is also very important, as well as deep soil that allows them to put down a good tap root. Mine have grown fast because they've gotten a lot of water, full sun, and are planted in the ground.

[Vincent]

The E. gratus grew quick! I did not know that extra water would speed rate of growth. I have heard that all cycads grow fsster in the ground than in pots. Thanks for confirming this.

[virtualpalm]

Encephalartos gratus can, indeed, grow quite fast. I was told that the plants below were originally planted in a field nursery as seedlings and grew to mature plants with 12" diam. x 12-14" high caudices in only 12 years. That is definitely fast for a cycad.

Jody