Tall cycad for zone 8a?

[GarrettP1]

Florida panhandle here.

Lots and lots (and lots) of sago's all around me.

I want a cycad that grows at least 10 feet tall. Anything out there for this geographic region?

Thanks in advance!

Garrett

(I am surrounded by sago's, so don't say anything to upset them)

[cycadjungle]

So telling you just to go out and buy a 10 foot sago isn't a good idea? Is probably better than buying a ten foot Dioon edule. If you want to go less expensive, you are asking for a cycad with very long leaves that will stand somewhat upright for a period of time instead of trying to grow a tall trunk. Probably the cheapest would be Dioon spinulosum, but the leaves will burn at around 23F. Stem death can happen around the 15 to 17F range. If you want to wrap the stem every freeze event, you can get away with that. There is a reason why you see sagos all over the place. People throw away sagos all the time. Either that, or if you see a big one covered with Asian scale somewhere and think you want to bring it back to health, offer them some money and see what happens. Tom

[Jason in Orlando]

Off topic, but I still tell people (with fondness) about trying the Seven Pot Douglah at Wayne's last year. Wow...

[Alicehunter2000]

Hey Garrett, I've got a few different things in the ground that a friend gave me recently. I know some of them get pretty big and are hardy for our area. Macrozamia communis is the only one that I can think of....however, I don't think it has much of a trunk....but the leaves can be 6 ft. long.

I also have a Cycas taitungensis, but that may be too much like a common sago for you. Let's see...got a variety of Dioons Palma Sola, Rio Verde, Queretero Blue. Dioon spinulosum gets big, but also not too cold hardy.

Hmmm....I got some more can't think of them right now.

[Dmcdonald]

I know it is just a Sago but I got it for free off craigslist. In fact everything in the picture I got from one person.

.

I also got a large Cardboard palm, 2 Plumeria, a few Queens, 4 Majesty palms, and a few clumps of the Dypsis from the same people.They have about twenty clumps of Dypsis lutescensas , some bannanas, and large bird of paradise left.

Check the free section out. I have gotten quite a few plants that way.

[Alicehunter2000]

Free stuff....cool!

[cycadjungle]

Off topic, but I still tell people (with fondness) about trying the Seven Pot Douglah at Wayne's last year. Wow...

Glad you enjoyed it! :-) That was the favorite by most that day. I now have 3 others that are way more hotter, but still don't have that unique taste. I just tried my first chocolate hab, and choc ghost. My new big deal for this season is just turning color now. 7 pod Burgundy. Turns from green, to amber, to reddish-purple. Has the heat of a regular 7 pod, but when you first taste it you have a taste of honey and caramel, and after the burn goes away, you have a honey aftertaste. Hopefully the first one will be ready for Monday night at " hot pepper night" at Chili's. Tom

[Palmdude]

How about cycas Debaoensis? That will be hardy enough for your zone and grows 8-10 foot leaves. A bit pricey but if you look around you can find some decent deals

[zootropical]

...the leaves will burn at around 23F. Stem death can happen around the 15 to 17F range. If you want to wrap the stem every freeze event, you can get away with that. ...

That s interesting. Do you think the plant may lost leaves each winter and flush each next growing season without decreasing? And die?

Thank you.

Jean-Michel

[cycadjungle]

Homeowner type collectors around here can't handle the concept that you can still have a decent cycad collection outside, even when the leaves get burnt every year. Hardcore cycad people can look past the temporary loss of leaves. Anybody north of me usually has to pick attend choose their species.

Here in the colder parts of Florida, and for that matter, the lower areas of the states like Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas are in a special area where it gets really cold many years, but it doesn't get brutally cold with temps reaching below the lower teens F. Also, many of the freeze events are short lived, where for me, it has dipped down to 15F, but by 10am it was already 45F, and 65F by 1pm. The stress to the plant is much worse with longer duration, but our freezes go down quickly and then bounce right back up, for the most part.

We have many cycads that the leaves can't take the cold, but the stems can. Most Encephalartos are like this. If you grew one of these in an area that was just child enough that leaves were slightly burned each year you could get away with wrapping the stem and keeping the plant alive. You can even strap some leaves on plants like the Caribbean Zamias. Since we are talking about a narrow area in temperature where 23 means leaf damage and 15 means stem death, and let's say it gets down right at 15 for a short period of time, you can use frost cloth to cover the entire plants. They have three grades, but in the business, we just call it 2 degree, 4 degree, and 8 degree frost cloth. So anything inside the cloth enclosure is 8 degrees warmer than outside. In this example, you could keep the leaves from getting damaged, or at worst, just slightly damaged.

I wouldn't be trying this with tropical Zamias, but with most other cycads, this can work pretty well. Sure, you could still kill a plant trading it this way, but there are a lot of variables. Each plant is different where some ate just weak and some are stronger. Stem size or starch mass will have a huge impact on the results. A nice fast cycad will bounce back a whole lot easier than a wimpy stemmed cycad. Also, the energy level you are growing your plant at will make a difference. Using good fertilizers will help you keep a higher energy level in the plants, they will bounce back much easier. I fertilize all year but use only half the summer rate for my winter rate. But, the faster you grow your cycad, the thinner the cell walls will be and this could lower your cold hardiness of the individual plant. This is where the use of Micorhizae can help. Getting it right requires a lot of work and special conditions, like not using water that will kill the Micorhizae, but doing it right, cycads can have a good energy level without using strong fertilizers. For me, I do fine with the fertilizers. Tom

[zootropical]

Thank you Tom. In another post your said somebody growing many cycads near Atlanta. Does this person use cover plus active protection?

Sincerely.

Jean-Michel

[cycadjungle]

I don't remember that post, but the people I know that grow cycads in that area, mainly, don't cover their plants. They are more limited to the species that will handle their worst freeze events. After saying that, I do think a couple of people did cover their stems a couple of times. Just this last season that did have a problem with ice, and I remember, what seems to be a good 10+ years ago they had a really brutal winter that needed extra care.

[stevethegator]

Are cycas circinalis or cycas rumphii stem hardy? I've seen a lot of these in the Orlando area, they're fast growing, get fairly large, and have tropical looking leaves.

Just moved down here from Atlanta, many casual gardeners plant sagos they buy from the box stores in their yards. They burn every winter but usually come back. However, this year it got down to 5F, followed by a snowstorm and then an ice storm so I'm not sure if any sagos survived without protection.

The more dedicated growers there can get away with cycas tatinguensis, cycas panzuhouensis, dioon edule, and various hybrids with good siting and minor protection