Encephalartos natalensis x horridus

[George Sparkman]

 

Encephalartos natalensis x horridus in 15 gallon pot

[RichAZ]

Hey George, nice looking plant!

 

[Tracy]

On 3/8/2018, 11:19:12, RichAZ said:

Hey George, nice looking plant!

 

I have a pair which I got from George and planted about 7-8 years ago.  Both have coned and have nice structure.  Right now, there is no sign of the blue as any of the chalky material which gives it the color has washed off from all the rains and it has been a year since they flushed (busy coning instead).  They are almost catching up with my Encephalartos longifolius which was larger when planted at the same time due to some good hybrid vigor in the nat x horridus.

[Dr Sha]

A beautie, too bad I cannot get that kind here.

[Tracy]

On 3/17/2018, 2:15:16, Tracy said:

I have a pair which I got from George and planted about 7-8 years ago

The other one, which still is retaining the cone from this winter.  Just make sure your hands are well protected when weeding between this Encephalartos nat x horridus and that Puya!  I don't know which is more vicious!  The nat x horridus is a great grower!

[Palm Tree Jim]

I’m guessing blood is common when working in this area.....

[Tracy]

11 hours ago, Palm Tree Jim said:

I’m guessing blood is common when working in this area.....

My wife won't pull a weed anywhere near it; she reminds me that is my responsibility.  Safety glasses are highly recommended when reaching into the deep area between the E nat x horridus and the Puya, which is the favorite place for weeds to sprout.  Someday I will probably extract the Puya and put it in a large pot but I'm waiting for it to bloom.  I'm well into year 8 now and still waiting patiently for this species to bloom, and I'm not sure which one it is.  I only know which species I can eliminate because I'm growing them and they have bloomed for me.  I digress though... this is about the E nat horridus, not the Puya.  I wouldn't hesitate to get one of these hybrids if I didn't already have one, as I love the clean shape without suckers, and they are fast.

[Sr. Califas]

Tracy,

How big were the two cycads when you planted them?

[Tracy]

8 hours ago, Sr. Califas said:

Tracy,

How big were the two cycads when you planted them?

This is September 2012 size, two years after planting, so I'm guessing they were about 4"-5" caudex when I planted them in 2010.  They have been consistent growers, but the real beast is that Aloe Hercules which now has a huge trunk.

[Morabeza]

On 3/7/2018, 5:29:32, George Sparkman said:

 

Encephalartos natalensis x horridus in 15 gallon pot

What a fantastic cross. I wonder if anyone has tried to cross horridus with latifrons? I think it could be tremendously good looking.

[5150cycad]

1 hour ago, Morabeza said:

What a fantastic cross. I wonder if anyone has tried to cross horridus with latifrons? I think it could be tremendously good looking.

This cross has been done by a couple different growers if not more.  I have a couple of plants from two different growers. I personally really like this hybrid. Another good hybrid is the Arenarius x latifrons. 

[Morabeza]

9 hours ago, 5150cycad said:

This cross has been done by a couple different growers if not more.  I have a couple of plants from two different growers. I personally really like this hybrid. Another good hybrid is the Arenarius x latifrons. 

Wow, fantastic! I can imagine that these will be truly stunning as adults :)

 

[5150cycad]

Encephalartos Natalensis x Horridus is a pretty cool hybrid too, they also have hybrid vigor and grow pretty quickly. Here is a picture of my bluer one. I would like to see this hybrid back crossed with horridus  (f2). I think it would turn out really cool and a lot bluer. 

[Tracy]

On 5/23/2018, 12:27:37, 5150cycad said:

Encephalartos Natalensis x Horridus is a pretty cool hybrid too, they also have hybrid vigor and grow pretty quickly. Here is a picture of my bluer one. I would like to see this hybrid back crossed with horridus  (f2). I think it would turn out really cool and a lot bluer. 

Yours is definitely showing the blue!  What color are the flushes on yours?  The flushes definitely have the color of the natalensis parent, only attaining the bluish tint after they have hardened off. 

[5150cycad]

They usually flush pretty green and then turn blue as they harden off like u mentioned. 

[Meangreen94z]

What are the length of the fronds you guys are seeing at a mature size? Thanks.

-Daniel

[5150cycad]

I 

18 hours ago, Meangreen94z said:

What are the length of the fronds you guys are seeing at a mature size? Thanks.

-Daniel

I would say between 4-5 feet 

[Tracy]

On 5/22/2018 at 4:03 PM, Morabeza said:

I wonder if anyone has tried to cross horridus with latifrons?

Yup, that has been done.  I believe that George Sparkman still had some at the beginning of the month on his price list.

 

On 8/16/2019 at 7:37 PM, Meangreen94z said:

What are the length of the fronds you guys are seeing at a mature size? Thanks.

-Daniel

My E nat x horridus are probably around 4' long leaves just eyeballing them.  I've never gotten a tape out to see though.

 

As Brian said, the Encephartos blue arenarius x latifrons are very attractive too.  Mine have turned out to be very blue as you can see, easily as blue as my horridus adjacent to it.  It seems to be taking off now too.  I got it as a small 2 leaf band size.  I eventually got it into the ground about 3 years ago and its still small enough that it's doing the sequential flushes.  This is flush 2 this year with 6 leaves pushing on it.

[TimHopper]

Now 21 years from a seedling from

George Sparkman. Natalensis x Horridus 
Growing a new flush 

Edited November 21, 2021 by TimHopper

[TimHopper]

[Fusca]

On 11/21/2021 at 1:39 PM, TimHopper said:

 

Welcome back Tim - nice to see you posting again. 

[Tracy]

On 5/15/2018 at 9:52 PM, Tracy said:

This is September 2012 size, two years after planting, so I'm guessing they were about 4"-5" caudex when I planted them in 2010.  They have been consistent growers, but the real beast is that Aloe Hercules which now has a huge trunk.

Not quite a decade later, the Encephalartos natalensis horridus is a chunky monkey.  Both this one and the one on the other side of the Puya colony have turned out to be males.  They have been pretty good about pushing flushes even in the years that they cone, which contributes to their ongoing growth.  The trunk of the little Aloe Hercules, now Aloidendron Hercules, shows what these can do in a decades time.

[TimHopper]

Moved  my George Sparkman. Natalensis x Horridus outside today. Utah Summers are short. Added some osmocote plus minors as top dressing, new layer of gravel, and some stones gathered from Snow Valley in St George while hiking. The roadrunner was hand carved by an elderly artist at a weekend art exhibit at TUACAHN .

[TimHopper]

A new flush…

[TimHopper]

[Tracy]

This boy has decided to flush this year before pushing any cones.  My other Encephalartos natalensis x horridus appears to be pushing a limited flush biased to one side of the caudex, so I'm certain that the other side will start pushing out a cone very soon.