Current Favorite Cycad?

[Tracy]

1 hour ago, palmsOrl said:

my favorite species of cycad is Zamia pseudoparasitica, a tree-dwelling cycad species native to Panama and uncommonly seen for sale. 

Unfortunately that is a greenhouse only species here in California as far as I know.  I have only seen one in person quite some time ago and it was growing in a greenhouse.  They are quite unique in the cycad world, although there are others that grow on rocky outcroppings and hang down.   I'm thinking of some photos of Encephalartos inopinus in habitat that I have seen.  Very different habitats with the Zamia pseudoparasitica being from a very tropical one while the E inopinus comes from a very dry climate.

[Carlos Ramos]

You all have posted some beautiful cycads..... here is one of my current favorite cycads. E. Arenarius. 

[tropicbreeze]

Bowenia serrulata, although I do like B. spectabilis. I actually have a lot more B. spectabilis plants than B. serrulata but they're very small and slow growing. They prefer a wet rainforest climate.

[Tracy]

Sometimes it is just a little scrawny seedling flushing that gets us excited.  That is when you know you have the virus!  Protection added to keep my dog from accidentally getting off the walkway and damaging this seedling I planted a couple of years ago which is still only pushing out one leaflet at a time.  Patience is rewarded as I remember so many other 2 leaf seedlings my wife asked: When will it be a "real plant" not just a couple of little sticks poking up?

[Cycadnewbie]

Slow but good looking heenanii.  

[GeneAZ]

20 hours ago, Tracy said:

Sometimes it is just a little scrawny seedling flushing that gets us excited.  That is when you know you have the virus!  Protection added to keep my dog from accidentally getting off the walkway and damaging this seedling I planted a couple of years ago which is still only pushing out one leaflet at a time.  Patience is rewarded as I remember so many other 2 leaf seedlings my wife asked: When will it be a "real plant" not just a couple of little sticks poking up?

You don't bury the Simplot?

[Tracy]

1 hour ago, GeneAZ said:

You don't bury the Simplot?

Sometimes I'm better than others about getting it mixed into the soil.  I was racing against time Sunday night with my wife reminding me it was time to start the bbq.  I should go back with a little hand tool and mix it in, particularly around the cycads where there is little or no mulch or bark.

[Tracy]

Green and fluffy Encephalartos turneri: leaflets still hardening off, they continue to hold a lighter green color before maturing to the deep forest green.

[Tracy]

It's always tough to resist something with a colorful new leaf, so no surprise that I was enamored when I saw this graceful Ceratozamia mexicana in the corner.

[Tracy]

On 7/19/2020 at 7:22 AM, Tracy said:

Green and fluffy Encephalartos turneri: leaflets still hardening off, they continue to hold a lighter green color before maturing to the deep forest green.

Yes, I love my blue cycads but don't undersell the green ones.  Flush has hardened off now and you can see the beautiful deep green which looks very tropical in my opinion.  The densely packed leaflets add to the look.  I'm surprised I haven't seen Encephalartos turneri in more gardens.  Pictured to the left of the KO trunk in the first photo and the leaflet stacking detail in second photo.  If I were ever to move, this would be a must have in the next garden.  I have no plans on moving though so that is just a hypothetical.

[Tracy]

Something one can't grow here in Southern California outside, but is very cool indeed:  Zamia pseudoparasitica.  This one is growing in the new conservatory at San Diego formerly Quail Botanical Gardens here in Encinitas.  You can see it hanging down with the other epiphytes in the basket.

[Tracy]

This one has been waiting in a pot for me to create a spot in the garden for it.  I expect growth rate in the ground to accelerate.  This was one of my favorites before planting and I know it will be a highlight of the garden as it continues to grow.  Nice tight stacking on the leaflets, I almost like the look of the underside of the leaflets as much as the topside.

[greysrigging]

I have no idea what species, but it is a new favorite..... great looking specimen !
Arnhem Nursery, Humpty Doo.
  

[Tracy]

Either Lepidozamia hopei or some Cycas species. The way the leaflets are held is very different from what I know of Lepidozamia peroffskyana and more downward hanging than I remember for L hopei which is why I go back to a Cycas.  The actual glossy appearance of the leaflets meanwhile brings me back to Lepidozamia.  Any other opinions?

11 hours ago, greysrigging said:

Arnhem Nursery, Humpty Doo.
  

 

[Merlyn]

On 7/13/2020 at 7:38 PM, Tracy said:

Patience is rewarded as I remember so many other 2 leaf seedlings my wife asked: When will it be a "real plant" not just a couple of little sticks poking up?

I planted a couple of E. Whitelockii/Ituriensis from ChuckG about 2 years ago. They were part-shade grown so were stretched out and they sunburned quick, but were already 3-6" caudexes.  My wife said, "Why did you buy and plant those *STICKS* in the front yard???"  She likes them now, after 2-4 good flushes and cutting off the old scraggly fronds... 

[Tracy]

On 3/9/2020 at 5:26 PM, Tracy said:

Still waiting for a gender reveal on it.  It may not be blue, but it sure is spectacular in form.

 

While I still absolutely love this plant and am happy I transplanted it from my Carlsbad home when I moved to Leucadia, I was a little disappointed to learn that I have another boy.  So along with this male Encephalartos horridus x woodii, I now have males of E turneri, E scalovoi, E arenarius x woodii, E trispinosis, E longifolius and a few other hybrids.  My only Encephalartos confirmed female is my horridus.  I'm still on the fence but leaning male on my E laurentiaunus, but I'll have confirmation as the cones push out a little more on that one.

Encephalartos horridus (Steytlerville form) x woodii with male cone below.

[jade]

Recent new addition to my cycad collection an old Arenarius female.  Currently my favorite cycad...

[jade]

Another nice recent addition.  Tri X.  Not sure what the father is maybe Longifolius but could be another hybrid.  Great looking plant regardless

[Palm Tree Jim]

12 hours ago, jade said:

Another nice recent addition.  Tri X.  Not sure what the father is maybe Longifolius but could be another hybrid.  Great looking plant regardless

Very cool hybrid.

[jade]

Tracy: Looks like you had a couple of the ArexLat X Lat crosses George made.  It's interesting to see others as they begin to get bigger.  I ended up with two and one died shortly after planting it (Crown Rot).  Here is the one that is still going strong.  Only one flush per year....I can't say my plant has the hybrid vigor I see in other hybrids.  Nonetheless it's a really nice plant and happy it didn't see the same fate as it's sibling.

[Cycadsavy]

On 8/26/2020 at 6:56 PM, jade said:

Recent new addition to my cycad collection an old Arenarius female.  Currently my favorite cycad...

Gorgeous Arenarius and beautifully done garden!

[Tracy]

23 hours ago, jade said:

Tracy: Looks like you had a couple of the ArexLat X Lat crosses George made.  It's interesting to see others as they begin to get bigger.  I ended up with two and one died shortly after planting it (Crown Rot).  Here is the one that is still going strong.  Only one flush per year....I can't say my plant has the hybrid vigor I see in other hybrids.  Nonetheless it's a really nice plant and happy it didn't see the same fate as it's sibling.

Looks like yours is doing just fine and one flush per year is what I have had on my larger one that has been in the ground for a while now.  The second one that I kept in a pot, I got  a couple of weeks later when there were fewer left to select from and it was a little smaller (a runt of the litter).  That one has pushed 2 flushes per year, but they were smaller flushes of 4 or 5 leaves, so collectively similar to the single flush of the larger one.  I like the wide leaflets close to the caudex on yours.  I saw these grow for over a years, maybe even two years, before George sold any and saw the diversity in all the siblings.  They were all interesting plants but some showed different tendencies than others.  

On 8/26/2020 at 5:17 PM, jade said:

Another nice recent addition.  Tri X.  Not sure what the father is maybe Longifolius but could be another hybrid.  Great looking plant regardless

Your guess is a good one, as I can see what appears to be longifolius in this cross if the known parent is trispinosis.    I like the tightly stacked leaflets and recurved tips on this and it retained some of the blue color as a bonus.  Some of these crosses with the Cape species lose the blue, prime example being the E horridus x woodii I posted above.

[Rod]

My jaw drops seeing all these plants that I can't grow.  I mean really, how many plants can really survive 113° without some shade!

From my garden:  Zamia Splendens and an unusual form of Cycas cairnsiana.

Rod

Phoenix, Az

[Tracy]

36 minutes ago, Rod said:

Zamia Splendens and an unusual form of Cycas cairnsiana.

Rod

Phoenix, Az

 

I have a similar looking Zamia which I don't have an id for, so I looked up Zamia splendens.  I looked it up and found an article by Charlie Beck sent to the Palm Beach Palm & Cycad Society, which describes it as having armed petioles which mine does not have.  Looking at yours, I don't see the red rachis that mine has when a new leaf is pushing either, so maybe my search for an id continues.  The red on the rachis is still visible even after the new flush hardens off green as you can see, and it's unarmed, otherwise, I thought I had a match.

[yeye]

4 hours ago, Rod said:

My jaw drops seeing all these plants that I can't grow.  I mean really, how many plants can really survive 113° without some shade!

From my garden:  Zamia Splendens and an unusual form of Cycas cairnsiana.

Rod

Phoenix, Az

It is not a zamia splendens for sure it is ceratozamia species !!

[GeneAZ]

7 hours ago, Rod said:

My jaw drops seeing all these plants that I can't grow.  I mean really, how many plants can really survive 113° without some shade!

From my garden:  Zamia Splendens and an unusual form of Cycas cairnsiana.

Rod

Phoenix, Az

That is really loving the 110-plus scalding!  I only have one Encephalartos that I can say loves this blast furnace:  it's a giant form of horridus that looks trispinosus but isn't.  Of course, D. edule isn't even aware there's anything bad happening.

[Rod]

Those fotos were 5 years old.  Here's some taken just today:

"my" zamia splendens

zamia cross (picta/splendens)

Encephalartos lehmannii kirkwood form

I love the large bronze leaves the splendens produces each year.

The Enc lehmannii kirkwood form is spectacularly blue and is unfazed by the sun and heat (although it is under 50% shadecloth).

rod

phoenix, az

 

[Rod]

Forgot to mention that the splendens is armed.

rod

 

[Palmzilla]

Great thread, here’s one of my favs 

[GeneAZ]

Incredible and gorgeous!

[Tracy]

On 9/6/2020 at 4:50 PM, Palmzilla said:

Great thread, here’s one of my favs 

Very nice looking Encephalartos.  I was trying to identify and was thinking either an E. horriwood or E. transwood.

[Tracy]

This Encephalartos eugene-maraisii keeps looking better and better as it matures.  I love the insertions of the leaflets on the leaf, it just has a simple and clean appearance!

[Palmzilla]

17 minutes ago, Tracy said:

Very nice looking Encephalartos.  I was trying to identify and was thinking either an E. horriwood or E. transwood.

Good eye Tracy, this is one of my fav horrwoods. Nice eugene too looks perfect 

[palmsOrl]

On 7/7/2020 at 6:07 PM, palmsOrl said:

I only currently own two cycad species, including Zamia integrifolia and Zamia furfuracea.  Also, my knowlege of cycads is very limited and I have only grown one other species, Cycas revoluta.

I would have to say that considering my interest in epiphytes and in rare plants in general that my favorite species of cycad is Zamia pseudoparasitica, a tree-dwelling cycad species native to Panama and uncommonly seen for sale.  I recall seeing a specimen in a hanging basket at the Searle Brother's Sale at least once.

Photo Credit:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/502714377146443347/

Zamia integrifolia, photo taken yesterday:

Zamia furfuracea, photo taken yesterday:

[Tracy]

On 8/27/2020 at 3:34 PM, jade said:

Tracy: Looks like you had a couple of the ArexLat X Lat crosses George made.  It's interesting to see others as they begin to get bigger.  I ended up with two and one died shortly after planting it (Crown Rot).  Here is the one that is still going strong.  Only one flush per year....I can't say my plant has the hybrid vigor I see in other hybrids.  Nonetheless it's a really nice plant and happy it didn't see the same fate as it's sibling.

I finally got my second one in the ground.   I have them roughly across from one another on either side of my driveway to greet me when I return home.  I'm hoping this one thrives like the other one which I planted right after getting it.

[Tracy]

Flushes, especially late season second flushes always attract the eye!

[Tracy]

Still just a little young one, but showing more and more personality as it grows.  It is the Encephalartos (arenarius x horridus) x latifrons hybrid.  Did anyone else get one of these from George Sparkman around 2016 or 2017?  Mine was actually holding about 5 leaves in 2017, so it was slightly larger than a band size pot when I got it.  If so please share what yours looks like. 

[Firepalm]

Tracy, here are some pics of my (arenarius x horridus) x latifrons.  Purchased from George around 2017, possibly 2016 as a five gallon.  It's a steady grower and changing with each flush.  Much bluer than I expected at this age.  Looks a lot like my horridus and arenarius crosses,  but with wider leaflets.  It now has one pup which popped up last year. 

[Cycadsavy]

On 1/7/2021 at 12:29 PM, Firepalm said:

Tracy, here are some pics of my (arenarius x horridus) x latifrons.  Purchased from George around 2017, possibly 2016 as a five gallon.  It's a steady grower and changing with each flush.  Much bluer than I expected at this age.  Looks a lot like my horridus and arenarius crosses,  but with wider leaflets.  It now has one pup which popped up last year. 

Beautiful 

[Tracy]

On 1/7/2021 at 10:29 AM, Firepalm said:

Tracy, here are some pics of my (arenarius x horridus) x latifrons.  Purchased from George around 2017, possibly 2016 as a five gallon.  It's a steady grower and changing with each flush.  Much bluer than I expected at this age.  Looks a lot like my horridus and arenarius crosses,  but with wider leaflets.  It now has one pup which popped up last year. 

Yes, mine too has pupped.  I think there are now two, with the second pup just pushing out it's first leaf last summer.  Yours is definitely bluer than mine at this point.  Mine gets some shade that will be more dispersed as one of my Dypsis prestoniana's gets a little taller.