Zamia Furfuracea Transplanting

[fernonvernon]

Hi,

Am planning to transplant several Zamia Furfuracea in the next week or so, and was wondering what the word was re (man)handling the roots/rootball + the current container soil. 

As far as I know cycads are relatively palm-like insofar as one'd be better served leaving the rootball intact.

That being said, these plants are currently sitting pat in neat (and by and large undesirable) peat, so -- assuming they're not pot bound (which they don't appear to be) -- I'd really appreciate some advice/wisdom re whether or not washing off the majority of the nursery soil would be advisable/doable before putting them in the ground (not their graves). 

 

 

 

Edited December 4, 2018 by fernonvernon

[NOT A TA]

Here in S FL they're really tough to kill. I bought my first ones at a Palm Beach society sale about 10-12 years ago and just planted them with the potting soil that was in the growers pots left intact. I've separated them to make new large plants by just whacking with a shovel & machete and yanked them out bare root. I've left seedlings bare root on the potting bench for a day by mistake and they survive. Soil here primarily sand and although our rainfall is fairly high once established they can withstand months and months of drought without looking any different. Some (like the one in pic below) I cut all the old leaves off as soon as I see the new ones forming, so they won't get too tall. Pic below of female I took today. Birds here like the fruit but I still get lots of seedlings growing in the mulch from ones they leave.

[Tracy]

While this Zamia species can take some abuse, there are a few things to consider.  Generally speaking all cycads will appreciate well drained soil and not want to sit in damp cold conditions.  Depending on where you are (dxb???), will determine what you need to consider when planting these.  A well drained soil (not peat) will be more important if you plant somewhere that temps get very cold in winter or remain cool and damp.  Avoid damaging the roots to maximize your success in transplanting.  Any photos of the plants to see what size they are?  

I have transplanted this one from a small one gallon up to it's current size over 3 or 4 pots and kept the soil it was in, just adding new to fill out as it graduated pot size.  I normally wait for the soil to become a little on the dry side so it holds together when I plant so as not to damage any roots when transplanting any cycads.  I didn't come up with this myself, it was recommended to me by a cycad grower with far more experience than I will ever gather in my little garden.  I've never lost any cycads using that method in transplanting, but gained sufficient experience killing cycads for other reasons.  Fortunately Zamia furfuracea is a readily available cycad to learn with.  Post pre and post transplant results.  Good luck!

[fernonvernon]

Thanks for the feedback.

I hear you re conditions and (in particular) optimum drainage. Srry 'bout the ambiguity btw, dxb = dubai, which isn't where I reside but is, fwiw, where I've been dabbling in the hort. The longish/shortish of said locale implies pretty much 2/4 seasons, with the fall/winter being mild/pleasant, and the summer settling in somewhere btwn harrowing and hell. Was visiting the folks 'round July/Aug, and I'll just pt out that it proved a no-brainer that the dappled-to-total afternoon shade we situated a containerized triad of Cycas R.'s in about a year back was probably the only way to go about things. Jungle Music'd up a well-draining mix, and the roots/ball were for the most part left intact when they were potted up.

That being said, these Zamias are going in the ground on the same side of the house. There's no native soil to speak of here (hydrophobic rubble notwithstanding) so the beds are in the process of being re-jiggered with an adequate soil blend. Water usage here is obscene, and the one way I've seen this species (particularly the ever-popular Sago) killed off has been overwatering (of course the ones that have been planted in full sun bleach/burn... which only serves to invite further lethal watering). 

Apologies for rambling on there... I'm w/ you as far as not necessarily wanting to tamper with the roots... but am also entertaining the notion of trying to avoid transplanting the Zamias w so much peat potentially clinging to their rootmass. I've not bothered to remove them from the containers, but they do appear to be somewhat loose in there (a few roots beginning to creep out of the drainage holes). Maybe it'll (fortunately?) be just a bit of peat after all (though a brittle rootball's likely not ideal).

Those Zamias are quite photogenic.... I do apologize for the meager pics but here's hoping they serve some sort of illustrative purpose.