Salvage/propogation of Sago palm

[Blackmountain]

Hi - hoping someone can advise.

I know someone with a Sago palm that is too heavy to remove in one piece. Is it possible to revive/propogate one if I simply slice it in half? Or, at the red line in my photo? I would cut it, and then I guess plant it in soil that I keep moist...unless you have better ideas?

Thank you.

[Silas_Sancona]

4 hours ago, Blackmountain said:

Hi - hoping someone can advise.

I know someone with a Sago palm that is too heavy to remove in one piece. Is it possible to revive/propogate one if I simply slice it in half? Or, at the red line in my photo? I would cut it, and then I guess plant it in soil that I keep moist...unless you have better ideas?

Thank you.

3 or 4 people,  and a sturdy appliance dolly ..should move pretty easily once carefully  dug up.


Don't think it would survive / regrow if chopped in half.  Top half anyway. Bottom may push new offsets / growths on the trunk below the cut though.

[Merlyn]

Theoretically you can chop some cycads up into tiny pieces and they'll regrow.  But I leave that sort of stuff to the expert biologists.    In reality if you cut that sago (Cycas Revoluta) it'll die.  So as @Silas_Sanconasaid, it'll transplant fairly easily.  Chop off the oldest sets of fronds, leaving the center more vertical fronds attached.  See below for a sketch, remove the ones circled in red and leave the ones circled in yellow:

Once it's trimmed up it should be relatively easy to move.  I've dug up 8 or 9 that size, taking a rootball similar in size to the outlined yellow area and about 2 feet deep.  Here's an example of one that I moved a couple of years ago.  It was pretty heavy, I'd estimate around 200lb.  But I just had my wife hold the wheelbarrow nose tilted to the ground while I lifted it into the nose...then tilted backwards to lift it up.  They are pretty pokey though, so watch your hands and eyes.  A furniture dolly or a 2-wheeler with a large platform would work too. 

And here's a "freebie" I got from a neighbor, where it had been in bad health and infested with cycad scale for several years.

[Blackmountain]

3 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

3 or 4 people,  and a sturdy appliance dolly ..should move pretty easily once carefully  dug up.


Don't think it would survive / regrow if chopped in half.  Top half anyway. Bottom may push new offsets / growths on the trunk below the cut though.

I can't get 3 people to help me, is the issue.

[Silas_Sancona]

1 minute ago, Blackmountain said:

I can't get 3 people to help me, is the issue.

No neighbors?  friends?? 

[tinman10101]

i have successfully re-rooted a sago after chopping 2/3 (approx 18") off the bottom half off.  it rotted at a friends house from waterlogged yard.  i was advised by jody haynes to saw off the rotted section till i could only see nice green flesh from the cross section. i then place it in a 15 gallon tub with tons of pumice and watered it heavily till it all drained and stabilized it in the pot  i then placed it in the corner of the shaded side of my house and chopped off all leaves.  

i never watered it again.  check in about 2-3 months by pushing on the stump to see if it rerooted.  i dug a bit down in the pumice and saw new root shoots.  it successfully re-rooted and now is planted in my front yard.  i didnt believe it but jody told me it should work so i believed him.  thanks @virtualpalm jody if you are still somewhat active on this forum.