Cycads from seed

[Steph115]

Hi cycad lovers! I am new to this group of plants. My partner (who generally only lovingly tolerates my agave obsession) was excited about the idea of growing cycads from seeds. I'd love to hear any & all advice you might have regarding this endeavor - good vendors, recommended species, etc. Encephalartos seem the most eye-catching to me right now. We currently live in an apartment, but will hopefully be buying a house at some point in the next year or two. I'm totally cool with a plant that is stem-hardy but not leaf hardy for zone 8a.

[Stone Jaguar]

Steph:

Your choices for a year-round planting in the garden are rather limited and may be restricted to a handful of freeze-tolerant Cycas and Macrozamia spp. There are quite a few cycads that can handle 9b conditions, but only the most cold hardy can take 8s (e.g. C. panzihuaensis), and even then with a bit of risk. I cannot imagine fully-exposed Encephalartos of any type would survive your winters; indeed, a number wouldn't be crazy about your hot, humid summers either.

On the positive side, many of these plants can handle pot culture for ages and greenhouse cultivation for the life of the plant. I have coned several Encephalartos spp in large pots, as well as a few other tropical spp from the New World genera. Seed is easy to germinate embedded on the surface of pure washed pumice/coarse river sand or perlite, but be aware that some genera and individual spp have long after-ripening times that should be respected or they may rot out. Prices for many cycad spp have plummeted over the past decade, and you can find quite a variety of once rarely available, domestically-produced cycad seedlings on eBay and elsewhere for very reasonable sums.

Be aware that all Encephalartos spp (as well as three other monotypic cycad genera) are on Appendix 1 of CITES, so seed is treated the same as living plants and it is also illegal to import without specific permits issued by both the CITES authority in the exporting country AND both the USDA and the USFWS on our end.

By far the best commercial source for App 2 cycad seed online is Toby Spanner at rarepalmseeds.com. You should have a copy of your small seed permit and green and yellow inspection label in his hands (readily available with online application from the USDA/APHIS), as well as a self-addressed + stamped mailer when you order, otherwise you run the real risk of confiscation (+ receipt of nasty letter) of large and rather expensive seed. This year I have imported quite a bit of artificially-propagated cycad seed from collections of friends in Australia and have found the process quite painless and rapid IF you follow USDA guidelines to the letter. I haven't purchased cycad seed from Toby in ages, but know a few people who do so on a regular basis and report much better germination success with cycads than with his agave and palm seed. You may find that by the time you calculate your time, the permitting hassle and a ~50% germination rate, you're far better off buying single-leaf domestically-produced seedlings.

If you're still set on trying seed, I'll post some images of my germination setups.

Jay

[Steph115]

Jay - thank you so much for your insights. I certainly did not know about the restrictions regarding cycad seeds. Given your advice, I do think picking up a couple of seedlings might be the best option for us, at least as a start. I'm SO glad to hear that you have had success growing Encephalartos in pots long term! I was hesitant to start growing cycads without a yard to put them in, but now I feel much better about it. I have looked on Ebay before and found very reasonably priced seedlings, as you mentioned. I will update this thread with our selections.

[abborean]

You can usually buy small potted cycas revoluta (Sago Palm) at Home Depot or Lowes. You can purchase a small one for your apartment and try it in the ground when you get your turf. They live outdoors here but lose their leaves every winter. Further south from here they fruit prolifically and the seeds will germinate in a compost pile that includes fruit. As mentioned earlier the seedlings aren't very cold tolerant.

[chris_rex]

I have some of these with small crowns in the golf ball to tennis ball size range.
The question is how deep to cover the crown with mix. I noticed in a garden centre some had the crown almost completely covered so only the leaves were visible emerging from the mix. On the other hand others seem to be potted so the crown is about half to 1/3 embedded in the mix.

[tarasbromhead]

Hi Chris_Rex there is no hard and fast rule. Seeds that even just sit on other seeds will come out so long as the conditions are ok. I put mine just resting on wet warm sand and if I'm worried about fungus just angle the crown slightly up and push the seed in by about a third and as soon as you see anything monitor daily for signs of fungus and expose the newcomers to doses of sunlight to harden them off and prevent fungus.

[Meangreen94z]

I’m growing a few varieties of Australian Cycas over the winter. They don’t seem to have nearly the popularity of encephalartos, and the availability makes grown plants and even seedlings cost prohibitive in multiples. I was told by a grower in Southern California they have poor success with them, that they are better acclimated for the desert. After having success with Cycas Cupida and doing a little research I’ve found that not to be always true. Some grow in areas that receive 40” of rain or more annually. I grew a few Cycas Cairnsiana from seed last spring/summer. They too have done well locally in my hot, humid, and wet environment despite claims otherwise. Over the winter I’ve germinated Cycas Desolata, Cycas Canalis ssp. Canalis, and Cycas Canalis ssp. Carinita. I also had Pruinosa and Terryana but unfortunately they have never developed.

Seedlings

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Tall Desolata in habitat

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2 Desolata in habitat

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Desolata in habitat

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Canalis subs. Carinita habitat

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Canalis Subs. Carinita habitat

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Canalis subs. Carinita habitat

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Canalis Subs. Canalis habitat

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Canalis subs. Canalis habitat

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[chris_rex]

Some grow in areas that receive 40” of rain or more annually. I grew a few Cycas Cairnsiana from seed last spring/summer. They too have done well locally in my hot, humid, and wet environment despite claims otherwise

Hi Meangreen
Cycas cairnsiana, Cycas media and a number of other similar cycas that grow in that area have extremely wet warm to hot summers and dry warm winters. Rainfall might be 500-700mm in each of January and February and 300mm in December and March, then practically no rain for the remaining 8 months. The climate is more tropical than the climate of Cycas revoluta habitat and the Cairns cycads are not as easy to grow, do not produce offsets, are not as fast and as a consequence are not as successful as a horticultural product. It is a little surprising, because there is a long dry period in Cairns, and the cycads survive this, but the temperature rarely drops below 15C and never below 5.

For instance in my greenhouse in Melbourne Australia, Cycas revoluta are wildly successful as production plants , Cycas media... very disappointing as trial plants and I think they will end up being collector plants.

[Meangreen94z]

Thank you for the great information. Cycas Revoluta is probably the one cycad I won’t ever own. Not because it isn’t a great and durable cycad, but because I’m almost certain they number in the millions in the Houston area. They’re literally in every other yard and business. I enjoy a challenge and the Australian Cycas(and macrozamia/lepidozamia) are basically unheard of here.