Cycas sp. 'Wilailak' Flushing

[MattTX]

I bought this as a small seedling back in 2008 from Robert Chumley and it has always been a strong grower. I keep it in morning/mid-day sun and water it about the same as my other cycads (once a week in the hot months, rarely otherwise). It has been bulletproof in the Texas heat. These things must be absolute monsters in habitat! That's why I'm keeping it in a smaller pot.

[Meangreen94z]

Nice. Yeah, the online guide I just read indicated it has almost palm like growth. Up to a 15 foot trunk in a 50 year period! Eventually reaching 30 feet tall. I’m surprised it wouldn’t have a proper description/designation by now, but the world of cycads can be slow.

[MattTX]

They are supposed to be 'cold hardy', but I would never test that intentionally with a large plant like this. It lived in the garage during the Arctic anomaly this February. I think the California/Florida/Australia/S.Africa folks define 'cold' differently than other places. I wish I could put this in the ground somewhere!

[Meangreen94z]

If I can find relatively cheap seeds or seedlings it might be worth testing out. The online guide mentioned it got down to about 25*F in its native habitat. I would figure it has atleast 10* F more hardiness built in, so maybe hardy to 15*F ? Possibly lower.

[Merlyn2220]

Interesting that I ran across this, I just bought a Wadei from an eBayer. He said they were also labeled Wilailak. It is flushing now, I should take a picture and see if it actually looks the same as the ones above. He said filtered light only and no direct sun, but Wadei and Wilailak are from different areas (Philippines vs Laos) and probably have different cultural requirements.