Re: cycad seed
Howdy neighbor Loren ! My brother George and I grew cycads over twenty
years ago from a package purchased from a Thompson and Morgan display.
Some of the "dinosaur food" are still growing in his solarium porch. They
are lovely arching "palms" with very stiff and stately fronds.
Soak the seed and remove the peel if they still have them. At this point,
you can either continue to soak the seeds until they split open, keeping
the water fresh of course. Alternatively you can plant them in a jar,
clear plastic milk jug, or plastic pastry box to maintain high humidity.
The seeds must not be allowed to dry out. Germination may be slow. Bottom
heat may speed germination, but is not necessary if you are germinating
them indoors. If I recall correctly, they took about eight weeks. Your
seed may germinate faster since it is fresh.
I am very curious about the hardiness of cycads. I did freeze one here in
western Oregon a number of years ago --definitely houseplants here! Our
daughter has one growing in her yard in Long Beach. She put it out because
her cat wouldn't leave it alone. Keep them away from Lionel >:{< Cats
love to chew on the stiff fronds.
We grew them on in "cactus mix" potting soil (sandy loam, fine sand, humus,
worm castings) but watered them consistently. They do best in a deep pot,
but keep slightly potbound and feed very weak houseplant fertilizer
occasionally. Now the outdoor one that Sharon and Paul have is doing fine
in their native sandy clay soil.
Cheers, Louise Corvallis, ORegon
Visit the Emerald Chapter, North American Rock Garden Society Webpage at:
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Siggie Humor...
....The laboratory rat, despite all urging, stubbornly refused to perform
the assigned experiments. After a while, however, he reconsidered, and
... wended his maze.
At 05:32 PM 12/5/1999 -0800, Loren wrote:
>Today a friend gave me several seeds from a cycad, probably Cycas
>revoluta. The seed should be fresh, ie, just shed. Does anyone have any
>suggestions on germination requirements and growing-on?
