After a winter where our temperatures drop below 15 degrees F, all the foliage on our cycad fry. We wait until 1 month before last frost (around March 15) to remove the old foliage, which you can see in the photo below.
One month later, on April 15, the new fronds are emerging.
A month after that, on May 15, the cycad looks as good as new. These are Cycas x taithuaensis (unpublished), a cross of Cycas taitungensis x panzhihuaensis, planted in the ground in 2011. This clump now measures 6′ tall x 10′ wide.
What a fantastical rebirth! The Lord at work even when we might despair…
Are those berries in the second picture?
Immature embryos that were not fertilized
Hi Tony and team,
I’d like to upload a picture of the Cycas x taithuaensis I obtained less than a year ago in a 4in pot,, just to give people an idea of what growth rate to expect. The last time I tried to upload garden pictures to your blog site it aggressively blocked them as if they were noxious weeds akin to the Bradford Pear or Japanese Stilt Grass! I assure you there is nothing ‘seedy’ about these pics! Haha!
I obtained the cycad in mid-summer ’25 and felt it might be too late to establish a robust root mass and build up sugar reserves before winter, so I potted up to larger 2 gal container and overwintered indoors by a sunny window during the coldest months of the winter which dropped into the mid-teens. I took it outside on warm days and stretches, as is the rollercoaster we call winter here in NC 8a. This may not be what you’d expect if planting a small starter cycad in the garden in mid-summer in zone 8a, but in 9 mos. my plant has approx. quadrupled (or more) in size. It has sent up several new fronds as of late-May. (I did not cut it back.)
At this rate I may decide to plant it in the landscape in spring of ’26 but then again I’m in no hurry and with an unheated full basement that stays above freezing I could bring it in and enjoy the lush foliage along with my other tender tropicals. I may continue to overwinter until the taithuaensis gets too large for the 2gal pot to insure a healthy root ball before planting in the ground. I will plant just after the mid-April last frost date to maximize growth before winter dormancy,
If I do continue to overwinter what is the rule about cutting back the foliage? Selective pruning of old ragged fronds only, or can you remove all of the foliage as you describe, to stimulate a flush of new growth?
Sure wish you’d get the bugs worked out of the site so people could share pics of interesting plants.
Thanks,
Greg
Our staff checked and found no problems uploading images less than 20mb. The selected removal of a few damaged leaves do not cause the entire plant to reflush.
Thanks, here is the Cycas x taithuaensis less than a year after potting up to 2 gal from the 4in. pot from Plant Delights.
Greg