Our three way hybrid cycad, C. x menageatroisensis (Cycas panzhihuaensis x (revoluta x taitungensis) appears to be in full “flower” this week, months after we tried, but failed to impregnate it. Despite being unproductive reproductively, it’s quite fascinating as a garden feature. Cycads came about back in the day before flowering was invented, so they actually produce cones, like a pine tree. Despite the leaves frying at 11F, the female strobilis remains undamaged. Our clone picture below is a female.
Wow, what a great photo! Are there features here that
tell us this is a female, and not a male, strobilus? Of course, the females are easy to recognize after they form seeds. And I have seen male cycad cones, but only after they have dried up. TY.
The male “flower” looks like a giant pine cone, and is full of pollen.
Thank you , I’m going to look for that here in Florida where we have plenty of cycads .
I thought for certain that our cycads died in the freeze last year, but to my surprise they all came back nicely.
Do you recommend a specific way of protecting them in the winter? I wrapped them in solar blankets, but they still turned brown!
One has produced a cone for the last 2 years. I’m curious about trying to propagate them, although I’m not sure if we have a female. (We purchased the Papay house 2 years ago. Trying to keep it going!)
Cycad foliage will always turn brown when winter temps drop below 15F, so there really isn’t a way to prevent this. Pollinating cycads is a bit tricky in that you must have both pollen and female plants flowering at the right time, so as a general rule, most folks aren’t really set up to make this happen. Most hardy cycads remain solitary with only a small number producing offsets as they age, so in effect, they are not propagatable.