Trade Free Cycad Seed

[Ray]

My large cycad (Cycas revoluta), AKA sago palm, has bloomed and fruited out like never before.

If anyone wants to try their hand at germinating these things, I'll send some for the cost of shipping.

Supposedly, the "fast" way of germinating them is as follows:

1. Scrape the orange pulp off the outside, exposing the hard shell.
2. Holding the seed vertically, pointy end up, give it a gentle whack or two with a hammer to crack the shell.
3. Remove the seed from the shell and caregully remove its thin, brown covering.
4. Nestly the seed on its side, about one-third to one-half its depth, into moist potting soil.
5. Keep it moist by misting, not by top or bottom watering, as that is supposed to induce rot.
6. Keep them very warm and in a few weeks, plants should emerge and sink roots into the soil.

 

[Walter Meshaka]

Ray, I'd be grateful for a couple. Thanks for the offer.

 

[Nelson Wong]

are these tropical or temperate plants?

 

[Ray]

Well... They're living in my yard here in southeastern NC. Summers in the 90's+, winters as low as the 20's, but usually not so cold, so I'd say temperate.

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

Ray, interesting idea about cracking the hull. I've never done that with cycad seed, but I can see the advantage. I've never had great success growing this species from seed, but have had lots of success with Dioon species. Go figure.

This species is native to the subtropical islands of Japan, and a bit of Kyushu Island. On the islands it never goes below 45 F and even the Kyushu populations probably only rarely experience absolute minimums below 35 F. In the garden they can reliably take down to around 20 F without much trouble. They can even be grown in parts of England with its relatively cool summers, but they definitely prefer hotter summers. They prefer a winter cool down rather than a truly tropical climate. In recent years white Asian scale has been a real issue in growing these plants in Florida.

Video I made about them in Japan: