Cycas panzhihuaensis

[Ben Candlin]

I've recently ordered some seeds of this cycad from Jungle Seeds. I've grown all sorts of things from seed before, but the blurb for this one sounds too good to be true for a cycad!:

Quoted from the jungle seeds website:

Dukou Cycas revoluta
From China, this is the most cold hardy of all cycads. It will take severe frosts to -8C, and is tolerant of damp and wet as well as drought conditions. It is very fast and easy to grow, and, with heavy fertilizing, will produce three flushes of dark green to bluish leaves per year, and grow up to an incredible 2ft of trunk in just five years from seed. It is the only cycad suitable for UK outdoor use and even then only in warmer areas. Note: that its native habitat are well drained limestone scree slopes.

Has anyone tried growing this species, either from seed or just as a plant? And if so, what has been your experience? I'm more familiar with Cycas revoluta.

[Conifers]

If they even get the name wrong (calling it a palm Arecaceae when it's a cycad Cycadaceae), can they be trusted with any of the other information?

[Ben Candlin]

I know, I know, its a personal gripe of mine too; lumping Cycads in with palms. It is common place though, with lots of resources doing the same, this site included - see the forum titled 'Palms (including Cycads and Cordyline)'!

I should note that I've always been dead impressed with Jungle Seeds and found them to generally be excellent quality.

[Dave Brown]

There must be some about Ben, as Francis Bell was selling seedlings in the Buy, swaps or Barter forum. See http://www.hardytropicals.co.uk/forum/v ... =32&t=5515. Francis is sceptical of the frost hardiness though.

As for grouping Cycads and Palms and cordylines together, I have complaints there are too many sub forums already. To give every one it's own would make it unweildy. They are grouped as they are seen as 'palm like' and the common name has palm in it. If everything was done in botanical terms most people would never be able to locate what they were looking for.

[simon]

I have to say it is a gripe of mine too but you can't blame Peter (Jungleseeds). That is the common name and we are stuck with it even if it is technically wrong.

Common names are annoying. Everything that flowers is called a lily; Calla Lily, Peace Lily, Ginger Lily, Canna Lily. The use of the word palm is getting just as bad. The DIY sheds make up their own names; Patio Palm for Cordyline, Banana Palm for both Musa and Ensete.

It is not the same thing as lumping multiple plant families into the same sub-forum though, as long as it says so in the title.

[stephenprudence]

I think this is partly down to why members of the public don't really know much about plant names and it's probably down to commercialism - which is sad really as the UK is one of the most experienced and historic countries for cultivating garden plants, and has a rich culture of having most of the well known plant explorers of the 18th and 19th century, that should have rubbed off on us as a nation but it doesn't seem to work like that.

Obviously not everyone is interested in plants and it's probably easier to use synonyms rather than latin names, but you're right a Cordyline is not a palm for example, yet many people have been raised believing this to be the case.

[simon]

I think there is just a general fear of long words. My sister-in-law snears if I say something like Trachycarpus fonunei but it is OK to use names like Hosta and Canna which are genus names, because they have an acceptable number of syllables.

Using the term "latin names" doesn't help either as people are often intimidated by latin. I prefer to use what I believe is the correct term, botanical name.

Sorry Ben, hope this isn't hijacking your thread. At least it's on topic.

I bet the Cycads are very slow from seed. Will be a long time before you find out if it lives up to the spin.

[Mick C]

I'd been tempted by these cycads Ben having read about their cold hardiness & growth speed. I gave up on the idea though because the comments I read from people that did try them were not generally very encouraging. Hope you prove them wrong!

[Ben Candlin]

Dave, reading my last post again, I realise it could be interpreted as 'having a go' at this site. Not at all! This is one of the best online references I've yet found - thanks for your hard work in putting it together.

And also, no disrespect to Peter and Penny at Jungle Seeds, as already said, I've always been impressed with them. I'm looking forward to the seeds arriving, hopefully any day now!

Well, now that the whole palm / cycad / botanical naming thing is out of the way, people are saying that these are not as tough as they're cracked up to be? Shame. I'll have to report back in 5 years time

In the meantime, is there anyone out there who is still persevering?

[fgtbell]

Hi Ben,

I have no personal experience to offer on hardiness or tolerance for our wet winters, since mine are all seedlings and too small to plant out. I think -8 might be overstating it a bit. If you did get this sort of hardiness then I'd guess it would have to be from a well-established one, in an ideal location (i.e. well-drained). Jan Methorst is the expert here, you could contact him at Minor Garden for some specific info.

Germination is straightforward and as long as your seeds are not duds, you could get up to 80% germination. Again, Jan's site provides a very detailed guide to germination, with nice photos: http://www.minorgarden.com/page4.htm.

Hope this helps,

[palmking]

Dukou Cycas revoluta
From China, this is the most cold hardy of all cycads. It will take severe frosts to -8C, and is tolerant of damp and wet as well as drought conditions. It is very fast and easy to grow, and, with heavy fertilizing, will produce three flushes of dark green to bluish leaves per year, and grow up to an incredible 2ft of trunk in just five years from seed. It is the only cycad suitable for UK outdoor use and even then only in warmer areas. Note: that its native habitat are well drained limestone scree slopes.

You'll be lucky-No chance of this kind of growth rate outside of a permanently heated Biome.

I've got 3 - Nearly 3 years old - They'll put on maybe 2 flushes a year and that's inside. They're forming a proper caudex but still in the single leaf flush stage.

They'll probably be about 1 or 2 degrees hardier than C.revoluta at most. I grow the latter, so i'll be planting one out in the near future.

MUST BE KEPT DRY over winter if planted outside!!!!!!! -They grow on arid limestone slopes, so that'll give an indication to their requirements.

Best way to germinate-in a propagator-soak the seeds in warm water for 48 hours-I cracked open the hard outer shell and planted the embryo in seedling compost-They'll germinate at 70f(21C) I reckon within 2 weeks-They are erratic - One took another month or so before sprouting.
Paul

[John P]

Several years back I had a panzhihuaensis from the Palm Centre and a revoluta both with trunks the size of a big orange. After 3 or 4 years the revoluta trunk was bigger than a football but the other remained orange sized and eventually gave up and died. I think the sales blurb for the panzhihuaensis is hyped up and certainly not true to form in the UK.

John

[redsquirrel]

you are both going to laugh your socks off at me,ive read 'soak in warm water for x hours ' so many times now.how do you keep it warm ??

[Eddy]

Paul, you used the term 'erratic' , my dealings with 'sago palms' have been rather the opposite. I bought two seeds once, and they both died while I was trying to germinate them.They ended up rotting away. Mind you, that's not unusual with me. I now have two 'Revoluta's' which I bought as young plants, but still wish I had a 'Cycas revoluta'.
I too would like to know if someone was growing one, successfully.

[John P]

Eddy a Cycas revoluta/cycad is a revoluta.

John