Older sago leaves during flush

[kbob11]

Hi everyone,

     I noticed that the older leaves of my sago started turning yellow right before it started flushing.  Is this normal?  Also I put it out from 4hrs of sunlight to 12 about 2 months ago, sunburn?  Thanks for your replies.

[Palm Tree Jim]

Normal. The plant is directing it’s energy to the new flush of leaves.

[Merlyn]

Yep, pretty normal.  It's probably worth giving it a little high nitrogen fertilizer (part slow release with micronutrients), if you want it to flush again soon.  Tom Broome (cycadjungle) told me that he was getting 4 to 6 flushes/year with some cycads,  just based on "pumping" them with extra fertilizer.  

Sagos can take full sun in MA, so I wouldn't worry about sunburn.

[Tracy]

8 hours ago, Merlyn2220 said:

4 to 6 flushes/year with some cycads

While i have seen a couple of small flushes come close together or sequential flushing of 1 or 2 leaves on young specimens the 4 to 6 flushes in a year seems really amazing.  At 6 flushes in a year that means 2 months between flushes 6 times in a row.  The flush on some of mine haven't even hardened off at 2 months from starting to flush.  What is the super juice he is using and have you been able to replicate that sort of performance?  I was impressed when one of my hybrid Encephalartos flushed 3 leaves starting in January and followed up with another 4 leaf flush this June but it's still small and the flushes were small. 

Are the results with one genus or multiple genus that he is getting these multi-flushes per year?

[Fusca]

I was amazed to see my Cycas revoluta flush new leaves 3 times last year since I've never seen more than two.  The only thing that I applied was some coffee grounds and perhaps some blood meal in the spring.  I don't recall the timing (maybe April, July and October) except that the latest flush came just weeks before our early (surprise!) 27º freeze in mid November so the newest leaves got singed.  Hadn't seen a freeze that early in 20 years and our only other freeze came later than normal in March!

[Merlyn]

15 hours ago, Tracy said:

What is the super juice he is using and have you been able to replicate that sort of performance?  I was impressed when one of my hybrid Encephalartos flushed 3 leaves starting in January and followed up with another 4 leaf flush this June but it's still small and the flushes were small. 

Are the results with one genus or multiple genus that he is getting these multi-flushes per year?

I'm not sure on the details, though he does (or did) sell a cycad special fertilizer mix.  This is an older article, but it looks like he was using a Scott's Premix fertilizer 24-7-8 with about 50% fast acting nitrogen.  I haven't tried that kind of fertilizer myself, most of what I'm using is a generic "palm special" more like 6-1-8 or generic fast release 10-10-10 on other tropicals.

http://cycadjungle.mysite.com/cycadjungle/fertilizer.html

[Cikas]

I never had more than one flush a year on mine. 

[Tracy]

1 hour ago, Cikas said:

I never had more than one flush a year on mine. 

Dubrovnik is about 42.6 degrees north of the equator vs 28.5 in Orlando where Merlyn is and 33 where I am.

22 hours ago, Merlyn2220 said:

This is an older article, but it looks like he was using a Scott's Premix fertilizer 24-7-8 with about 50% fast acting nitrogen.  I haven't tried that kind of fertilizer myself, most of what I'm using is a generic "palm special" more like 6-1-8 or generic fast release 10-10-10 on other tropicals.

http://cycadjungle.mysite.com/cycadjungle/fertilizer.html

I'm sure that distance from the equator and consequently duration of the growing season plays a factor, but I still am having challenges with the 2 month turn around for flushes on any mature (non juvenile/adolescent) cycad.  I know we (southern California) have a shorter growing season being further north of the equator than southern Florida but that is still a fast turnaround on flushes and having the energy to do it not once but twice.  I see small flushes sometimes before coning, followed by a second flush toward the end of a cone pushing in the same year and I know that takes an immense amount of energy for a cycad to build up.

[Cikas]

3 hours ago, Tracy said:

Dubrovnik is about 42.6 degrees north of the equator vs 28.5 in Orlando where Merlyn is and 33 where I am.

I'm sure that distance from the equator and consequently duration of the growing season plays a factor, but I still am having challenges with the 2 month turn around for flushes on any mature (non juvenile/adolescent) cycad.  I know we (southern California) have a shorter growing season being further north of the equator than southern Florida but that is still a fast turnaround on flushes and having the energy to do it not once but twice.  I see small flushes sometimes before coning, followed by a second flush toward the end of a cone pushing in the same year and I know that takes an immense amount of energy for a cycad to build up.

Yes, but Europe is warmer than North America on same latitude. Summers here are hot and long in Dubrovnik (hot mediterranean climate). Even in tropical climate 2 flushes a year are already a lot for cycads. More than that seems almost impossible to me. 

Edited July 19, 2019 by Cikas