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Cycads, Adding Topsoil Beneficial?


freakypalmguy

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I have a lot of decomposed granite on my property. I typically add some soil amendment when I plant anything, but was curious if anyone has found or noticed benefit with adding topsoil around cycads or any plant and not tilling it in?

Matt in Temecula, CA

Hot and dry in the summer, cold with light frost in the winter. Halfway between the desert and ocean

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I'd guess it depends on your local temperature/humidity/rainfall.  In my area (swampy Floriduh) my concern with cycads like Encephalartos is usually root or crown rot.  Some species (Dioon Edule) don't seem to care as long as they aren't in a bog.  Others (E. Arenarius and Horridus) rot and die easily unless I take extra care to ensure the soil is extremely well draining.  Even then I've resorted to putting desert type Encephalartos only in pots with mostly perlite.  So that doesn't really answer your question, I guess it just depends on how much water the plant needs and can tolerate.

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On 9/18/2021 at 3:39 PM, freakypalmguy said:

I have a lot of decomposed granite on my property. I typically add some soil amendment when I plant anything, but was curious if anyone has found or noticed benefit with adding topsoil around cycads or any plant and not tilling it in?

Funny, I use decomposed granite (DG) to amend my soil around cycad plantings.  I tend to plant them high for drainage, and the sandy soil wants to slip away, so adding DG makes the mounds stay in place much better.  While I do use mulch near the tops of other plants, I don't around most of my cycads.  Zamia's might be the exception.  I think back to George's granite hillside planted with all those Encephalartos and the only mulch was leaflet shed from the plants themselves.  Mulching around palms and other plants does make a difference in the evaporation rate from the soil of the water you used to irrigate.  I would think adding some topsoil for them followed by mulch above that will help you retain more water for the plant with your non Encephalartos cycads.

33.0782 North -117.305 West  at 72 feet elevation

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On 9/20/2021 at 4:47 PM, Tracy said:

Funny, I use decomposed granite (DG) to amend my soil around cycad plantings.  I tend to plant them high for drainage, and the sandy soil wants to slip away, so adding DG makes the mounds stay in place much better.  While I do use mulch near the tops of other plants, I don't around most of my cycads.  Zamia's might be the exception.  I think back to George's granite hillside planted with all those Encephalartos and the only mulch was leaflet shed from the plants themselves.  Mulching around palms and other plants does make a difference in the evaporation rate from the soil of the water you used to irrigate.  I would think adding some topsoil for them followed by mulch above that will help you retain more water for the plant with your non Encephalartos cycads.

Hi Tracy,

I was hoping you’d chime in on this since your cycads all look like they are growing really well. One of the problems with my lot is that it was a hilltop that was bulldozed down so all of the native topsoil was stripped off to level a pad for the house. None of my soil seems like it has much organic matter in it, other than the few scoops I put in every time I plant something.  That was my thinking with maybe adding some to the top.

Great point about George’s soil, since I considered him the king of growing cycads, I will probably stick to mulch and fertilizer then. 
 

thank you for the help.

Matt

Matt in Temecula, CA

Hot and dry in the summer, cold with light frost in the winter. Halfway between the desert and ocean

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1 hour ago, freakypalmguy said:

None of my soil seems like it has much organic matter in it, other than the few scoops I put in every time I plant something.

Matt, from what I've seen of your cycads in posts, they look pretty healthy too.  It's interesting to read about the native soils of different cycads in Loran Whitelock's book too.  Especially with the South African species, it seems many like rocky outcroppings or other soils that I would imagine are lacking in organic material are often their habitat.

33.0782 North -117.305 West  at 72 feet elevation

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9 hours ago, Tracy said:

Matt, from what I've seen of your cycads in posts, they look pretty healthy too.  It's interesting to read about the native soils of different cycads in Loran Whitelock's book too.  Especially with the South African species, it seems many like rocky outcroppings or other soils that I would imagine are lacking in organic material are often their habitat.

Thanks Tracy, some look good but others struggle and I’ve killed Manny unfortunately. That definitely puts to bed my theory of lack of organic matter, I’ll have to crack open my Whitelock book and do some reading.:greenthumb:

Matt in Temecula, CA

Hot and dry in the summer, cold with light frost in the winter. Halfway between the desert and ocean

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On 9/20/2021 at 4:47 PM, Tracy said:

Funny, I use decomposed granite (DG) to amend my soil around cycad plantings.  I tend to plant them high for drainage, and the sandy soil wants to slip away, so adding DG makes the mounds stay in place much better.  While I do use mulch near the tops of other plants, I don't around most of my cycads.  Zamia's might be the exception.  I think back to George's granite hillside planted with all those Encephalartos and the only mulch was leaflet shed from the plants themselves.  Mulching around palms and other plants does make a difference in the evaporation rate from the soil of the water you used to irrigate.  I would think adding some topsoil for them followed by mulch above that will help you retain more water for the plant with your non Encephalartos cycads.

Good advice here.

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