My Dioon Spinulosum Not Okay ?

[Kris]

Dear Friends

3 days back i was in banglore on a personal work.their i

purschased a Dioon spinulosum cycas from the lalbagh

govt nursery.i had spoken about it earlier that i was impressed

with it in my previous visit to banglore.since i did not have much

time to inspect this cycas.i made the payment and asked the workers

of that nursery to load this cycas in our car.

but on reaching our home here in chennai,i could notice a clift or a dent

in its trunk and a shinning gum kind of fluid comes out and dries.is this

normal and i will post the stills of its present condition soon.since i have

not off loaded the files from my camera yet.

here is a still of that beauty few months back !

[Kansas]

Yes, my Spinulosum do this on some old flush leafs that had been cut off. Not 100% sure but I think it is normal as my Spinulosum are thriving.

[tropicalb]

quick answer: yes, it's normal kris.

keep your hands off that sap though. I would not be touching it with my bare hands, as cycads are toxic plants.

[BS Man about Palms]

I've been told and noticed it produces that sap AND as a way to "purge" excess moisture. If I've had a trimmed leaf or "den" as you say, and its our rainy season, it will "ooze a lot" but if drier, not so much.

BS

[Kris]

Dear Kansas,Burt & Bill

thanks a lot for putting my mind to rest...i thought the

nursery folks had cheated me,by giving me a just rottening

Dioon stealthly.since i paid for that baby 68 u.s dollars ?

but after reaching our house in chennai and its hot summer now

the leaves seem to love this climate since it is shinning as though

it varnished with high gloss laquer !

Today i went near that cycas and touched the shining fluid,to my

surprise it is dried and hard as a glass.but thanks for the reminder

as one should not touch that wet fluid.i knew that the seeds of cycads

are poisoness but anything oozing out from these species are poisioness

is really new info to me_thanks a lot.since i fert & smeer ant powder

using my hands.and even touch plants and feel their texture using my

bare hands.form now on i try to be a bit wiser...

thanks & love,

Kris

[Kris]

Okay lets see some visuals of this Dioon baby ?

More more stills of the leaking dent,we shall see it tomarrow !

Love,

Kris.

[BS Man about Palms]

By the way Kris, this is one of the few Dioons that look MUCH better in filtered light. !

[Kris]

Dear Bill

thanks for that important info..since one of two leafleats have started appearing to have sunburnt now !

Now lets see the stills of the wound region of this cycas..

...

[xerophyte_nyc]

I'm pretty sure the sap is upward movement of plant fluid, akin to sugar maple sap flow in the spring.

I think it is a sign that the plant is actively pulling nutrients through the caudex and leaves. Where there is an injury or leaf scar, the sap reaches a dead end and oozes. I have noticed it to be a pre-cursor to a flush of new leaves.

[Kris]

Dear NYC

thanks for the information and i like to know is that wound okay or will it seriously impair its longavity ? i.e will it rot & should this plant be handled delicately ?

thanks & love,

Kris

[xerophyte_nyc]

Kris

It should be OK. Make sure you do not water overhead on top of the caudex. Try to keep the wound dry until it completely forms a callous for protection. I wouldn't worry about it too much.

If this plant rots or dies it won't be because of the wound. Just make sure you're doing everything else right - excellent drainage, appropriate fertilizer and sun, etc. Cycads are great.

[virtualpalm]

Kris, I agree with xerophyte_nyc that the sap exuding from the caudex is simply the plant's way to eliminate excess water and that it should have no effect on its health or longevity.

I would like to make one small point, though. Plants in the Order Cycadales are generally referred to as cycads. The word 'cycas' is reserved for plants in the genus Cycas and is not a general term for all cycads.

Nice plant!

Jody

[Kris]

Dear Jody

thanks for confirming that my Dioon will survive,i feel that my money spent on it has not gone waste !since this year iam running heavy on expenditures...

And thanks for the gentle reminder about the term usage of cycas & cycads.even our 007 Jeff has pointed this to me long back but i often tend to forget this info while i type my post_iam sorry gentlemen.

As they say habits die hard...i will put effort to correct this flaw..

i suppose from now on,i will have a sound sleep,since i can stop worring about the health condition of the above Dioon !

thanks & love,

Kris

[Kris]

Some more stills of the same Dioon !

...

[Kris]

.

[GREENHAND]

Hi kris. i just bought one about the same size while visiting in louisiana at stokes tropicals, and palms.when i got it home i used some fish emulsion on it the first day, then two days later i put some worm castings on it the result is it pumped up nicely. it worth a try, it sure wont hurt it. good luck!

[Kris]

Thanks very much Dear Green

I will soon try it and in 2 months time i will have a bottle of superthrive too at my disposal.hope all these treatment does help in fast wound recovery ! and one of

my forum friends recently P.M me on the need for use of linestone nutrition since these Dioon cycads do love to be treated with mild dosage of line.but here lime is not sold in nutured form,its more industrial grade..which can harm the plant itself.Any one have any idea how to fed this cycad in what ratio ? that is how much tea's spoon of linestone per bucket of water ?

thanks & love,

Kris

[virtualpalm]

Kris,

I am not aware of the need for lime with Dioon spinulosum. I have grown this species in all kinds of soils and never had a problem. It is quite adaptable. As long as it is in a 'healthy' soil, you shouldn't need to fertilize it much (if at all). Superthrive probably won't hurt it, but I also don't think it will result in any significant increases in health or growth of the plant. Dioon, in general, tend to flush only once per year, and they are very forgiving with regard to nutrients. I am a firm believer that too much "love" and "TLC" is never a good thing for cycads (with the possible exception of some of the difficult-to-grow species), and it can have disastrous results.

BTW, I just took another look at your photos. I think your plant would benefit from some organic matter in the soil. The soil that it is currently in appears to be primarily rock. If you can find some decaying leaf litter in the forest or underneath a large tree, this might be good to add to the soil. The soil may also be too dense and not well-drained. If the soil holds too much water, the plant will often react by exuding mucilage from the caudex and cut leaf bases...which you saw with this plant. My recommendation would be to improve drainage and increase organic content of the soil. This will likely be sufficient to result in a healthy plant. I also agree with Bill that filtered light would improve the color of the leaves and the overall health and appearance of the plant.

Wishing you the best of luck!

Jody

Edited May 3, 2008 by virtualpalm

[Kris]

Dear Jody

thanks very much,i suppose you have summerised every thing pertaining to the needs of my dioon.iam more relaxed now that this baby will survive.and i will do all what you have said.and i must thank our fourm founders,since this is one fentastic site where the plant enthuiests meet the pros of the concerned varities and get free suggestion with any prior appointments !

I feel its a real honour for us members to have proffessionals like you to guide us properly now & then in our experiments in making our plants look better & healthier....in days to come !

lots of love to you,

Kris

[Kris]

A night time still of the same palm !

Love,

Kris

[Kris]

Hai Friends

Some good news about this Dioon,its pushing out spears.i will give you all progressive stills of that event !

And my special thanks to all of you who have ineracted and also given some valuable suggestions & ideas as to how i must take care of this baby ! and i have never spent so much on a cycas till this day.so i cannot loose this baby...at this moment ! And this dioon is doing just fine...

Lots of love,

Kris

[Kris]

Dear Jody

i have collected the dried old decaying leaves from the foot of our huge dicot trees,and here are the visuals and i will post stills as the stunning effect it had on that dioon & it started pushing new leaves sprouts in just a weeks time...And Jody thanks a lot for the assistance..

A close-up ! of the dried leaf mulch...

thanks & Love,

Kris

By the way the dried leaves seen above were collected from Margosa(Neem tree) & sapota tree.

[Kris]

From here lets see some progression stills on the Dioon leaves flush ?

.

[Kris]

Here you can see the protection cover to protect the new leaves from catapiller damage..

.

[Kris]

Dear Jody can you see the dried leaf mulch ?

.

[Kris]