Cycad cones and flushes

[Gbarce]

My large Cycas debaoensis is also flushing leaves-- 2 leaves this time!

These are about 7 feet tall- at one point I think they grew 12 inches in one day

[yachtingone]

Encephalartos munchii is coning for it's first time. I took a peak down a dime sized opening that I noticed this morning! I saw the top of a yellowish cone! There is plenty of room for multiple cones in there. If it's a female I am going to want to pollenate it with E. munchii pollen. Does anybody have any?

These pics were taken today.

This first pic is of the plant. The caudex is 16 3/4" in diameter. The leaves are over 4' long.

This pic shows the 9" diameter of the coning. You can see the dime sized opening I looked thru.

This pic shows 6" of heigth of the coning

[freakypalmguy]

Here's to hoping she's a she. Beautimus

[virtualpalm]

Randy, just to clarify to you and other readers of this thread, what you are showing in your last two photos is the apex of cataphylls which normally grow between flushes and between a flush and a coning event. To my knowledge there have never been any data published (anecdotal or otherwise) indicating that the diameter of the apex or the length or number of cataphylls at the initiation of coning is linked to the size or number of cones that the plant may produce.

I hope you post followup photos. It will be interesting to follow this coning event, as I doubt that many readers of PalmTalk have seen this species cone.

Jody

[virtualpalm]

Randy, I just thought of something else... you may want to have an expert in African cycads verify the identity of that plant because E. munchii is supposed to have jade green cones.

Jody

[yachtingone]

Jody,

The cones color has not been secured yet. I was looking thru a tiny opening. Experts have seen this plant Jody! I know the pedigree of this plant. It came from the seed batch Loran Whitelock mentioned in his book The Cycads! I have a pic of me between the male and female plants that produced the seed! The female is on my right side the male is on the left. The female has so many pups you can't see the caudex. Btw there is three cones emerging.

More pics to come soon!

Randy

[yachtingone]

Jody do you see green?

[virtualpalm]

Jody do you see green?

Yes, I do... and that is a good thing. Have you talked to Loran about pollen?

Jody

[Palmzilla]

Killer cycad Randy! Thanks for the cool shots!

[Palmzilla]

Here is a nice E. gratus with 19 new leaves. It's a male, made 4 cones last year.

[Palmzilla]

Here are a few dioon edule queretaro's, these guys are growing like crazy.

[Palmzilla]

Male cone starting to show on E. trispinosus

[Palmzilla]

Blue-green E. arenarius

[UnderAPalmNapping]

I got a few bare root latifolias that started flushing pretty quick....

Also a couple Zamia Furf. I got at Walmart yesterday @$8 each. I have a bunch of seedling but were happy to get some mature plants to play with....

[yachtingone]

Bradon, Nice stuff you have! I really like green coning blue E. arenarius!

Pics of my E. munchii coning starting on 06/30/10

07/01/10

07/02/10

[yachtingone]

07/03/10

07/04/10

I'll post more pics soon.

[Palmzilla]

Looks like a male with three cones on the way

[yachtingone]

Looks like a male with three cones on the way

Your a little early on the prediction Braden.

Females usually 2-3 cones per stem, but up to 6. Males cone 1-6 per stem. That is if David l. Jones author of "Cycads of the World" knows anything.

So how did you come up with male?

[tinman10101]

Went to visit palm buddy Henry and took a picture of this really nice new flush from his Dioon Edule. It is still expanding!!! Just had to share. Quality is not that great since I took it from my cell.

Cheers!

Tin

[Palmzilla]

Looks like a male with three cones on the way

Your a little early on the prediction Braden.

Females usually 2-3 cones per stem, but up to 6. Males cone 1-6 per stem. That is if David l. Jones author of "Cycads of the World" knows anything.

So how did you come up with male?

Well I'm thinking this because the scales on the cones look to small to be female. Male cones usually produce smaller cone scales. Also even though your munchii is nice and fat it is still young and will get much bigger. Since it is coning for the first time and making more than one cone odds are its not female. Female cones are way bigger, usually a female will only make one cone the first time it cones. It would be really impressive if your plant made multiple female cones first time. I am no expert by any means and could easily be wrong, I just stare at cycads way to much and that's my 2 cents. Keep posting pics of the progress! Awesome cycad!

[UnderAPalmNapping]

Hey YachtingGone...where's the update? That cone should be popping pretty good now. You peaked my interest with the last few pics.....

[yachtingone]

Bradon,

Thanks for the explanation. I too believe it's a male plant. The cones are just to small in diameter.

Max,

I will post more pics soon!

[UnderAPalmNapping]

I have these Cycas Revolutas, and was wondering if there is a vitamin deficiency?

[FRITO]

my new ceratozamia latifolias.

a female in cone, and another female throwing 4 red leaves

[yachtingone]

More E.munchii coning pics. 07/05/19

[yachtingone]

07/06/10

[yachtingone]

07/07/10

07/08/10

[yachtingone]

07/09/10

07/10/10

That's all for now!

[freakypalmguy]

That is really cool Randal, looks like an alien life form pushing forth.

[BS Man about Palms]

Nice Alien Randy..

Some of my planted Cycads are throwing little leaves too. Here is my Z.sp. skinneri type? I'm surprised with the cool weather they are doing this.

[BS Man about Palms]

I believe this is Zamia splendins. ?

I forget which this is, it may be a Ceratazamia, but its still in the pot so that cheatin' anyway..?

[BS Man about Palms]

And then this Cycas cairnsiana. This will the 4th or 5th leaf attempt in the last 8 months. It never gets more than about 2" out.

Oh yes, would you believe I'm going for the habitat look?

[yachtingone]

I forget which this is, it may be a Ceratazamia, but its still in the pot so that cheatin'

[turfpro01]

I just picked up this sago last fall, so this is the first flush ive seen. It was in a 36" box and I put in a 20g pot.

[GeneAZ]

Here's the female munchii in the San Diego Zoo. This specimen really has a nice blueness to it naturally, but they overhead water and wash it off!

(Scanned photographs)

The plant in 1998 . . .

and in 2007 . . .

2007 cones . . .

2007 trunk detail and offsets . . .

Randal, you might contact them for a date!

Gene

07/09/10

07/10/10

That's all for now!

[yachtingone]

Gene those pics are cool. My plant gets that blue then old age wears it off!

[freakypalmguy]

That is super nice Gene, it almost looks photoshoped it's so blue, but I know it's not.

Matt

[freakypalmguy]

This is a pretty pathetic spectacle, but here is my E. arenarius purchased 3.5 years ago as a golf ball sized seedling, that has finally flushed. The two older leaves turned brown right as this single leaf flush emerged. I don't know what caused it to sit for so long, but I tried more water, less water, different ferts, and more/less shade all with no results. It just sat, with two leaves and a nice firm caudex, so I knew it was still alive. It must be nice to have the money to buy nice sized specimens and have an insta-garden instead of nursing seedlings along, but that is not my reality.

[xerophyte_nyc]

Here is my E horridus from Day 8 until maturity:

I intentionally cut off all the old leaves around the 2nd week. As the new leaves were unfurling, I did not want the interference from the old leaves to spoil the symmetry. I'm glad I did it. Here's a close up of the finale, an almost flawless plant with nicely twisted leaflets and a great turquoise color. Who said you can't grow E horridus in NY

[virtualpalm]

Wow! That is an awesome E. horridus plant anywhere... but to think that it looks that nice in NYC is just amazing.

Jody