Encephalartos Lehmannii potted soil mix for Florida?

[Merlyn]

I've had this Lehmannii for a couple of years, I purchased it as a couple of leaf seedling from Ice Blue Cycads as a "Kirkwood form."  I didn't realize how slooooooow these grow when they are young, and I really wanted something a lot larger in the spot below.  My wife loves the heliconia that are aggressively taking over the area, so I am planning to pull this plant and pot it up semi-permanently.  I have a decoratively glazed ~3 gallon ceramic pot for it, but I know drainage is a big deal for the more "desert" cycads.  My current mix for agaves, cacti and dry cycads has been equal parts perlite, generic topsoil, and coarse sand.  Right now I'm using Sakrete "paver base" for the coarse sand, it's composed of crushed coral rock.  I can't use pine bark chips here in FL because the termites go after them immediately.  This mix has been pretty good for my other cycads and dry succulents, but they are also only in pots temporarily.

I also have "Hydro Crunch Expanded Clay 8mm Pebbles" (0.32" diameter) and "Nature's Footprint Pumice" as well as granite "poultry grit" that are around 1/8" to 1/4" diameter.  I haven't been using the others, my mix is just the perlite/topsoil/paver base.  Below are photos of the other amendments.  Do you think a better "permanent" mix for a potted Lehmannii would be 25% topsoil and a mix of the other materials?  Or less or more topsoil?  Or are Lehmannii not as moisture/soil critical as some of the other desert cycads like Horridus?

[Tracy]

2 hours ago, Merlyn2220 said:

I also have "Hydro Crunch Expanded Clay 8mm Pebbles" (0.32" diameter) and "Nature's Footprint Pumice" as well as granite "poultry grit" that are around 1/8" to 1/4" diameter.  I haven't been using the others, my mix is just the perlite/topsoil/paver base.  Below are photos of the other amendments.  Do you think a better "permanent" mix for a potted Lehmannii would be 25% topsoil and a mix of the other materials?  Or less or more topsoil?  Or are Lehmannii not as moisture/soil critical as some of the other desert cycads like Horridus?

I grew my lehmanii in a pot for several years before dropping into the ground.  You can see the mix I used was almost exclusively pumice with some perlite mixed in.  I would be inclined to add some topsoil in rather than the mix I used.  My one Encephalartos lehmanii has been prone to oozing starch from the main caudex from excessive rain, which is why I went with such a fast draining mix in a pot.  It had the oozing issue again this year when we had heavy April & May rain.  They do develop a deep tap root, so when I planted up from it's 3x9 liner, I opted for a black citrus tree pot, which I put inside a more decorative ceramic pot.  The next step was into a 15 gallon pot before I finally put it in the ground. 

If you don't mind heavy pots, skip the perlite and use either the poultry grit or the crushed limestone, if you want the pot lighter and easier to move, use more of the perlite in your mix.  The heavier materials like DG (decomposed granite) have an advantage with plants that are top heavy when in pots;  the heavier soil which is still relatively fast draining makes the pot less tipsy.

[Merlyn]

1 hour ago, Tracy said:

I grew my lehmanii in a pot for several years before dropping into the ground.  You can see the mix I used was almost exclusively pumice with some perlite mixed in.  I would be inclined to add some topsoil in rather than the mix I used.  My one Encephalartos lehmanii has been prone to oozing starch from the main caudex from excessive rain, which is why I went with such a fast draining mix in a pot.  It had the oozing issue again this year when we had heavy April & May rain.  They do develop a deep tap root, so when I planted up from it's 3x9 liner, I opted for a black citrus tree pot, which I put inside a more decorative ceramic pot.  The next step was into a 15 gallon pot before I finally put it in the ground. 

If you don't mind heavy pots, skip the perlite and use either the poultry grit or the crushed limestone, if you want the pot lighter and easier to move, use more of the perlite in your mix.  The heavier materials like DG (decomposed granite) have an advantage with plants that are top heavy when in pots;  the heavier soil which is still relatively fast draining makes the pot less tipsy.

Thanks for the suggestions Tracy!  My local cycad guy ChuckG grew most of his cycads in almost pure perlite, especially the dry types like Trispinosus.  So I potted this one up in a quart pot temporarily, using roughly 20-25% "topsoil" and the rest a mix of perlite, poultry grit (granite), crushed limestone, and pumice.  I tossed a few clay pebbles in just because, and top dressed it with granite.  The mix drains really, really fast.  I can pour a glass of water into the top of the pot and it's drained out in about 2-3 seconds.  The plant seemed to grow okay in nearly pure fine Floriduh sand, so I think it ought to do okay.  As you can see, it's dramatically smaller than yours, only about a 4 inch long caudex maybe 1.25" maximum diameter.  I put it in the temporary pot because the one I had in mind was way too broad/shallow and only had one central drain hole.  It wouldn't drain reliably in our regular 1-2" per hour thunderstorms, and wouldn't have decent space for a taproot.  I'll find a taller/narrower pot for it to live in semi-permanently.

As a bonus there's also two new Aloe "Hercules" babies next to it, from an Etsy seller.  Now I won't feel too bad about planting one of my other Hercules, if it happens to die I have replacements on hand!

 

[Tracy]

On 8/8/2020 at 5:08 PM, Merlyn2220 said:

As you can see, it's dramatically smaller than yours, only about a 4 inch long caudex maybe 1.25" maximum diameter.

These guys can be pretty fast.  The photo above in the pot was 2009.  I eventually dropped this into the ground in the fall of 2014 or early 2015 when we finished the remodel of our current home.  The two leaf pup in the pot photo from 2009 is the caudex in front in the photo below.  No cones on the main caudex yet, but this is older than my Encephalartos horridus which first coned in 2018, which tells me it must be getting close to the right size and age.

I like the look of the mix you have in your photo and think it will work well for you in your climate.  Congrats on the little Aloidendron hercules too.  It's funny how we feel compelled to have a "backup" just in case with marginal plants when first trying to get them established.  If you have success with your in ground experience, either you can resell these when they get older or share them with a good friend.  I have three Aloidendron ramosissimum for this very reason... just in case.

[Merlyn]

2 hours ago, Tracy said:

These guys can be pretty fast.  The photo above in the pot was 2009.  I eventually dropped this into the ground in the fall of 2014 or early 2015 when we finished the remodel of our current home.  The two leaf pup in the pot photo from 2009 is the caudex in front in the photo below.  No cones on the main caudex yet, but this is older than my Encephalartos horridus which first coned in 2018, which tells me it must be getting close to the right size and age.

I like the look of the mix you have in your photo and think it will work well for you in your climate.  Congrats on the little Aloidendron hercules too.  It's funny how we feel compelled to have a "backup" just in case with marginal plants when first trying to get them established.  If you have success with your in ground experience, either you can resell these when they get older or share them with a good friend.  I have three Aloidendron ramosissimum for this very reason... just in case.

I was hoping it would be faster, but when I planted it I also wasn't expecting my wife to like the heliconia quite so much.  So now they are trying to take over the whole flower bed.  Heliconia are pretty and also zero maintenance, so I'm not too concerned about it.    Most of my cycads I've bought just past the seedling stage, so I was used to them putting out 2, 3, or more leaves at once.  Thanks for the comments on the soil mix.  It drains really fast, water just pours out of the bottom! 

I've found that I definitely buy extras on marginal plants, regardless of palms or otherwise.  It's relatively inexpensive to buy two, especially when factoring in shipping cost.  I definitely do this when buying stuff I'm not familiar with or are zone-pushing.  Like with my Hercules...one is doing great and the other is questionable.  I just placed an order with Arid Lands and bought two "Goliath" for the same reason.

[Silas_Sancona]

46 minutes ago, Merlyn2220 said:

I was hoping it would be faster, but when I planted it I also wasn't expecting my wife to like the heliconia quite so much.  So now they are trying to take over the whole flower bed.  Heliconia are pretty and also zero maintenance, so I'm not too concerned about it.    Most of my cycads I've bought just past the seedling stage, so I was used to them putting out 2, 3, or more leaves at once.  Thanks for the comments on the soil mix.  It drains really fast, water just pours out of the bottom! 

I've found that I definitely buy extras on marginal plants, regardless of palms or otherwise.  It's relatively inexpensive to buy two, especially when factoring in shipping cost.  I definitely do this when buying stuff I'm not familiar with or are zone-pushing.  Like with my Hercules...one is doing great and the other is questionable.  I just placed an order with Arid Lands and bought two "Goliath" for the same reason.

Don't recall seeing Goliath anywhere in FL so you'll definitely have something others don't.. They can get quite top heavy so watch em' closely once monster-size. L.A. Arboretum has a few i swear looked like the were about to fall over when standing beside.  X Medusa ( A. tongaensis ) would complete the hybrid trio if you ever find one or two..