Where to buy cycas taitungensis online?

[NCFM]

Does anyone know of a reputable source selling cycas taitungensis seeds/seedlings online? I've done quite a bit of searching around and it seems they are hard to come by

[amh]

  On 3/15/2022 at 2:25 AM, NC_Palm_Enthusiast said:

Does anyone know of a reputable source selling cycas taitungensis seeds/seedlings online? I've done quite a bit of searching around and it seems they are hard to come by

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I've bought seeds from rarepalmseeds.com and seedlings from North Texas Cold Hardy Palms, but I do not know of any for sale currently.

I am always interested in anyone who salls cycads too.

[BeyondTheGarden]

You could see if @Scott W has any available for sale. 

[NCFM]

  On 3/15/2022 at 3:38 AM, Jesse PNW said:

You could see if @Scott W has any available for sale. 

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Will do, thanks! 

[Scott W]

@Jesse PNWthanks!

@NC_Palm_EnthusiastI do have about a dozen or so four year old plants that were grown from seed acquired about five years ago from the late Robert Chumley.  I can send you some pics this afternoon if it's not raining again....

[Scott W]

Also should have a reliable, consistent source for seeds in the future for this and others, working out details still.

[NCFM]

  On 3/15/2022 at 12:26 PM, Scott W said:

 

@NC_Palm_EnthusiastI do have about a dozen or so four year old plants that were grown from seed acquired about five years ago from the late Robert Chumley.  I can send you some pics this afternoon if it's not raining again....

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That would be awesome, thanks. No worries if it’s raining again today - I’m in no hurry 

[Merlyn]

I bought a couple of Taitungensis from LivingCycads.com, before I met Scott.    Their $15 seedlings were under 0.5" caudex and it'll probably take a few years for them to get up to a decent size.  But I'd definitely get them from @Scott W if you can!

[amh]

  On 3/15/2022 at 12:56 PM, Scott W said:

Also should have a reliable, consistent source for seeds in the future for this and others, working out details still.

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Keep us posted.

[amh]

  On 3/15/2022 at 10:35 PM, Merlyn said:

I bought a couple of Taitungensis from LivingCycads.com, before I met Scott.    Their $15 seedlings were under 0.5" caudex and it'll probably take a few years for them to get up to a decent size.  But I'd definitely get them from @Scott W if you can!

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How are their shipping cost? They have a taitungensis x debaoensis that I've been contemplating buying.

[Merlyn]

  On 3/15/2022 at 11:11 PM, amh said:

How are their shipping cost? They have a taitungensis x debaoensis that I've been contemplating buying.

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CA to FL for 7 cycads was $31 priority mail, including two Tait x Deb plants.  I planted both of them last summer, I think that has potential to be a really huge and glorious cross...

[amh]

 

  On 3/15/2022 at 11:19 PM, Merlyn said:

CA to FL for 7 cycads was $31 priority mail, including two Tait x Deb plants.  I planted both of them last summer, I think that has potential to be a really huge and glorious cross...

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Any changes in leaf morphology since you purchased the hybrids?

[Merlyn]

  On 3/15/2022 at 11:22 PM, amh said:

Any changes in leaf morphology since you purchased the hybrids?

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Not a lot yet, they are still small.  This one is about 18" tall and wide, and has a few split leaflets already.  It should have some more splits with the next flush.  It's dark here, so this isn't the greatest photo.  This one was exposed to 24-26F for about 4 hours with frost, and only took a bit of damage at the tips and with a few small dead spots. 

[Scott W]

@Merlyn I wonder if they would provide a picture of the parent debaoensis?

I only mention this as it's possible their debaoensis parent could be Multifrondis as many of us found out after the fact....

Also hoping my Rev x multifrondis crosses start showing more split leaf characteristics.  Better still, hoping the same for my ((Rev x taitungensis) x diannanennsis) x multifrondis crosses!!!

[Merlyn]

@Scott W it is possible (or maybe likely) that it is Tait x Multifrondis.  I didn't ask for a photo, the sellers aren't exactly high tech.  In the hybrid I don't know that I could tell Tait x Deb from Tait x Multi.  So yeah, seeing the parent is probably the only way to know.

[Scott W]

@Merlyn gotcha.  I know Jon Rossi has one that looks true as well as another PT member here in Jville.  I hope they turn out to be male so I can get the pollen from them for hybridization.  

My Cycas sp 'Swansong' (which are supposed to be Debaoensis x (tropophylla x micholitzii) should hopefully be maturing in the next few years, so hoping to have a few more multi pinnate plants to makes crosses with.

[amh]

  On 3/15/2022 at 11:19 PM, Merlyn said:

CA to FL for 7 cycads was $31 priority mail, including two Tait x Deb plants.  I planted both of them last summer, I think that has potential to be a really huge and glorious cross...

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I ended up buying two, hopefully the taitungensis genetics will accelerate the growth.

Edited September 16, 2022 by amh

[Merlyn]

Here is my larger of my two Tait x Deb, I bought this in June 2021 and planted it in August 2021.  The latest frond is about 3' long.  So far the difference I see is that the Rev x Deb hybrids seem to have slightly longer but narrower fronds, i.e. the leaflets are a little bit shorter.  Growth rate seems similar but it varies a lot from plant to plant among all the hybrids I've bought.  The second Tait x Deb I planted up front and it's barely squeaked out a second 1' long frond.  The good news is that this one below saw 24-25F and had no visible damage:

[amh]

  On 9/16/2022 at 2:09 PM, Merlyn said:

Here is my larger of my two Tait x Deb, I bought this in June 2021 and planted it in August 2021.  The latest frond is about 3' long.  So far the difference I see is that the Rev x Deb hybrids seem to have slightly longer but narrower fronds, i.e. the leaflets are a little bit shorter.  Growth rate seems similar but it varies a lot from plant to plant among all the hybrids I've bought.  The second Tait x Deb I planted up front and it's barely squeaked out a second 1' long frond.  The good news is that this one below saw 24-25F and had no visible damage:

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Both of mine have put out a new leaf recently and will be container grown for the next few years. I have so far acquired debaoensis/multifrondis hybrids for the top 3 cold hardy cycas species, but I look forward to someone creating a Cycas guizhouensis X debaoensis hybrid.  A Cycas panzhihuaensis X guizhouensis hybrid would be neat as well. 

Hint, hint, people with mature cycads.

[Merlyn]

@amh I don't think I've seen a Panz x Guizhou hybrid anywhere.  If anyone was doing it, it would have been TCHP.  I do like the Panz x Deb hybrids I got from TCHP back in 2020.  They seem to be similar in growth rate to Rev x Deb, and the leaves are slightly more "drapey" than the stiffer Rev x Deb ones.  I think both will be a really neat cross. 

Personally I think the Tait x Deb and Rev x Deb are going to come out mostly identical.  It probably depends more on the genetics of the "Deb" side, since many of them are really "Multifrondis" and not really Debaoensis.  There's a recent paper recommending that Revoluta and Taitungensis be made one species, perhaps with "Cycas Revoluta ssp. Taitungensis."  I don't recall where I saw that.