It’s a girl! Encephalartos ferox coning!

[DoomsDave]

After nearly 20 years in the ground, finally!

[rprimbs]

Cool!  I've got one in the ground that I am waiting to cone.  My plant is about 5 years old.  Hopefully it won't take another 15 years 

[Tracy]

4 hours ago, DoomsDave said:

After nearly 20 years in the ground, finally!

How big was it when you planted it Dave?  Since I only received a pup fairly recently and it isn't a straight E ferox, I'm less familiar with age to cone with this species.  I do know that some species within this genus are definitely faster than others to achieve coning age.

[DoomsDave]

3 hours ago, Tracy said:

How big was it when you planted it Dave?  Since I only received a pup fairly recently and it isn't a straight E ferox, I'm less familiar with age to cone with this species.  I do know that some species within this genus are definitely faster than others to achieve coning age.

It was in like a three gallon tree pot. I bought it on New Year’s Day, 2000 as a baby and planted it out a year or so after I moved in here.

[Peter]

Mine is also coning for the first time;  it's been in the ground from large 1g for about 7-8 years-it's really grown well which is unusual for a cycad for me as they tend to be very slow for me

[DoomsDave]

7 minutes ago, Peter said:

Mine is also coning for the first time;  it's been in the ground from large 1g for about 7-8 years-it's really grown well which is unusual for a cycad for me as they tend to be very slow for me

I suspect you pampered yours

[Tracy]

10 hours ago, Peter said:

Mine is also coning for the first time;  it's been in the ground from large 1g for about 7-8 years-it's really grown well which is unusual for a cycad for me as they tend to be very slow for me

I always assumed that Encephalartos ferox must be a pretty vigorous grower based on the quantity growing at the San Diego Zoo.  They have used them like filler plants in many shade areas there.  

 

10 hours ago, DoomsDave said:

I suspect you pampered yours

No, that is precisely how to slow down an Encephalartos.   They like benign neglect and a drink every so often.  Although Dave you will get a better view of that cone if you break out the rose trimming gloves and remove some of the tall grass from the base.

[Darold Petty]

Dave, what is that spikey thing poking up through your weed ranch ??    (look for a package soon!)    

[DoomsDave]

2 hours ago, Tracy said:

I always assumed that Encephalartos ferox must be a pretty vigorous grower based on the quantity growing at the San Diego Zoo.  They have used them like filler plants in many shade areas there.  

 

No, that is precisely how to slow down an Encephalartos.   They like benign neglect and a drink every so often.  Although Dave you will get a better view of that cone if you break out the rose trimming gloves and remove some of the tall grass from the base.

Hmm. I guess I pampered mine, since they got benign neglect from the beginning, like once a month water, in the summer, if that. None the worse for wear, though. They did grow, steadily.

Rose trimming gloves? Maybe armor-plated gloves from a suit of medieval armor . . .

And, that many pain killers will deaden all ability to do anything!

[amh]

Congratulations, now, do you have a stud for the debutante?

[DoomsDave]

Oh yes, coning too.

[Merlyn]

4 hours ago, DoomsDave said:

Hmm. I guess I pampered mine, since they got benign neglect from the beginning, like once a month water, in the summer, if that. None the worse for wear, though. They did grow, steadily.

Rose trimming gloves? Maybe armor-plated gloves from a suit of medieval armor . . .

And, that many pain killers will deaden all ability to do anything!

In FL I've found that they like part sun to full sun, though I saw one at Cycad Jungle that was in full shade...12 feet diameter...with hand-sized leaves.  Ok, they weren't quite hand-sized, unless you are an elf.  But they were huge!  Mine like the water and have no leaf damage above about 27-28F.  They do not like frost and 25F, my biggest got pretty burned and lost the entire newest rank of leaves from the frost.  The older, lower fronds were sheltered and had little to no damage.

I find that trimming these is dangerous, but less so than Encephalartos Laurentianus or Whitelockii.  Those have little bits of monstrously stabby spines near the base of the frond, which is exactly where I always try to pick them up.  You can always grab a Ferox frond in the middle with 2 fingers and no gloves without becoming bloody.  Maybe it's also because the leaves are wider and angled more upward in a "V".  The worst for me is trimming a super-pupping Senticosus/Msinganus because the pup leaves get mixed in with the parent plant and try to stab you from 42 different directions at once...

[Merlyn]

Here's my biggest Ferox coning 3...so far!  24-25F and frost torched all the middle fronds exposed to the frost, fortunately the older sets were mostly ok.  Any thoughts on boy or girl?

[GeneAZ]

On 8/21/2022 at 4:27 PM, Tracy said:

How big was it when you planted it Dave?  Since I only received a pup fairly recently and it isn't a straight E ferox, I'm less familiar with age to cone with this species.  I do know that some species within this genus are definitely faster than others to achieve coning age.

If yours is an E. ferox hybrid, I'd love to see it.  Ferox is resistant to hybridization.