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Some Facts About Growing Cycads

By Ann Evans


These lovely seed plants are rare today, but were quite common during the Jurassic period, so common that some people call this period the 'Age of Cycads'. Thanks to their large, luxurious leaves, the plant is quite similar to some palm species, but they are not closely related to them. In any case, these plants are really specific, and here are some facts about growing cycads.

Fertilizing is really important for successful growing for any type of plants, but especially when it comes to cycads. They need high levels of nitrogen, for example, and that's why using common palm fertilizers won't do no good. This type of fertilizer has really low nitrogen level, but people often use it for all plants that look like palms. 18 to 25 % of nitrogen is considered to be the best for these particular plants.

When it comes to the best type of fertilizers, besides appropriate level of nitrogen, another important thing is to choose those that will fertilizer constantly, during prolonged period of time. Plastic coated pellets are especially successful, because this form is highly resistible to excessive watering, and they will not release higher amount of fertilizers even in this case.

Cycads grow best in warm climate zones and are quite sensitive when it comes to cold weather. Their leaves will probably be ruined by frost, and you will have to cut them off. The best thing you can do if something like that happen is to give your plant some fertilizers first, and to cut the leaves off several days after that. Within a few weeks, the new leaves should grow.

If the weather is still not warm enough, these new leaves should be protected from morning cold. Wrap them during nights, to make sure they won't get cold burns again. Although they are sensitive to cold, you can still successfully grow them in colder climate zones, if you take a really good care of them.

If your primary goal is the seed production, your plants should get strong enough to be able to hold those seeds first. This means slower growth but stronger plants. Depending on the species, you should apply special types of fertilizers approximately two months before the expecting cones. If you are not sure when to expect them exactly, it would be better to start earlier than too late. The plants might be too fragile for the cones.

If you are more interesting in growing these attractive plants for sale, your primary goal would probably be to grow plants with large, healthy, green leaves as soon as possible. This will require different approach, and you will start fertilizing them much earlier. In this case, your goal is to achieve faster growth in shorter period of time.

Try to gather as many professional advises about each species first and experiment with different fertilizers and different soil types. Some things might depend on the climate zone as well. Some species will be better for the seed production, and some will be perfect for some other purposes. Trust your instincts and this might make you even more successful in this really challenging work. Explore new ideas and good luck.




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