Description and types of cicas, advice on growing, recommendations for watering, feeding, conditions for transplanting and reproduction, the fight against harmful insects. Cycas belongs to the Cycadaceae family, or as it is also called Cycadaceae, the plant is often called Cycad or Sago palm (although this is not at all true). The genus itself unites gymnosperms (they have neither flowers nor fruits), which includes up to 90 species of representatives and it is the only genus in this family. The homeland of cicas is considered to be the territory from India to the Japanese lands (all of Asia), the Indonesian and Australian regions, many Pacific islands (Fiji, Samoa and others), as well as the entire island of Madagascar. The translation of the name Cycas from the Greek means "palm", but this plant does not belong to palm trees, just the appearance of its large feathery leaves suggested that they are representatives of the same family. And, alas, plants of this species are today considered a very rare, rare, endangered species.
The cycad, having matured, can stretch in natural conditions to a height of 2 to 15 meters. It has a thick trunk, in some species, at a height of 3 m, it reaches a meter in diameter (Cycad drooping), devoid of branching. However, in closed rooms, cicas only grow up to 50–80 cm in height. The entire trunk, as if it has a carapace robe of lignified leaf bases that have already died out. This plant is considered a living representative of the fossil species of those representatives of the flora of the Earth that grew in ancient times.
The top of the plant is crowned with a crown of fluffy, luxurious leaves (wai - pinnately dissected leaves). Leaf fronds in young cycas twist spirally, resembling fern leaves, as they have a pinnate or double-pinnate structure and venation on the surface. In the same way as with ferns, a large number of leaves begin to grow right from the base of the trunk. They are painted in deep green shades, the surface is hard and glossy. They can stretch up to 2 m in length, but generally their sizes range from 50 to 60 cm. The leaf lobes are distinguished by a solid edge, linearly elongated, they are spaced from each other, there is a sharpness at the apex of each lobe, the central vein is clearly visible on the lobe plate … The periods of active growth of leaf wai alternate with periods of rest.
Most plants of this genus are dioecious (that is, plants can be female or male). In male pseudopalms, flowers do not appear, but peculiar pineal formations grow in length reaching 40-60 cm. Female representatives of the cycad have leaves with spores that grow not long and completely pubescent, as if they are felt and their reproductive method is similar to coniferous plants. Pineal formations mainly contain seed material with a length of only 3–5 cm. But in order to obtain seeds that will help grow a new cycad, greenhouse conditions and the efforts of an experienced specialist are required. The plant begins the fruiting process when it crosses the line of 80–100 years of development.
The growth of cicas is very slow - most often there is only one growth per year, and its length fluctuates within 3 cm, only one leaf can grow under indoor conditions. In natural nature, a cycad can live up to a hundred years, but if you create good conditions for the growth of a plant indoors, it can become a long-liver in your home. The only thing you need to remember is that cicas juice is poisonous and you should be careful when caring for it.
For indoor cultivation, it is necessary for the plant to find a place with a sufficient area (remember that the leaves have a sufficient scope).
Recommendations for caring for a cycad at home
- Lighting. The plant prefers good diffused lighting, and, unlike ferns, which tolerate shade and partial shade, it loves illuminated places. True, direct sunlight, which will illuminate the leaves of the cicus during the lunchtime, can, however, interfere a little, but this plant also tolerates it if there is constant access to fresh air. Therefore, you can choose a location on the windows of the southwest, southeast or south location. The older the plant becomes, the more resistant it is to solar currents. It is necessary to accustom cicas to this level of illumination from an early age. Sufficient lighting is a direct guarantee of the success of the good development of the plant, since if it is insufficient, the growth of the cycad slows down, and practically no vai are produced. Even with the arrival of the autumn-winter period, a sufficient level of light is important for the cycad, and therefore it is necessary to arrange supplementary lighting with special phyto-lamps or fluorescent lamps. If the stability of lighting throughout the year is constant, then this guarantees a greater decorativeness of the leaves of the "palm". In order for the crown of the cycad to be symmetrical and beautifully located, it is necessary that the level of light be the same from all sides. If this is not possible, then you will have to regularly rotate the pot with the plant along its axis, otherwise the cicas leaves will release more from the side more illuminated by the rays of the sun.
- The temperature of the content of the sago palm. In contrast to the degree of illumination, the temperature indicators for cicas are easier to choose. Most of all, the cycad is pleased with moderate heat indicators, but the cool content is not for this bush. However, the plant can tolerate short-term hypothermia and even more intense heat. The main thing is that the column of the thermometer does not go down for a long time. Stability in temperature conditions for the plant is also not required; it is quite resistant to tolerate temperature fluctuations. For summer, it is recommended to adhere to 20-degree marks, but in cold weather, it is important that the indicators do not fall below 15 degrees. If the temperature has dropped below the 15-degree mark, then the plant can only withstand it for 2 days. But there are varieties that feel fine during the winter periods and at low rates in the 10-12 degree range (for example, the bent cicus, prefers cold wintering). It is important to clarify when buying a pseudo-palm tree, since growing it in the winter months at improperly maintained temperatures will lead to a decrease in the decorative appearance of the cycad. These plants are very fond of the flow of fresh air, they are not afraid of drafts at all (but not the icy wind). With the arrival of warm spring thermometer readings (above 15 degrees Celsius), it is necessary to expose the pot with cicas to the open air - a garden, terrace or balcony. If it is impossible to ensure this, then it is worth constantly (even in winter) airing the room in which the pseudopalm is located. Failure to comply with this condition will lead to the fact that the cycad will begin to lose the decorative effect of its wai, the intensity of their color will decrease, the bush will wither and weaken. Placing the plant annually in the fresh air (from June to September) guarantees further growth activity, the number of leaves can grow more per year, and the cicas itself will become more hardy.
- The moisture content of the cycad. The plant quite calmly tolerates various indicators of moisture in the air, but it is better when they vary within the range of 50–70%. The cycad, of course, will prefer higher humidity, but it will not suffer from its absence in any way and this indicator is not very decisive in cultivation. Spraying pseudopalm is only worth it if summer temperatures have become too high, or the plant is kept near central heating radiators or heaters during the winter months. You can also arrange shower procedures, which cicas like so much, only you need to cover the pot and soil with a plastic bag so that tap water does not get inside the flowerpot. Protection from water requires a stem and base wai. Mechanical air fresheners can be installed, but this is not strictly necessary.
- Watering the sago palm. This point is also very important and difficult in the cultivation of any of their species of cicasas, since the plant absolutely does not tolerate any impurities of heavy salts in the water used for irrigation. It will not do just soft, settled water, you will have to collect rainwater or prepare melted snow (use distilled water). The cycad is considered a fairly moisture-loving representative of the flora, but the soil in the flowerpot should not be waterlogged. If water flows into the pan of the pot, then it must be removed immediately. But most of all, you need to ensure that the potted substrate is not overdried. Even when it is necessary to reduce moisture in the winter period, overdrying of the earthen coma is carefully avoided. In the summer, as soon as the topsoil is dry, abundant watering is carried out, and in winter, the regularity of moisture is reduced by the widow. Dry at this time is given not only to the soil from above, but also a little in the middle of the pot, while continuing to carry out all the necessary procedures and maintain a constant low humidity.
- Top dressing for cicas carried out with the help of complex fertilizers, which contain the necessary mineral compounds and organic matter. The soil in the pot must be consistently filled with all the necessary trace elements and be sufficiently nutritious. Cycad is very sensitive to the content of salts in the soil, especially potassium and magnesium. You can choose fertilizers designed specifically for palm trees or, in extreme cases, for decorative deciduous indoor plants. The regularity of fertilization occurs in the period from April to October (growth activity) with a two-week frequency, or if the dosage is halved, the operation is performed weekly. From the end of autumn, feeding is stopped until the onset of spring. The exception is cycad palms, which have not changed their substrate and capacity for a long time. For these plants, fertilizers are applied during the winter months, but only once a month in half the dose specified by the manufacturer.
- Transplanting and soil selection. The substrate for cicas is necessary to have loose properties, be light, fertile, with good air and water permeability. You can use special soils for palm trees, which contain a sufficient amount of organic matter and are distinguished by a coarse structure. To lighten the mixture, you can add perlite (agroperlite) or any other leavening agents to it.
Basically, young plants need to be transplanted, until the cycad reaches the age of five, then the pot is changed by the transfer method (without destroying the earthen coma) every year. But for those plants that have crossed the five-year milestone, the container is changed every 5 years, and after changing the container, fertilizing in the winter period is performed starting from a 3-year period. The transplant is performed during the beginning of spring days or already at the end of winter (February), until the cicassus began to release young vai. This pseudopalm has a very negative attitude when any manipulations are made to it that require touching its roots, redistributing the rhizome, or destroying the clod of earth that braids the root processes. The procedure must be carried out extremely accurately and quickly. A sufficiently thick layer of drainage made of moisture-retaining materials (for example, fine-grained expanded clay or pebbles) is placed in the container, then it is covered with a layer of sand or sprinkled on 1–2 cm of soil. You can also slightly update the cycad by removing the oldest leaves from the bottom of the stem.
The size of the new container should not be increased much, it will be enough if the pot becomes 2–5 cm larger than the previous one. It is better to choose a container in which both the diameter and height are the same, or it is allowed that the height is only slightly higher than the width. It is recommended to choose a natural material for a flowerpot - it can be ceramics, terracotta, but plastic for a pseudopalm is not desirable, since it allows less air to pass through.
Indoor Cycas Breeding Tips
The high price of a sago palm is due to the fact that the plant grows very slowly and it will take a long time until it reaches the size suitable for sale. It is possible to get a new plant from seeds only in industrial conditions, therefore the most realistic way to propagate cicas is only using daughter plants.
If the conditions were kept perfectly, then the pseudopalm may have daughter processes in the form of nodules, with a small rosette of leaves. They must be carefully separated from the maternal cycad, and the sections must be treated with a fungicide for disinfection. After that, another treatment is carried out with a growth accelerator (root formation stimulator, for example, "Kornevin"), and then planting in a substrate based on sand or perlite. After many months (from 8 to a year), if luck smiles, you can get a new cicas. In the case when the delenka is large in size, it is recommended to immerse its "cone" by 75% in the substrate, and young plants can be deepened even more. After planting, new sago palms are watered abundantly two to three times for 1-2 days, and then they just make sure that the soil is always moist.
Problems when growing a cycad, pest control
The plant can be most affected by spider mites, mealybugs, scale insects or thrips. All of them can pounce on the pseudopalm if the conditions of detention are violated. It is best to use a set of measures to combat harmful insects and their secretions - wiping the leaf lobes and stems with various soap, oil or alcohol solutions in order to remove pests by hand, as well as treat (spray) cicas with modern insecticides.
If water often stagnates in the pan under the pot, this can lead to damage to the plant by various rot. Dealing with these problems is very difficult. Carrying out an emergency change of the pot and soil, which saves many plants, the cicassus can simply kill. You can try to dry the substrate well in the pot and gradually resume watering, making sure that this problem does not recur. The process of transplantation, and even more so to pruning decayed roots, is resorted to only as a last resort.
If the temperatures fluctuate sharply or there is not enough feeding, then the cycad may react with the appearance of ugly spots on the leaf lobes. In the case when young leaves, which have not even had time to fully bloom, began to dry out, this is characterized by incorrect humidification regimes and a lack of fresh air flow.
Cycas species
- cycas drooping or turned away (Cycas revolute), the most common type, the crown consists of hard feathery wai of a dark green hue, the trunk can be 30-50 cm in height;
- cochlear cycas (Cycas circinalis) also called curled, feathery vai can reach 2 m in length, the leaf is divided into 100-120 lobes, resembling a pigeon feather in shape;
- Cycas siamensis differs in whitish-bluish color of leaves, reaching a meter in length with 10 centimeter lobes;
- cycas rumphii has an emerald color wai.
