View Full Version : ATTN: Sago Palm growers
momoese
09-27-2007, 10:44 AM
The female plant will grow seeds that can be deadly poisonous to dogs.
MediaHound
09-27-2007, 10:54 AM
Thread stuck
AnnaJW
10-04-2007, 02:55 AM
The female plant will grow seeds that can be deadly poisonous to dogs.
Wow, Mitchel! Thanks for posting this! I normally research any plants that I bring into my house or yard. I never thought about Palms being dangerous to animal companions though.
Lard Greystoke
10-05-2007, 12:23 AM
For those unfamiliar with Sago Palm, it is actually not a palm but a cycad (Cycas revoluta). Unless you are familiar with both kinds of plant the differences are not obvious. If in doubt, get the plant identified by someone who knows. Most seeds of actual palms are nonpoisonous or actually edible. Plants with scientific name Cycas, Dioon, Macrozamia, Encephalartos are cycads.
valerie@flower
10-22-2007, 05:29 AM
That is correct, a Sago palm is a cycad which is really related to the pine tree family. The seed is grown in a cone that has been pollinated. Cycads are the oldest plants in the world dating back to the dinosaur days. There is also different varieties of the Sago (King, Queen and Japanese) to name a few that have different characteristics.
:2688:
formontcalamus
12-22-2007, 01:15 AM
A few years ago in Florida a shipment of Sagos arrived at a wholesale growers nursery from Thialand "" with a new species of scale The scale spread all over the state and was found by the Florida agi department to be resistant to insecticides. Many Florida growers quickly sold off thier Sagos cheap just to get rid of the problem and stopped growing them.
If anyone buys Sagos, especially at chain stores, check the leaves undersides carefully befor buying !! The scales apear as little charcoal dots with a central "bump" and a gray edge. I do not know if the scale will actually kill the plants, but thoes that I have seed infected look deteriorated.
Logos
Bch Grl
12-22-2007, 01:26 AM
In my neck of the woods, the scale is white and looks like snow on the plants! It's very obvious on the tops and bottoms of the fronds and spreads quickly. It can cause some serious damage and I think kill the plant if left unchecked. There have been many articles in the paper and oils(like Neem) seem to help suffocate them. I'll post some pics when I get back to FL. I'm in L.A. now, for Xmas.
Margie
plumeria
12-22-2007, 05:05 PM
be sure to purchase sago palms from a nursery. There are many on the black market that have dug up out of the wild. In parts of California, the have to be chained down, otherwise they get stolen.
mskitty38583
12-22-2007, 06:11 PM
i purchased mine and my moms at lowes about 2 months ago. they looked very good. no black dots or white specks. im glad someone caught this before it gets way out of hand.. you got to love the neem tree!!! do they have any idea where the scale came from or was it affecting the cyads before they got here? is it like the scale that we have here or a hybred? iam just asking caue i dont know. im clueless in sparta again.
inkcube
12-22-2007, 06:22 PM
most likely cycad aulacaspis scale insect, Aulacaspis yasumatsui, originally collected near Bangkok - armored scale known to infest cycads. it has been rapidly spreading through southern Florida since around 1996, its has spread throughout other areas in Florida and has been reported recently in Hong Kong, Hawaii, and the Cayman Islands.
keep in mind there are over 175 species of armored scales occur in Florida & 60 species of soft scales - i mean to say any scale you see could be any one of these not that the reported scale is a natural scale to Florida, if it is from Thailand it is most likely the cycad aulacaspis scale.
mskitty38583
12-23-2007, 04:44 PM
thank you very much for the explanation. i appriciate it.:2691:
D_&_T
12-23-2007, 08:53 PM
how do you tell difference in an female to male sago? we seen a lot of them for sale at Lowes and Walleyworld other night. we are interested but with in door pets worried (2 cats)!
D_&_T
12-23-2007, 09:02 PM
seen this any thoughts?
http://www.tonyspencer.com/2007/10/03/this-plant-will-kill-your-dog-and-maybe-your-kids/
inkcube
12-23-2007, 09:06 PM
you will only be able tell if your plant is a male or female when the plant is or has shown its reproductive cones - male cones protrude and are shaped like a cone or torpedo, the females are "cabbage" shaped and are gold or tan-yellow in color and the female cone is usually larger than the male. female cones emerge from the central area of the crown and look somewhat like a round mass of twisted and compacted tiny leaves. typically a sago will not produce cones until they are over 10 years, often it is much longer. a happy sago can put on a foot of trunk in 8 to 10 years, at about 10 years they can be about 1 - 2 ft tall and typically 3 - 4 ft tall when 20.
i have a sago in a pot that is well over 10 years old and has never put out a cone.
D_&_T
12-23-2007, 09:10 PM
thank you inkcube
that link posted was talking about their dogs chowing on root ball, not just the seeds
chumleyrobert
02-08-2008, 10:48 PM
Yes , it was reported that there was one case of a dog 's death after drinking some water that cycad seed had be soaking for many days located in New Guinea about 40 years ago. I soak mine for many days before cleaning the outer peeling off the seeds and it smells like it would kill anyone, but I have two dogs and have never worried about it, and I clean thousands of cycad seed every year. I grow over 100 species of cycads......and only three or four species get the "Aulacaspis scale" and it is controlled if you spray a good insecticide every 6 months and spray often with a pressure sprayer. (That's what I do) and I might say very sucessfully.) But there are well over 200 species of cycads that don't get Aulacaspis scale....that you should seriously consider growing. You cannot tell the gender (male or female) of any cycad usually until it gets fully mature and produces a cone........unless you remove a "basil pup" (or sucker) from an older mature cycad that has produced a cone ... then the pup will be an identical clone of the mother plant (male or female) which ever it is. Robert Chumley Chumley Cycads Specializing In Artificially Propagated Cycads (http://www.chumleycycads.com)
Miracle_Ace
05-03-2008, 12:53 PM
I went through a Cycad faze, but they all died!
I had a rare African one, a Mexican one, and my favorite the
Japanese Sago palm which I think is one of the most beautiful plants I have
Laid my eyes on, theres just something about it, reminds me of a time
When the earth was young.
Richard
05-03-2008, 01:04 PM
I went through a Cycad faze, but they all died!
I had a rare African one, a Mexican one, and my favorite the
Japanese Sago palm which I think is one of the most beautiful plants I have
Laid my eyes on, theres just something about it, reminds me of a time
When the earth was young.
It's a hot debate, but some biologists believe that the ancient Cycads are ancestrial to conifers, with the Japanese Umbrella Pine (Sciadopitys verticillata) being the example intermediate form.
phantom17
05-22-2008, 09:37 PM
:weightliftingnaner:Thanks for the warning! I love Sago palm trees & bought one that came from a 3gal container @ Lowes here in McAllen, TX, & it looks clean, no black or white spots. And I made sure before I took it home to plant in my fron yard. Now, I have a 3 ft meditteranian (sp?) palm, 2 small sago palms that I had planted 6 mos. ago, a Spanish dagger, & a small chinese palm tree, about 1 ft tall. They are all in the front lawn. It's in the mid to hi 90's here in deep south TX, so they like the HOT weather!
mskitty38583
07-09-2008, 08:39 PM
ok you sago growers i need some advise. i have 1 sago that the leaves are turning white on. it gets full morning sun and i dont water till its dry. and no there is no scale on it. what am i dong wrong???this is driving me nuts.
Taylor
07-09-2008, 08:56 PM
Sam, that happens to Cycads VERY quickly when they go from shade to sun. You aren't doing anything wrong. It happened to me...but when it flushes, make sure it is full sun from the start, and then they can handle it and not turn white.
Just some bleaching of the leaves...that's all.
island cassie
07-09-2008, 08:56 PM
Sorry to hear it mskitty - dogs not peeing on it? - our usual problem! Otherwise I can't help you sadly but I hope someone can.
Cassie
chumleyrobert
07-09-2008, 09:45 PM
Sounds like a water problem......probably too much water. Feel of the bud....is it firm? If it's soft and mushy....it's too late. Keep us posted.
mskitty38583
07-09-2008, 10:33 PM
nope the boys cant get to them, the sagos are in the den. and the buds are very firm. ive been using filtered water on them, but the last time i watered i think i used tap water. could that be it? i know the one i have planted outside has a little bit of the white on the leaves but the green parts on them are dark green. ill see if i can post a pic in the morning.
chumleyrobert
07-10-2008, 10:01 AM
You can take a cycad from sun to shade , but you can't take a cycad from shade to sun........without getting sunburn.......usually the damage is white.....
island cassie
07-14-2008, 05:24 PM
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=11359&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=11359&ppuser=628)
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=11360&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=11360&ppuser=628)
I have been meaning to get a photo of this grand-daddy of a sago palm for some time.
Cassie
Patty in Wisc
11-14-2008, 08:16 PM
Here's a good link about sagos.
Cycas revoluta - King Sago Palms - pollination and seed growing. (http://www.rhapisgardens.com/sagos/sagoseed.htm)
I had a chance to see a female plant full of seeds. I picked a bunch. What a cool plant! The seeds are poisonous to humans too. There are many plants that are poison & have seeds that are poison. Just don't eat any seeds from anything unless you know they are edible.
sultry_jasmine_nights
03-19-2009, 10:05 AM
I've read that the cardboard palm Zamia furfuracea (also not a true palm)seeds are poisonous to dogs as well.
Floridata: Zamia furfuracea (http://www.floridata.com/ref/Z/zami_fur.cfm)
Cassie , that's an awesome sago palm!!!
chumleyrobert
03-19-2009, 10:54 PM
That is a normal size Cycas Rhumphii growing all over South Florida. It is a male ( most of them are branched) as is this one. Better known as the "Queen Sago". Robert Chumley
sultry_jasmine_nights
03-24-2009, 10:00 AM
We have a bunch of sagos in our yard and one small cardboard. They are not that big yet. None of them have any branches yet either. I know one is male because of the cone it made last year. I hope it will branch when it gets bigger. At what age do the males branch out? Thanks
cherokee_greg
10-06-2009, 01:31 PM
Here's a good link about sagos.
Cycas revoluta - King Sago Palms - pollination and seed growing. (http://www.rhapisgardens.com/sagos/sagoseed.htm)
I had a chance to see a female plant full of seeds. I picked a bunch. What a cool plant! The seeds are poisonous to humans too. There are many plants that are poison & have seeds that are poison. Just don't eat any seeds from anything unless you know they are edible.
Thanks for posting this great link. I have sagos for years and I learned so much about them just from this link the part about starting pups really helped me allot. I gro them from pups but this showed me some better ways.
Thanks
Patty in Wisc
10-06-2009, 02:01 PM
Glad you liked it Greg. I'll never forget that huge sago I saw in SC. I reached in - what looked like a big birds nest, & took a bunch of seeds & brought them home to plant. None of them germinated, so I bought a small one the next year. It's growing very slowly, but I love it.
cherokee_greg
10-06-2009, 03:48 PM
Glad you liked it Greg. I'll never forget that huge sago I saw in SC. I reached in - what looked like a big birds nest, & took a bunch of seeds & brought them home to plant. None of them germinated, so I bought a small one the next year. It's growing very slowly, but I love it.
Patty this is one my farher planted in 1972
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=21698 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=21705&ppuser=5959)
Patty in Wisc
10-06-2009, 04:09 PM
O m'gosh, what a beauty! Have you gotten any seeds or pups?
Mine is only about 6 inches high w/ 6 fronds LOL
palmtree
10-23-2009, 09:49 PM
Great pics! I have a modest sized one with probably around 25 leaves. I bought it this spring at about 30 dollars (a little pricy) 3 gallon plant and it had a flush coming up. I plan on keeping outside unless temps dip below 25F degrees so It will be outside until thanksgiving hopefully. Important thing about these plants is to keep it away from frost, but the leaves alone are cold tolerant to about 20F degrees with damage, and the plants trunk can probably handle 15F.
Abnshrek
10-23-2009, 10:55 PM
30 bucks isn't bad the one I got for $27 (early this last summer) is by a pindo .. and with fertilizer I got 3 set on leaves. From now on it might be on its own.. My $34 one I have up front got one set of leaves with nothing.. lol I haven't seen any scale here maybe frost kills it?
chumleyrobert
10-23-2009, 11:11 PM
It certainly doesn't much to excite you guys. I guess you don't see many cycads in your part of the country. I only collect the more rare cycads.......... Pictures by chumleyrobert - Photobucket (http://s243.photobucket.com/albums/ff145/chumleyrobert/)
Abnshrek
10-23-2009, 11:26 PM
Robert your unknown yucca looks like a spanish dagger.. You forget the people here enjoy seeing the fruits of their labor no matter what we're growing.. all growth is good growth unless it fungus then again we might be growing a crop of mushrooms.. lol
chumleyrobert
10-23-2009, 11:37 PM
I'm just a little impatient I guess. I wish everyone would grow more cycads and aroids. There is a lot more to this world to experience. Robert
Abnshrek
10-23-2009, 11:41 PM
I guess growing hardy sago's wouldn't be much of a challenge since they get big so quick?
cherokee_greg
10-23-2009, 11:44 PM
Great pics! I have a modest sized one with probably around 25 leaves. I bought it this spring at about 30 dollars (a little pricy) 3 gallon plant and it had a flush coming up. I plan on keeping outside unless temps dip below 25F degrees so It will be outside until thanksgiving hopefully. Important thing about these plants is to keep it away from frost, but the leaves alone are cold tolerant to about 20F degrees with damage, and the plants trunk can probably handle 15F.
This sago I have has been through lots of frost. It did snow here once I guess you could call it a snow. My sago has did fine.
D.C._Palms_N_Sports_Fan
12-17-2009, 11:26 PM
30 bucks isn't bad the one I got for $27 (early this last summer) is by a pindo .. and with fertilizer I got 3 set on leaves. From now on it might be on its own.. My $34 one I have up front got one set of leaves with nothing.. lol I haven't seen any scale here maybe frost kills it?
Can I ask you exactly what kind/ brand/ mix of fertilizer you used that you got 3 flushes of leaves in one season? I would love to know! Thanks!!!!
Abnshrek
12-18-2009, 08:06 AM
I think the fact that it got full sun, I mixed Mycorrhizal Fungi & Miricle grow Palms slow release into the mix. I sprinkled it on the upslope w/ half cup of triple 13 then 2 months later a half cup of triple 8 and watered regularly.. The quick leaves don't take the cold like the regularly slow growing leaves. I do know that much 21F kicked their butt..
TommyMacLuckie
02-24-2010, 03:08 PM
Man, I thought this would be about a real Sago palm, Metroxylon rumphii (sagu), not the fake ones!
http://www.plantapalm.com/vpe/photos/Species/Pics/metroxylon_sagu1.jpg
I did read about the scale problem with various Cycads in FLA. From what I understand this was for any cycad. One guy used coffee grounds as a mulch that takes care of the scale problem (as it does with other plants too). I read one article via Google about several cycad growers in FLA having to bulldoze many thousands of their cycads because of scale but one dude spread used coffee grounds simply as a mulch, not knowing that it would kill scale.
They are related to ginko trees as well, the oldest living tree on the planet according to some people.
To stray a little of subject, I put a small fish pond in the ground (somewhat) under a magnolia tree a few years back. Big mistake. The seeds and seed pods covered the water with, I'm guessing, their natural insecticide. Or whatever it is. Point is, don't put a fish pond under a magnolia tree.
SoBe Musa
05-11-2010, 10:54 AM
My Sago is been with me for about 5 years now,when i got it was about 1ft tall it had grow beautifully for years..in till this past year (2009)it really got sick with the scale,after many bubbles bath, new and bigger pot and new soil. She still no ok but slowly i seen some progress the first pups! I guess she's alive right?
But I'd like to separate a couple of the pups and plant them elsewhere if possible so if anyone here has been successful, or not successful, in accomplishing a division please let me know how to proceed ... or not.
Thanks!
(the red stuff around is the sago is under a Bottle Brush tree in Blooms!)
http://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz77/SoBe_Musa/IMG_0681.jpg
http://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz77/SoBe_Musa/IMG_0682.jpg
Abnshrek
05-11-2010, 11:01 AM
But I'd like to separate a couple of the pups and plant them elsewhere if possible so if anyone here has been successful, or not successful, in accomplishing a division please let me know how to proceed ... or not. Thanks! (the red stuff around is the sago is under a Bottle Brush tree in Blooms!)
Hi I just got done doing this very thing for my neighbor's sago that has several on it as well. I would wait till they are much bigger. Wait till you can see the sago corm ball (as I call it) if its 3 inches across or larger it should rooted and big enough to do so. anything smaller your most likely have to do the rooting treatment. :^)
chumleyrobert
05-11-2010, 09:33 PM
Contact me privately by e mail and I will be happy to discuss your comments and the post before you and give you a truthfull answer.
D.C._Palms_N_Sports_Fan
06-09-2010, 01:59 PM
ok you sago growers i need some advise. i have 1 sago that the leaves are turning white on. it gets full morning sun and i dont water till its dry. and no there is no scale on it. what am i dong wrong???this is driving me nuts.
Is it indoors? Outdoors? Was it recently moved from an area where it got indirect light, to direct sunlight? Can you post a photo of it? I have had this happen on a couple of my Cycas Revolutas but it is mostly minor. Just several "leaflets" have turned "white" and dried out and died.
D.C._Palms_N_Sports_Fan
06-09-2010, 02:09 PM
Just thought I would upload a photo of just two of my Cycas Revolutas which are currently putting up new flushes. The closest one started in the beginning of may, the farther one just a couple of weeks ago. Once these things get above several inches long it takes almost no time for them to really take off and get huge! I currently have 6 of these "King Sago Palms" and these two are the largest in terms of caudex circumference and in leaf length. I have two others which are actually taller in terms of trunk height, but have somewhat shorter leaves.
http://web6.twitpic.com/img/113097120-a0e04162ac8b33bd665e1a02f45b5174.4c0fe4b0-scaled.jpg
Here is a close up of the one that is farther away in the above photo:
http://web3.twitpic.com/img/113101997-779f29fbbdace1b9a10ff94096df9dde.4c0febb8-full.jpg
D.C._Palms_N_Sports_Fan
06-09-2010, 08:52 PM
Ok, not sure why the photos are having issues so I am going to attach them as thumbnails. They are in the same order as they were in the post above. Sorry about that!
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=32666&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=32666&ppuser=3982)
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=32665&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=32665&ppuser=3982)
coast crab
06-09-2010, 09:17 PM
Crap, I didn't even see this thread when I started another sago one.
Sago people, please look at my thread "A different sort of sago problem".
Thanks!
Russell
orinoko
05-22-2011, 08:40 AM
I bought a Cycas revoluta March 2010, its had one flush of three fronds last june/july. I keep looking because its getting close to June, June is the time for flushing with water.
After wrapping it in fleece last year (two lots) I found it had gone varigated. Someone mentioned theirs had gone 'white'.
I am in the UK so weather is never that hot...apart from spring when it did get good sun here.
I just had to pick it up after being blown over in a gale.
At the minute I am feediong it Miraclegrow slow release, and I am feeding it Palm Focus.
Cold hardy Palms Cycads & Yuccas (http://www.palmbooster.com/)
:goteam:
caliboy1994
09-09-2011, 08:10 PM
Sago palms are actually neurotoxic. I hear that if you eat enough you can die.
Moonshiner
09-10-2011, 08:48 PM
Thought I would warn any cycad growers in the Mid-Atlantic to be on the lookout for stinkbugs attacking your sago. I had a beautiful new flush of 13 fronds a few weeks ago. About halfway to maturity, 3-4 of them suddenly got soft and started to die back about halfway up the stems. While I originally thought scale, I finally discovered that stinkbugs had thrust their nasty little proboscises into the immature stems. I was forced to bring it inside and wait for them to harden over. I lost the top half of all 4 fronds. They look like hell, but I will leave them there until they dry out completely.
BEWARE!
laserlight
03-25-2012, 10:45 PM
@ Abnshrek. =)
I got a Sago palm from a plant nursery last fall and it only has one frond and its 7 inches tall. i dont see any spots on the leafs and the bulb is hard. is it too young to put coffee grounds on?
@ Orinoko. =)
How much is 25 pounds in American money? I really want to get that Palm Focus plant food.
sunfish
03-26-2012, 07:13 AM
@ Abnshrek. =)
I got a Sago palm from a plant nursery last fall and it only has one frond and its 7 inches tall. i dont see any spots on the leafs and the bulb is hard. is it too young to put coffee grounds on?
@ Orinoko. =)
How much is 25 pounds in American money? I really want to get that Palm Focus plant food.
25 British pounds sterling = 39.6850 US dollars
TommyMacLuckie
04-29-2012, 03:25 PM
Can I ask you exactly what kind/ brand/ mix of fertilizer you used that you got 3 flushes of leaves in one season? I would love to know! Thanks!!!!
It's not the fert, it's the plant. Some of them do that. Some only do one new rosette a year.
russellmania123
07-30-2012, 09:02 PM
i was at the nursery today looking to get a sago for my garden .
10" was$50
14" was 149
18" was 299
which is the better buy in relation to size and money.
i am in zone 5 ajax ontario so notsure how fast it will grow and if the bigger plant is the better for my climate.
also wanting to get seeds so not sure how old all the sizes where if i need to have a 5 year old plant for the seeds .
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