A little flushed

Cycads are a great group of plants that go really well with dry beds.  One of my favourite things about them is when they flush, putting out all their fronds in one go.  Getting them to flush is a bit of a trick, mainly involving lots of high nitrogen food and LOTS of water.  This summer we have not had to fake monsoon conditions as we are having so much rain.  As watering has not been required they have been fed less than usual so the big one (shown flushing this time last year) is having a rest.

I pleased that the smallest of my three is flushing again. This is the first time I have managed it in consecutive years . They seem a bit later this year, given that the first photo was taken exactly this time last year, they were already quite advanced, compared to the current flush.

As mine stay outside all year the main problem is frost damage to the young leaves.  Given how later these are I will pamper them a bit this winter, who knows maybe even move them into some sort of winter shelter (assuming I have one sorted).

The other problem I am going to have is that you can't move a flushing cycad otherwise the new fronds twist to re-orientate themselves. Not great to have two flushing when you are about to move house.  I am going to have to figure out some way of preserving the orientation of the pots to the sun, maybe using a marker in the pot to point due north, or to the sun at mid-day. No doubt I will post an update when I know what I am going to do.

 


The other one flushing is one that lost its last set of fronds over the winter and has been moved somewhere while it recovers. I go this one a couple of years ago with the idea of have them planted as a group. With the new garden I may actually finally manage it!

Now all we need is some sun, to ensure good strong growth and that they harden off quickly.