Posted by Tom Broome on 7/3/2007, 2:26 pm, in reply to "My Specimen Sago" --Previous Message--
64.12.116.204
: Tom,
: I have a quite large and mature sago
: that for the last 8-9 years has
: always put out 1 healthy flush per
: year (Southern Calif., San Diego),
: but this year it put out a sort of
: soft and fluffy "cone"
: where the flush usually comes up.
: Of course I know that the sago is
: actually coniferous, but this took
: me by surprise, since it had never
: happened before. My questions are:
: Does this indicate the sex of my
: tree? Will it ever put out a
: "flush" of new leaves
: again? How often should I expect
: the "cone"? Is there
: anything I should do special for the
: tree now? In previous years, when
: the new flush would come up, I would
: prune back the previous year's
: leaves, leaving only the new leaves,
: which never seemed to harm the tree
: and kept it looking very nice. Of
: all the plants in my garden, I enjoy
: my sagos the most by far. Thanks
: for your comments!
:
Hi Dean, it sounds like you have a girl, which is the one that can produce seeds if pollenated. If it looks like a round fuzzy basket, that is what you have. If it grows to become tall and slender as it comes out, that is a male. If you look in my article section which my main page is linked in the header, look at the pollination article and the pollen storing article. You will see pictures of thew two cones and also how to pollinate a sago when it is receptive. If it is a male, I would cut the cone off after it is full size and fertilize it and you should get new leaves right away. If you didn't cut it off, it would dry up in about 2 more months and then the same would happen. If it is a female, and it gets pollinated, you won't get new leaves till probably spring. If you want to cut it off, you can get new leaves in the same manner as the male, but thewre is special care in doing this so you don't damage the apex. If you want to do this write back and I will go through that. That is a subject that will take a while longer to explain.
Message Thread:
« Back to thread