Posted by Dean --Previous Message--
on 7/4/2007, 10:13 am, in reply to "Re: My Specimen Sago"
24.161.166.189
Tom, Thanks for your expert knowledge. I did as you suggested, and checked your articles. First off, it is definitely a female as per your pictures in one of the articles, and it is in its receptive stage now. I don't believe I am interested in artificial pollenation. However, in your opinion, what would be the chance of my tree getting pollenated naturally? In my area of Southern Calif., revolutas are quite plentiful in people's landscaping. If it is a possibility that my tree could get naturally pollenated, then my question becomes, Would I be able to tell fairly quickly (before next spring or summer) if pollenation has occurred. If I was able to know in some time period less than another year, I might be interested in letting nature take its course, have the tree produce some seeds, and then start some seedlings. But if I have to wait another year to know if pollenation occurred and I MIGHT get some seeds, then my interest wanes somewhat. Sorry this is so long winded, but I don't know how to be shorten it. I guess my bottom line is that the possibility of going another year without a "flush" is somewhat disappointing, since for me, that is a big part of the beauty and allure of the cycas (and other cycads). So Tom, Whaddya Think? Thanks again for your expertise!
:
: --Previous Message--
: 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.
:
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