Wednesday, February 7, 2018

Growing Cycads Is Really Easy

By Janet Hayes


These beautiful plants are so old that they probably remember the dinosaurs, but still look amazingly attractive. Lovely and decorative, these evergreens will look great indoor and outdoor, planted directly in the soil, if the climate allows, or in nice large terracotta pots. All they need is a little care and regular cactus mixture or some other similar type of soil. Buy or grow from the seeds, it's up to you.

You don't have to hesitate to grow them from seeds, it's really easy. When it comes to growing cycads, You really do not need too much experience. There are just a few simple rules to follow, and these plants really aren't demanding. Since they normally grow in sand, they need simple cactus mix or something. The only thing they are sensitive to is inadequate drainage.

A few varieties of cycads are ready to germinate right after they come off, and how long it will take depends of the variety. Some will fall off in a month or two, some will take a year or so. Anyway, once they come off, they should be either stored or planted, depending on the embryo development. You should determine the exact variety and plan your growing accordingly.

The only way to make sure about it is to cut one of those seeds open and see for yourself if the time is right. Of course, this seed will be wasted, but, this is much better than to lose them all. You could also plant a two or three and to wait for some time, to see what will happen, but the first option is probably much better. If it is not the time yet, store the seeds appropriately.

When it comes to the quality of storage, it is important to keep the seeds in a slightly moist environment. If the environment is too dry, it might cause drying of the seeds, and the developing embryo might die in this case. Of course, there are some other things you should be careful about, for example, the remains of the seed coats.

It's better to remove those coat residues as soon as possible, if not before, then certainly before planting. Keeping the seeds in sterile environment might be of a great help here. When you think the it is the time for planting, find nice pots, sand and appropriate soil mixture, for example Perlite or some other cactus mix, and you are ready to go.

If you haven't done it before, remove all the coat residues. Soak them in water for maybe two days before planting. Cover the bottom with sand first, then place the seeds on, and cover with Perlite or some other soil mixture designed for cactus. Water everything and that's it. When it comes to future watering schedule, twice a week will be enough.

Your greenhouse or your home is warm enough to provide enough natural heat for your future plant's development. You don't need to use heaters, although some people do use bottom heaters for this purpose. These things might be useful sometimes, but too many people actually cooked their seeds this way, so, it's up to you to decide is it worth of risk.




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