Introduction

Greetings friends.


Welcome to my new blog, dedicated to share my experiences as a cycad collector. I am an absolute amateur, but I'm hoping to document my findings as I gain more and more experience, and hopefully some day it will become evident that I have been paying attention. Before getting into too much detail, let's get straight to the good stuff! 


My photos are a bit mixed up, so I will start with a collection of photos taken on the 23rd of January, 2010. These are some of my plants. I don't have that many yet (compared to some of the extensive collections I've seen), but over time I am hoping to purchase a new house with a lovely garden to develop into a tranquil cycad paradise! (hey, it's not a crime to dream!! *lol*)


So without further delay, here they are:


This was the very first cycad i bought, at a nursery in Pretoria. It is a Cycas Revoluta, also known as a Sago Palm. I paid R900 for it in 2005. You will notice some smaller leaves (suckers) sticking out at the bottom. Those are like "babies" that develop out of the parent plant. If left for a very long time (100's of years) then these will grow into "branches". Many cycad hobbyists remove these suckers, as they can become individually established plants :) I will discuss each type (specie) of my cycads intensively at a later stage in this blog. I will also explain various terminologies, eg. germination, cone production, suckers, etc. This plant is approximately 18cm in size. The size of a cycad is determined by the diameter of the trunk in length or width, whichever is greatest. The length of the leaves have nothing to do with it.

The following plant is "guessed" to be a cross between an Encephalartos Altensteinii and an Encephalartos Arenarius. This happens when pollen is taken from the male cone of one species and used to pollenate a female cone of another species. The size of this plant is approximately 7cm.

The following plant is known as Encephalartos Humilis. This one is approximately 18cm in size.

Below is an Encephalartos Lebomboensis seedling. Cycads in their younger years (from the first leaf until the trunk can be measured) are known as seedlings.

Another E. Lebomboensis, more or less 5cm in size.

Another 2 very small E. Lebomboensis seedlings. 

Another E. Lebomboensis. This one is approximately 12cm in size. Most cycads are considered to be "adult"  plants once they reach a size of 15cm. 

Another E.Lebomboensis, about 3cm. (I think I have too many of these!) *lol*

E. Natalensis bought from the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens' nursery in 2007. I've had this plant for 3 years and it has never flushed a new set of leaves since I've had it. I decided to cut off all of its leaves on Saturday. I'm sure by this time it has built up enough energy to push out the new flush. I gave it a good dose of "Seagrow" and some "Rapid Raiser". New pics of this one will be posted as soon as it springs back to life.

This is my current pride and joy, also known as E. Nubimontanus. It's currently listed as "Extinct" in the IUCN red list, which means that it doesn't occur in its natural habitat anymore, only in private collections. This one is about 5cm in size and it looks to me like it might be surrounded by about 5 very very small suckers. I have also recently "treated" this plant with some "Seagrow", so I'm really hoping to see a new flush soon. His/her sibling flushed in December of 2009, so he/she is way overdue!! I can't wait for the day!!

Below is a plant called E. Villosus. As previously mentioned, I will still elaborate on the various names, localities, descriptions and forms of all these different species. There are really volumes and volumes of information available on cycads, but there is no better way to learn than to get personally involved. I will also still get into all the various reasons why it's a good idea to start growing cycads, if you haven't done so already! ;o)

I hope you enjoyed these pictures! Remember that these were taken back in January this year, so a lot has happened since then. I donated the small E. Lebomboensis seedlings to friends at work, in an effort to initiate a love towards these beautiful plants. I still have all the others, but some are located at my parents' house in Pretoria, some at my dad-in-law's place in Jo'burg - and then some here at my place in Cape Town. I'm currently renting a little townhouse so the plants are being grown in pots. I've also acquired a few more since then - and I've also started growing cycads from seeds. Tune in soon for a lot more interesting facts and info on the plants in my collection, see some photos of some beautiful plants in nature and friends' gardens, and find out why I would make the effort of started a new blog for this cause!

Until we meet again,

Cycadboy!