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| This(to my eyes)is the most beautiful Cycad out there!
Truly prehistoric looking! Here are some of the best pics I have come across,
WARNING-these are"pricey"(-;
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Here is a link that might be useful: E.horridus
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by mike-jaramillo Z6b (mike_jaramillo@hotmail.com) on Thu, May 6, 10 at 12:32
| Hey jim I have one. Its got a few leaves on it. Loves the sun hates the cold. I got it last year its send up one leaf now. I have lots of cycads. |
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| Nice Mike Forgot your into Cycads,post a pic of it if it's not to much trouble. I will do the same. I here once the caudex gets a little size they pick up speed. Where did you get yours,what was the price like?
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- Posted by tropicalzone7 7 (My Page) on Thu, May 6, 10 at 16:06
| Wow, thats a very nice cycad. I got to see if I could find a nice one for a good price! Good luck! |
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- Posted by xerophyte_nyc 7 (My Page) on Thu, May 6, 10 at 19:49
| There are several forms out there. My favorite is from the Hewson collection, where the leaflets have an exceptional 3-D twist. There is also a Dwarf Form, and some with flat leaflets looking very much like E. trispinosus. There are also many hybrids with other species. The biggest challenge for us "northerners" is keeping the lovely blue wax intact. First of all, while the new leaves are flushing and forming the hard wax deposits, it is best to provide maximum sun without any rain getting on the leaves. Once the leaves have hardened completely, they are more resistant to rain and keep the blue color but spots will form. x |
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| Good advice thanks! Mine stays on the porch if it's not time for watering! |
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- Posted by xerophyte_nyc 7 (My Page) on Thu, May 6, 10 at 21:12
Here's a photo of one of mine, and a close-up of the leaves showing the 3-D twist:   |
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| That is a real beauty! In the eye of the beholder of course.(-; I could see how some may not like this one I hear the name Horridus means horrible,which would That's a real nice specimen-you must be very proud! Thanks for posting this pic |
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- Posted by tropicalzone7 7 (My Page) on Fri, May 7, 10 at 17:48
| Horridus (latin) and horrible (english) are cognates (look similar, same meaning). The verb form in latin is horrere or to dread in english. If they are as sharp as they look, I would have to agree with whomever named this plant. I think its a nice plant because of how uncommon it is, but I think only collectors would agree. It seems like a hard plant to take care of, but xerophyte, you really have a very beautiful, healthy one! What do you do to keep it looking so nice! Good luck! |
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- Posted by xerophyte_nyc 7 (My Page) on Fri, May 7, 10 at 19:27
| I treat it exactly the same as my other Cycads, except that during a newly emerging flush I stick it in my greenhouse or move it under shelter during rain to keep the leaves dry so that they retain the heavy wax that is responsible for the blue hue. It is a vicious looking plant but it is not that big. My Macrozamia moorei has inflicted much more poking damage. x |
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| Sometimes this plant stands out a bit more impressively in the landscape than in a pot. One of my favorites, too [IMG]http://i743.photobucket.com/albums/xx71/palmbob/Encephalartoshorr idasRees.jpg[/IMG] |
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| Here is a shot if this plant in the landscape |
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photo?  |
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- Posted by mike-jaramillo Z6b (mike_jaramillo@hotmail.com) on Sat, May 8, 10 at 7:39
| wow I hope gets that size one day. Im in no rush with the one I bought. Jim I got it off ebay too. |
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| I love the look of Cycads,when you have alot of them like in the last picture,it reminds me of what the planet would have looked like during the jurassic period.I have two 15 gallon Cycas revolutas,sadley they wont live here planted in the ground.What is the most cold hardy cycad?Everyone says cycas revoluta is but I found one in a catalog I get and it says it's cold hardy to my zone,it's Cycas taitungensis.Is this the most cold hardy cycad?In the picture it shows it looks like a cycas revoluta.There is one that looks like cycas revoluta,but with blue fronds.I found it on some website, it also said it was the most cold hardy, but I cant find it again.Just what is the most cold hardy cycad?Does anyone know the name of that blue colored one im talking about?Love that last picture!! |
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- Posted by tropicalzone7 7 (My Page) on Sun, May 9, 10 at 11:30
| I think Encephalartos would look really fantastic in a desert like landscape, something like what you would find in a very nice yard in california. I wonder if they can handle places like Florida since they get a lot of rain. Butiaman... I think the blue cycad your talking about is Cycas panzhihuaensis. It is the most cold tolerant cycad (also has blue leaves), but not much more cold tolerant than C. taitungensis. one major downside is that it grows very slowly so when it loses its leaves every winter, it will take a while to replace them. I would probably go with C. taitungensis since its faster (actually faster than C. revolutas. The trunk is cold tolerant to about 10F and the leaves maybe to 20F-25F. It might need some protection during the coldest nights and I would protect it when temps go below 20F just to be safe, but its easy to protect since by then all the leaves would have died off. Good luck! -Alex |
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| Thanks Alex,I use to have 3 C.revolutas planted in my yard.They dident loose there leaves till temps. droped below 15F.The trunks died at 10F,I use to check them everyday because I knew they were not suppost to survive in my zone.I was looking for the blue one because I like to mix different colored plants together,(leaves not flowers)and blue is a rare color in most plants,I love the blue Med.fan palms I have,they really stand out.I really like cycads but some are very expensive,and they for the most part like drier and warmer zones than mine.Thanks again. |
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- Posted by xerophyte_nyc 7 (My Page) on Sun, May 9, 10 at 14:50
| Some of the Dioons also exhibit excellent cold tolerance. Alex: the blue Encephalartos grow OK in Florida, although they don't achieve the same "blue" because of the rain/ humidity. They also do not cone nearly as easily as in SoCal. x |
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| Here's a couple pictures of mine. Xero Thanks- First up Palma Sola D.edule(front)and C.taitungensis(Emperor Sago)-
E.horridus
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- Posted by tropicalzone7 7 (My Page) on Sun, May 9, 10 at 15:37
| Butiaman.. Glad I helped. I also like to mix lots of different types of foliage together including different colors. Xerophyte... Thanks for the info on that. Too bad they dont get that nice blue color in moist places. Jim... Nice cycads! They are all looking healthy. Good luck! |
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- Posted by xerophyte_nyc 7 (My Page) on Sun, May 9, 10 at 21:56
| Shame on me - I don't have any pictures of the E horridus in flush :-( I really should have better photos of my Cycads in growth. Here are some that I do have:
Macrozamia moorei, another easy plant but not so easy to find in a large size. I was lucky to get mine some years back when a shipment into the US was supposedly confiscated and then made available.
This is another view of my E horridus. I haven't had a new flush for 2 seasons now because each of the last 2 years I transplanted into a new pot. It is normal for Cycads to postpone growth for one season as a result of transplant shock.
Somehow I have no photos of my E whitelockii in full spread, nor of my E longifolius 'Joubertina Gray Form'. I also have a nice Dioon mejiae but i chopped back it's leaves because they were damaged last season, and an E horridus 'Dwarf Form' that also had a leaf pruning. I have a seedling E lehmanii 'Kirkwood Form' that is nothing special so far, and a small C thouarsii. I promise to take new and better photos of all the new growth this season. x |
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- Posted by tropicalzone7 7 (My Page) on Sun, May 9, 10 at 22:23
| Nice pics! I think Im going to have to increase my cycad collection. I only have a revoluta! |
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Here are a few more Encephalartos horridus showing some variation    |
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| Thanks for posting these pics guys! Wow-those are ginormous,that Horridus couldn't be any healthier! ~is that even a word?-LOL T7- |
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- Posted by xerophyte_nyc 7 (My Page) on Mon, May 10, 10 at 15:13
| I agree Jimhardy, some sellers take advantage of impulse shoppers. There are decent deals to be had from reputable nurseries. But Cycads will always be expensive due to their slow growth and rarity. If I must make one recommendation, it would be to try to get the biggest plant you can afford. In my experience, seedlings and small plants in the 1-3 gallon size grow very slowly and take a long time to recover from mail-order transplant shock. They also have a greater tendency to rot since they need very deep pots and are probably not being given adequate root room in standard pots. Most Cycads, especially Encephalartos, have deep tap roots. Young seedling plants need a 5-gal standard pot at least, but that is too much soil volume to try and maintain moisture control. Cycad nurseries utilize special long tom pots. There are even some Australian Cycas species that refuse to grow unless the roots reach a certain depth. Cycas revoluta is one of the few Cycads that tolerates shallow pots and root pruning. Anyone can grow these well. But some of the rarer Encephs are a different story. Even though larger plants will easily fetch 100's of dollars, it is worth it for an established plant that flushes full sets of leaves and will grow very well for many many years. x |
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| I agree,really need to look and communicate with "some"of these sellers. Next on my list is Encephalartos Princeps,another rare and PRICEY Cycad |
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- Posted by xerophyte_nyc 7 (My Page) on Mon, May 10, 10 at 17:34
| You will get more bang for the buck with E. lehmanii, which to the untrained eye looks identical to princeps and many other similar species, except it is not nearly as rare and is less expensive. x |
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- Posted by tropicalzone7 7 (My Page) on Mon, May 10, 10 at 19:20
| I think in going to keep from buying rare cycads until I get the chance to get them cheaper farther south. I think its too expensive to get larger, rarer ones from nursuries online. Some are much more than they are worth which like you said, is still a lot when you are talking about there rare cycads. I would be willing to spend a good amount of money for the nicer rare ones. Good luck! Hope this cold isnt bothering your more exotic cycads. 39F here according to a local weather station but 46F according to my yard thermometer. I had to take in my breadfruit. But summer will be here soon! |
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- Posted by xerophyte_nyc 7 (My Page) on Mon, May 10, 10 at 20:15
| Frosts are no problem, let alone sub-40F. There are no new leaves forming so I just leave everything outside. They have been there since late March. Another advantage to buying at a nursery vs. mail order is you get to pick what you want, and you can avoid major root disturbance. However, for the blue species, you will have to go to Cali to pick up anything decent. I doubt there are too may Florida nurseries growing the blue Encephs since they don't look as good with the oppressive heat, humidity and rain. x |
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| I have found one grower out in Cali which I don't want to share right now but I will. His prices are better than the others and his plants are bigger,he is also VERY reasonable on shipping. This guy also has all the ones I am interested in! X- I just piked up a 5' Dioon spinulosum with an 8"caudex for $40! |
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- Posted by tropicalzone7 7 (My Page) on Mon, May 10, 10 at 23:25
| Hopefully I will get the chance to get some in Cali. It definitely seems like they have all the rare cycads. Good luck! |
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| Here are more blue cycads from California (not sure how many photos I can upload at once, so bear with me). First one is Encephalartos lehmannii, then E princeps, and lastly, a rare Encephalartos arenarius (right side of photo) next to some 'normal' E arenarius (left)
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- Posted by xerophyte_nyc 7 (My Page) on Tue, May 11, 10 at 7:51
| To anyone still reading this thread, who is interested in Cycads but doesn't know which one to get...Cycas thouarsii grows pretty quickly, eventually grows large leaves that are soft (not thick, firm and sharp like others) and is not fussy about needing full sun. It is readily available and can be had for a very reasonable price. They probably have more of a tropical look with the gracefully arching multipinnate leaves, than many other species. They grow beautifully outdoors during the warmer months, and then in the house during the winter they do just fine in a dark corner as long as watering is minimal. It would make an excellent "beginner" plant. Large well grown specimens are beautiful. Cycas rumphii and Cycas circinalis are very similar in appearance and culture. x |
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| Wow Those are great pics-thanks for posting them. |
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- Posted by tropicalzone7 7 (My Page) on Tue, May 11, 10 at 15:37
| Those are some very nice pics. I really like the color and leaf structure of them. They must be very well cared for. Xerophyte, I am going to get some more info on the cycads you mentioned. Good luck! |
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| Alex Did you notice the Staghorn(?)fern in the last picture? |
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- Posted by tropicalzone7 7 (My Page) on Tue, May 11, 10 at 18:59
| No didnt notice it! Good find! Thanks for pointing it out. It looks really great and huge. Its probably a different species than mine (definitely a staghorn fern though) but I would love for mine to get to a size like that some day. After some burn from the heat in april, I think my staghorns are enjoying the weather recently. Its starting to put out lots of good growth after that humidity and heat last week but this week has been extremely cold. Low temp in my yard was 41.5F this morning and its only 53F outside now. Definitely feels more like late march-early april than early may! Thanks again for pointing that out. Good luck! |
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| Yea and a lot of low humidity and days with dry winds have burned some of my ferns etc this year. Never thought I'd say it but bring on the heat/warmth and humidity! (-: |
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- Posted by tropicalzone7 7 (My Page) on Wed, May 12, 10 at 15:37
| Same here. We have already gotten that summer humidity and warmth a few days this month, but my plants would love to see that EVERY day!!! -Alex |
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| Here's a pic of my new Encephalartos Princeps,the pot is about 14" around for scale.
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- Posted by tropicalzone7 7 (My Page) on Thu, May 27, 10 at 16:59
| It looks very healthy and off to a great start! Not sure if these are very fast growing cycads, but in a few years, its going to really catch a persons attention! I think you are probably the only person in Iowa with an Encephalartos horridus so thats must be a pretty good feeling (too bad the name doesnt sound as pleasant!) Good luck! |
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- Posted by xerophyte_nyc 7 (My Page) on Thu, May 27, 10 at 18:18
| If "in a few years" you mean 10, then yes, LOL. It takes time to get seedling cycads out of the juvenile stage. When the caudex starts to thicken, leaves get bigger and increase in number. In the beginning growth is slow. That's why bigger plants are pricey. Have fun with your plant! I'm assuming it is new, right? Mail order? Don't be alarmed if there is no new growth until next year or even the year after. Transplant shock takes time to recover from. Be careful not to overwater since the formation of new roots is also slow. When you potted it up, did the roots hit the bottom of the pot? These guys have deep tap roots and may suffer if not allowed to grow that way. x |
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