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cruzer46

Cardboard Sago

cruzer46
9 years ago

I have a gorgeous Cardboard Sago in a large pot. It regularly sends out Pi�as but I want to know how I can get the seeds from it. I have tried dismantling it but nothing germinates.

Comments (5)

  • plantsman56
    9 years ago

    Cycads have male plants and female plants. Even if you already know that your Zamia furfuracea is a female, pollen needed to enter that female cone during the 5 day period it was receptive. In Miami there ate so many of these plants around that they normally set seeds without hand pollination. If you live in an area where they are not all over the place, you would need to get a male, or at least a male cone that is undergoing the pollen shedding process from someone else, and hand pollinate your female. Pollen can also be stored and used later, even 5 to 10 years later, if you care to go through the effort. I have about 40 species of pollen stored in my freezer, but I don't have this one stored.

  • cruzer46
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Can you tell if this is male or female?

  • plantsman56
    9 years ago

    Good reason why nothing germinates, all those cones are males. You will see them elongate at some point. Cut them when they get longer and flexible and put them on a piece paper. The pollen will shake out of the cones, and you can store that of you wish. Now all you need to find is a female. The cones will be much fatter and the cone scales will be not as numerous, and larger in size compared to yours. I know larger groups of these are sold in my local HD, you can usually find cones on the plants this time of year.

  • tropicbreezent
    9 years ago

    I have a couple of large clumps of Zamia furfuracea, male and female. But funnily enough, they never coincide with their coning. The female ones are coning at the moment, the males were finished a long time ago. Although there are other plants in the area, we don't have the pollinators that can do the job. I do have a lot of Cycas producing seed, but obviously they don't use the same pollinator.

  • plantsman56
    9 years ago

    Sounds like you and Cruzer need to work a deal. His cones won't be ready for a few weeks. Females produce a lot of seeds and usually, the person pollen gets half the seeds. The insects pollinating furfuraceas are more specific and are only in areas where the huge habitat collected plants were brought in a long time ago. There seems to be all bunch of different insects, including bees and wasps that like to pollinate sagos. Tropic, of you want to make seeds I'd collect the pollen when those drop pollen, and store it till your females open up. Your timing difference shouldn't be more than 3 to 5 weeks, is it?