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matfx7

Cycas Revoluta leaves turning yellow

Matfx7
12 years ago

I bought a massive Cycas Revoluta about 3 weeks ago and its trunk diameter is 8 inchs. I kept it in a massive pot with 4 draining holes at the base of the pot. I over-watered first time when I kept it in the pot to let the sand settle firmly in the pot. Later I came to know that they must not be over-watered. After a week the bottom-most ring of leaves turned yellow then on the following week heavy rains occured and another ring of leaves turned yellow from bottom second. Then I tied a platic cover around the trunk covering the sand and pot so that no water can get inside it. When I search on google some say NOT to cut yellow leaves until they turn brown while some say to cut all the leaves except the top most leaves to encourage new flush of leaves. I felt greedy of its beauty so I chopped the bottom-most leaves that turned completely yellow on the 3rd week.

I have a pot mixture of 10% perlite stones,20% normal home sand that I added to 70% black sand that came with the sales plastic packet in which the Cycas was kept and sold.

It will get 5 hours of sunlight if there is no trace of a cloud from 9am to 2pm. Hardly it will get 2 hours of sunlight through the moving or steady clouds.

What could be the reason for leaves turning yellow? Is it because of over-watering by me? Does it mean that leaves will turn yellow even by heavy rains? Will the leaves turn yellow all the way to the top ring of leaves from bottom ring of leaves?

Comments (21)

  • lzrddr
    12 years ago

    leaves turn yellow with: age, stress, dehydration, overwatering, overfertilizing, underfertilizing, too much sun, too little sun, cold, heat, growing, looking at it wrong etc. Leaves turning yellow are not much of any indication of anything unless ALL the leaves turn yellow overnight... that would be a bad thing (can mean plant is rotting or dying for some other reason). But mostly Sago palm leaves do that for whatever reason they have. Moving one would certainly be plenty reason for leaves to turn yellow. Personally, whenever I move one of these, I cut ALL the leaves off first (mostly to make the move easier) and they always come back eventually. But do be carefully not to overwater one of these... they need less water than you think, particularly if you are going to plant them in a poorly draining sany mix (the more perlite the better... in fact, most cycad growers mover their more touchy cycads to 100% pumice or perlite for a year or so if just dug up from the field). I think your mix has WAY too much sand it in (no sand at all, is best, unless you have really large grain sand, like #12 or larger (bordering on gravel at that point)). Good way to rot a plant is putting it in sand (have done that before).

  • Matfx7
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    I thought perlite is for decorating the plant so I used 10% on the top but never thought 100% perlite or pumice! is best without sand. I will try that. Thanks.

  • Matfx7
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    I made some long holes in the sand as deep as the sand pot using a small stick as thick as a pen and I observed that the tip of the stick is slighlty wet that means the base of the sand pot is quite wet than the sand at the top.

    The next day the sand went dry at the top and moist at the bottom then I removed 50%sand around the trunk at the top half of the pot without disturbing the roots and added 50% perlite. After a week not a leave turned yellow since when I added 50% perlite.

    Now it drains well and shines well in the sun.

    The strong reasons for leaves turning yellow.
    1. Some of the tiny thread like roots were damaged and ripped off when transplanting to pot from the sales black sand packet in which the Cycas was kept and sold.
    2. Overwatering caused the sand to turn wet at the base of the pot and repotting 3 times caused the massive trunk to slam against the base of sand pot while receiving some shock.

    Thanks again to lzrddr.

  • Eric
    7 years ago

    OP - Do you have further updates if the plants has reverted to yellowing or if so, that you have more theories on why? I bought a house that comes with its own cycad, at its spot for over 3 years i was told, beautiful but lower leaves are somewhat yellow in blotches. Top 2-3 inches were gravelly but lower than that, somewhat clay.


  • Mike West
    7 years ago

    How much did you water it?

  • Eric
    7 years ago

    I live in Melbourne Australia so it's temperature with hot and dry summer, and wet and cold winter. It has a flush developing right now. Nice thing to see.

  • tropicbreezent
    7 years ago

    You want to make sure it has reasonably good drainage. A long wet Melbourne winter isn't ideal. If it was just planted into a hole it could be sitting in a pool of water in the gravel above the clay.

  • Eric
    7 years ago

    That's exactly right. It's planted in a hole cut out of landscape mesh fabric that when I cut away shows a very clayish soil. Are cycas happy to be uprooted for replanting?


  • tropicbreezent
    7 years ago

    I wouldn't over do it, but they can be transplanted fairly easily. The trunk (caudex) acts as a storage organ for the plant and if it's been growing well for a while would have enough reserves to keep it going after a transplant.

  • lbinupland_zone_9
    7 years ago

    I have a sago that is 45-50 years old, the trunk is over six feet tall, not counting leaves; flowers every year. It's a male plant, the bloom is about three ft. long.

    I have raised something like 100 "volunteers" cut or broke from the base of the parent plant. I usually soak in rooting compound for a couple days and then pot.

    I have a good success rate (perhaps 85%) some of my babies still in large whisky barrel pots are over two ft. tall not counting leaves.

    I use potting soil, and fertilize with Miracle Grow, but not as much as I probably should?

    I hardly ever get dead leaves that need to be cut, maybe when they are very small. Otherwise, by the third flush, I cut them back until only the most recent is left. I'm speaking of the 20 that are in the ground.

    So, when to pry off the chicks? I like to wait until they are about the size of a grapefruit. Cut, pry or chisel? Although I have been saying "pry", the best luck is by chiseling, but I'm careful about scaring the donor trunk. But, if you don't get the core, it won't grow, so chisel and hammer until you are sure to get all of it.

    But, I don't worry too much about the scar because I normally have 20-30 babies growing around the base, which shields any scaring there might be?


    Actually, this tree I bought for Five bucks in a one gallon pot is actually a sago factory. I have thirty or forty around the house and have given away a lot more than that, all clones. This is an easy plant to grow, very popular in southern California.

    El Bee

  • Eric
    7 years ago

    I have always thought of Cycas as a squat plant, at best a shrub size one. 50 years huh... maybe my children will grow up to appreciate them.

    If it's not too difficult, could I ask you to post a photo of how it looks like? It must be really thick around the lower trunk i imagine.

  • tropicbreezent
    7 years ago

    Cycas revoluta has been grown in gardens for a very long time so you can google up some photos of very large plants. But C. revoluta isn't the tallest growing Cycas species, there are many Australian species that grow much taller. Near me (in the bush) there's one 9 metres tall and quite a few others getting close to that. Don't know how old they are, but they're not 'spring chickens'.

  • lbinupland_zone_9
    7 years ago

    I could have snapped a pic, but I'm 90 miles from home today, maybe when I get back? Yes, I'm sure it's not the biggest I've seen, but still, it's a good one, vigorous, trunk diameter is at least 14". But, it's growing on the side of a hill, under a canopy from an oak and it doesn't get the direct sun they like. Therefore, I only get the long pollinating thingie followed by a single flush every year.

    The tallest, largest sago I can ever remember seeing is in Honolulu, Waikiki right in front of the Red Lobster Restaurant. It's in the middle of town, not hard to find and worth checking out. But, I think it's twice the size of mine, in height?

    When I get back home, if I don't forget, (visiting girlfriend right now) I will try and post a photo. El Bee

  • Eric
    7 years ago

    Yeah you're right. Mr Google just showed me some really tall ones. They look like..... Palms. Now I get the name! Don't stress over the photos. I was just curious earlier not knowing much about cycas.


    tropicbreezent - you're right. I have seen these trees in passing of course but had never thought twice about it. Just assumed they were palms or ferns.

  • Kevin Agu
    6 years ago

    cycad and Encephalartos species available

    -Encephalartos/cycads Seeds and seedings vailable .check out our price list E-mail: angelamiost@gmail.com

  • poaky1
    6 years ago

    I wonder if those potted Sagos in Wal-mart are Revoluta?

  • tropicbreezent
    6 years ago

    Cycas revoluta is the most commonly sold cycad.

  • poaky1
    6 years ago

    I guess that means it could be them then.

  • tropicbreezent
    6 years ago

    If you posted a photo it should be easy to ID. Take a camera next time you go there.

  • poaky1
    6 years ago

    I just saw 1 in a Kmart store, but, didn't take a pic. I didn't see your post until just now. It's basically a Sago with a giant looking bulbous trunk in a tiny pot. I almost bought it, but, they all looked neglected and the top tier of fronds were all dried out. They were about $5.00, but, I can get 1 anywhere for that, and not so rough shape. Of course they didn't have a proper name on the plant either.

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