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roselee_gw

Can Sago palm pups be separated from mother plant?

Has anyone here successfully separated Sago palm pups from the mother plant?

Years ago I heard Manuel Flores say that Sago palms were such a primative plant, being practically unchanged since the day of the dinosaurs, that their vascular system would not heal from a major wound and the pup and mother plant would become infected and die, but a friend told me that she has separated them and they were fine. She has sandy soil if that makes any difference.

I have always cut the fronds back from these pictured below.


But I'd like to separate a couple of the pups and plant them elsewhere if possible so if anyone here has been successful, or not successful, in accomplishing a division please let me know how to proceed ... or not.

How deep do the roots go? This is hard packed soil here and not easy to dig.

Thank you!

Comments (43)

  • ltcollins1949
    15 years ago

    Yes, they can be separated and transplanted. I don't do mine because they prick my arms and legs, and it's very uncomfortable. Here is some information on removing the pups.

  • roselee z8b S.W. Texas
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    ltcollins, thank you for the great link! Yes, they are prickly alright! Anyway I'll wait for winter, wear a thick shirt, and then go ahead with it.

  • carrie751
    15 years ago

    This is good info to have, my sago in a container has five pups, and I would dearly like to separate them from the mother plant. Guess, like you Roselee, I shall wait until winter now.

  • honeybunny2 Fox
    15 years ago

    I have better luck, doing the separating in the spring. In the winter the soil is too moist and they do not do as well, and I lost half of them. I use a sharp shooter shovel, and lay backwards next to the pup, and just push, and the pup will pop off. On the older ones, you may have to use an axe, since they are apart of the plant. Don't worry, they will grow roots. I have one plant( that is planted in the sun) that always has pups. Plants in the shade do not multiply as fast.

  • roselee z8b S.W. Texas
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Thanks for the tip! Nice to know you did it and didn't lose the mother plant.

    Hope I don't have to use an ax and it just pops off, but they are old so may have to. I have used a little narrow saw to saw big roots off something I was trying to dig out so maybe, just maybe, that might work.

  • fool4flowers
    15 years ago

    I watched a gardening show on cycads the other day and he recommended pouring fungicide over the cut to help it heal.

  • roselee z8b S.W. Texas
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Now that's interesting! Any clue what kind of fungicide to use?

  • fool4flowers
    15 years ago

    He had something mixed up in a watering can and poured it over his tools and the cuts. He didn't say what it was but I have started using wettable sulfur powder on my brugs when one gets broken and I noticed it seals up the would and keeps it from getting that rotting down the stem if I do it right away. Its what we used to use on potatoes when we would cut them in chunks with the eyes growing to keep them from rotting when we wanted to make new plants.

  • roselee z8b S.W. Texas
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Thanks loads Kristy! That gives us a good idea of how to proceed.

  • fool4flowers
    15 years ago

    Glad to help. The ones Barbra sent me are doing great and leafing out nicely. I love those things.

  • kensterfly
    15 years ago

    We have two giant sagos. About six feet tall and probably at least 12 feet or more diameter. There are many, many pups on each one. We need to harvest these as they are now encroaching on the driveway and we don't want to damage either the sagos or our cars. The link to potting them is intersting. I've always been afraid to take a sharpshooter to them but we're ready to try. We live about an hour west of Houston and have very sandy soil. Is this a bad time of year to cut the pups? Must they always be potted to save them or could we plant them directly into the soil, and if so, what is the best method to plant them and nurse them along?
    Thanks,
    Ken. Bellville, TX

  • roselee z8b S.W. Texas
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    My sago palms are that large as well. I'm looking forward to harvesting several pups from them next winter or spring. All I know about it is what's written above and from the informative site passed along by ltcollins. Maybe someone else will pass along their experiences and can answer your questions.

  • artizan
    14 years ago

    Hi,

    I just took pups from a large mother plant.

    The easy ones pop off by just pushing them horizontally from one side. I used heavy bar with a bicycle handlebar grip against the pup to keep from damaging it. someof them I had to use the bar to pry them from the trunk.

    For the tough ones, I used a reciprocating saw, AKA 'Sawsall', with a long wood cutting blade, but a hand saw will do too. I cut fron the top of where the pup meets the trunk at an angle towards the trunk. The angle is basically splitting the "V" between the side of the pup and the trunk in half. While cutting, you will see the pup nudge loose, that's far enough. You don't want to cut too deep into the mother trunk. then just push them off. I start with the upper ones first and work towards the base of the tree and continue this way all the way around the tree. If there are any pups grong out of the ground around the mother Sego, just dig under it and cut away the part the attaches it to the mother.

    If the fronds get in your way, clip them off. You will be clipping them off anyway for potting as many suggest. I only clipped the old fronds at first. I will clip the rest as they begin to die off after potting. I just like how they look and I think they get energy from the sun. That's just my opinion, I am not an expert.

    You may want to let them scab over before planting so you don't have to deal with fungicide. And be sure to let them dry a little between watering. The ones I have that survived from last year's harvest were allowed to dry out completely several times during the year. I don't know that the rest didn't survive. They may still be strugling to develop.

    I have five good plants out of about 15 pups. This year I got them from a different plant and some are huge. One came from the base and already has roots on it. hopefully the fronds one that one will make it. If you would like to find out, send me an email next year, I don't know if I will remember to post here again.

    Good luck and happy planting.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Taft PC Services

  • allen_gw
    14 years ago

    good advice, I have raised several hundred pups, always let them dry off for a month or so befor planting cut all fronds off trim all damaged roots have fun Allen

  • drbrown_gmx_us
    13 years ago

    Question: Is there a pup size limit when cutting from the mother sago? A neighbor has asked me to separate some rather large pups. Is there a need to cover the place of detachment with some kind of chemical?

  • buttonwillow222_yahoo_com
    12 years ago

    I feel like a dummy but just exactly what IS a pup? Is it a large looking seed or is it the smaller 'shoots' (mini palms) that come up around the base of a mature plant. If it's the latter, can they be planted immediately or do you have to let them dry off as well?

    Someone told me if I removed the 'mini palms' growing around the base it would kill the mama & the babies!

    I surely don't want to do that but there are about 40 of them growing around the 2 trees on each side of my drive. They're about 12' tall & about 30 years old.

    Blessings & happy green thumbs!

  • cellyn_aol_com
    12 years ago

    I separated several large pups March 2011. I have one that has sprouted (September) in a small pot. Should I winter it in the same pot in our sunroom, a bigger pot or plant it?

  • roselee z8b S.W. Texas
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Sorry Merci Rose didn't receive a reply to the question she posed in April. The 'pups' are the little palms that come up from the sides of the mother palm and they can be separated.

    Cathy, I think I'd be inclined to overwinter the new sprout inside just to be sure it survives in case we have another extra cold winter. Perhaps some others might have some personal experience concerning this.

  • lou_texas
    12 years ago

    My large, much-loved sago didn't make it through last winter, but 3 of her pups did! Go figure.

  • honeybunny2 Fox
    12 years ago

    When I was at Lowes 3 weeks ago, there was an older couple checking out. The lady was talking about the sago palm she wanted. I told her if she would come to my house, and bring a shovel, she could have all the pups she wanted. They were at my house within an hour, with the shovel. I showed her how to get the first pup, then they were on their own. They got some nice large pups, I never could get them that clean, they looked almost like a bulb with no white showing. I showed her how to remove all the leaves and only plant with 1/2 of the bulb in the sand, water and forget about it. When it starts to put on new leaves, it has rooted. Last year we used the truck to pop off the big ones. Took them to Finack's Nursery, he gave me $15 credit for each one that rooted. I went in the spring and used the credit to buy all my spring plants, it was like supermarket sweep. I do my pups in the spring, the nursery had a hugh greenhouse, so he was able to root them during the winter. He said they all rooted except one. Barbra

  • scotty66
    12 years ago

    We had a house for 5 years with a 2 big sagos. I just used a crowbar and pried the pups away from the mamma. sometimes I had to dig the dirt away from the base to find where they connected. The people we bought the house from told us that was how they did it. I thought the plants looked nicer without all the pups sprouting up along the bottom so it just became part of my yearly maintenance.

    most of the pups were softball sized (seen that size at selling between $15 - $25). Wish i had thought about taking them to a nursery for credit... that's brilliant!
    I potted a few as gifts, but sent most to the landfill with my trash.

    My mom got one of the first pups I potted (7 years ago now). It appered dead after the freeze this past winter, all soft and squishy in the middle. then in July 3 small leaves popped up around the base of the plant. so a "dead" sago can grow pups?

  • jem72
    11 years ago

    We got a large sago about 5 years ago from lowes on clearance. It was marked down to $50 from $150. It survived for about a year but the fronds started yellowing and we really thought it was a goner so we took it out of its pot and tossed it on a scrap pile of yard waste. I first cut all the yellowed fronds off before tossing it aside. I'm pretty sure it even spent the winter outside on the scrap heap (here in NJ it shouldn't survive the winter). I could not believe my eyes when the following spring it was sprouting new green growth on the scrap pile! We repotted it and it is doing really well now, its huge again, and even has 3 little pups, which is what brought me to this page because I'd like to try separating. I'm nervous about trying to separate the pups because I've read how fragile Sagos can be...then again, we may just have "super sago"! Now we put it in the garage over the winter but take it out on nicer winter days since it can handle a little bit of cold.

  • roselee z8b S.W. Texas
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Jem72, that's really a remarkable experience with your Sago palm. Thanks for telling us about it. I didn't know Sagos were so eager to live.

    There are several interesting sago survival stories on this thread.

  • wantonamara Z8 CenTex
    11 years ago

    I have found that they are fragile once established but I find seperating the pups easy. I just can't seem to move them successfully once they have their roots down.

  • Bev Cashen
    10 years ago

    I have 2 pups from a friends plant from her yard. They both had leaves on them. I let them sit for a few weeks and rain got on them a few times.

    I planted them in the yard and the leaves started turning yellow, plus I found out that I planted them too deep.
    So, I pulled them up, allowed them to dry out for another couple of weeks, I thought they may be rotted or dead, but I felt them and the core is still very hard, not soft at all. I sprinkled rooting powder on the bottom, and planted them correctly in the right size pot. I did not water. I placed them in mostly shady area of the yard.

    My question is should I have cut off the yellow fonds??
    Any advice would be appreciated.

    Thanks a lot everyone!!!

  • phoenix7801
    10 years ago

    To be honest, sago pups don't really transplant well in winter. The best advice I can give is to make sure the ends that go in the ground are very dry. Don't overwater and make sure they don't get too cold.

  • Bev Cashen
    10 years ago

    phoenix7801,

    Thanks for your advice!

    I live in Los Angeles, where we are praying for rain. The winter thus far has been very mild. Days are mostly 70's or warmer. Go figure!

    To be safe, and taking your advice in account, perhaps I need to bring them inside and place in the outdoor, enclosed patio. I have also placed a large plastic bag over each plant (who said to do that? LOL!), but maybe that is not good either.

    I am praying that these pups make it because the mother plant has been growing with great health and beauty for over 30 years!

    If/when I get new growth I will post a photo!
    Thanks again~

  • phoenix7801
    10 years ago

    Oh well Southern California is very different than the cold weather we're having in Texas. I misunderstood. As long as there isn't any rot and the pup stays firm I'm sure it will do fine.

  • Bev Cashen
    10 years ago

    phoenix7801,

    Thx!
    All I can do is hope :)
    Should I cut off the leaves or just leave them alone. They are about 8 inches long but most of them have turned yellow. There is still about 25% green on the leaves.

  • roselee z8b S.W. Texas
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I'm leaving the yellowed leaves on my Sago palms until spring. When the new fronds emerge I'll remove the damaged ones. In the meantime the small amount of green that's left will allow photosynthesis to continue and feed the plant.

    This post was edited by roselee on Sun, Feb 9, 14 at 20:10

  • nclemoine
    8 years ago

    I have a sago palm in SoCal with several pups. Can I remove them now, in the middle of summer? I do have time now but might not if I wait to next spring. They've been growing for a while but didn't know, I don't leave in the house. If love to have them in my house!

  • roselee z8b S.W. Texas
    Original Author
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    The link given on the second post above about: How to Grow Sago Pups says this:

    "If you are starting new pups in spring or early summer (the best time to do that), then you will probably see leaves emerge within a few months."

    Other than that I don't know. Since you say you have several pups you might try a couple of them now and leave others until spring in case they don't make it.

    Maybe some else will chime in with their experience.

    Wishing you the best. Let us know how it goes.

  • felnfrgyer
    8 years ago

    I am having issues with my sago. I live in Phoenix AZ (very hot and dry) my sago is in a large pot on the patio. In the last few months it started dying. I fertalized but still continued. I started watering more often, and put it on a rolling tray so it's not directly on the concrete. I cut off all the dying frons and seen new ones coming on. Now there are little frons popping up all around it. Today I noticed a root coming out of the soil. Should I re-pot the palm? If so, should I double or triple the size of the pot? And, should I plant the babies separate? Any help is much appreciated. I have had this one for going on 15 yrs and would hate to kill it! I got it as a pup that was dying and I nursed it back to life, it's like part of the family, it's literally traveled across the states with me!

  • roselee z8b S.W. Texas
    Original Author
    8 years ago

    Sago palms are pretty forgiving if they are not grown in optimum conditions so I don't think you'll loose it. What I'd do is replant the sago into a slightly larger size pot. I'd remove the small ones coming up around the edges, but I'd let the wounds dry before potting up the pups.

    I've transplanted sagos several times and even cut all the leaves back when they were uneven or damaged and they've always come back so you can safely cut off any damaged fronds.

    In your climate you may need to thoroughly water sagos in a pot once a week at least. Sometimes I think I am watering potted plants well, but if I upend the pot I find that only the top few inches of soil is damp.

    Perhaps some others might have some experience to relate.

    This site has a very good tutorial about Repotting Giant Cycads

    Wishing you well. Let us know how it goes.

  • felnfrgyer
    8 years ago

    Ty I will look into re-potting


  • felnfrgyer
    8 years ago

    Should I let the pups dry for a few days or a week? I have read different things?? These are going to be about 2-4 inches big

  • roselee z8b S.W. Texas
    Original Author
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    The LINK that was given above says to remove the leaves and let them harden for about a week. I can't tell you from experience because I never got around to trying to remove the pups from my sagos as they were in a difficult to reach spot behind the mother plant and next to the patio. On my pups I just keep cutting the fronds back a couple of times a year to keep them from growing.

    It might be good to click on this LINK or others you might find and go by what the experts say as to the size of pot to use and long long it takes to see growth and so forth. I hope you get mama sago back in good shape and lots of little new ones going. Let us know.

  • roselee z8b S.W. Texas
    Original Author
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Castrogardener Patty emailed me about her experience with Sago palm pups. I'm relating it here so people know what to expect:

    "I received four Sago palm pups at our spring swap. Three smaller ones and one larger one. I stuck them in some cactus mix and set them aside. Earlier
    this summer one started putting on fronds and I was so excited. I am a VERY
    patient person, so I give things a really good chance.

    "The other three just
    sat there. I stuck the big one on a shelf in the greenhouse and forgot about it. A few weeks
    ago the fronds were coming up through the shelf above it. Yay! another
    success. Then I still had two babies left. Still nothing. I lifted them up
    and one of them had a one-inch root, so I stuck it back in and I'm waiting. The last had nothing, but I haven't given up hope yet!"

    So everybody who has potted up separated sago pups please be patient in waiting for them to root and leaf out.

  • bossyvossy
    5 years ago

    We remove ours with a shovel after a rainy spell.

    Slwildflower those are fine specimens.


  • slwildflower
    5 years ago

    Thank You Bossyvossy!! :)

  • wantonamara Z8 CenTex
    5 years ago

    @ Slwildflower . Can I be so nosey and ask where that beautiful view on your patio/porch is? It sure ain't East Texas.

  • Tracy Wale
    5 years ago

    https://www.houzz.com/user/buttonwillow222-yahoo-com ... pups are the little baby offshoots. Sometimes on the trunk and very often in the soil at the base of the plant. I separate them regularly and create new plants. Sago’s are super resilient. Here is yesterday’s harvest to take to my sons home I’ll keep them on the kitchen counter to scab over for a week or so (it’s super dry here) and then plant them. They say it’s optimal to initially plant them to a pot, but I put them straight into the ground and most survive. Good luck!!

    roselee z8b S.W. Texas thanked Tracy Wale
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