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Bowenia ~ The Byfield Fern

Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2007 4:40 pm
by Knnn
This is an Australian Cycad which takes on more of a fern like appearance.

Some more Info ----> http://farrer.riv.csu.edu.au/ASGAP/APOL35/sep04-6.html

These are Bowenia sp." Tinaroo" ( may or may not end up being a described species, a dwarf variant from the Tinaroo region)

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A nice feature is the branching that occurs.

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Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2007 2:22 pm
by lucky1
Nicely serrated and ridged leaves, very attractive.
Interesting how the leaf resembles my young Zamia Picta Variegata.
Barb

Some new growth

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2007 6:35 am
by Knnn
Green emergent.

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More of a Red emergent,

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Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2007 9:57 am
by lucky1
Nice, Steve. Great pics.
Even when so young, leaves have the characteristic ridges and serrations.

That GH must be bursting at the seams this time of year :D
Barb

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2007 10:17 am
by Knnn
Thanks Barb, Things as usual are getting bit a crowded, ( I shipped out about 400 seedlings in the two months, so not as bad as last year :)
I need to start dragging all the bigger stuff into the dining room, this is going to be interesting.....lol

Steve

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2007 10:38 am
by lucky1
Your departed 400 seedlings have left you some room for new :D
Thank goodness for rarely used dining rooms! :lol:

I used to drag big plants around too, then I got one of those cheap "furniture dolly" thingies from a big box store.
It sure is easier on the back, but because the base is fairly small, it takes a lot of tugging to tip a big pot on an angle.

I presume Cycads need to be fairly warm in winter, so I'd better bring them to the house versus leaving them
in the cold barely-heated building this winter.

It's just such a pain moving them from window to window to give them enough light.
Humidity is a chore too, even when plants are grouped.
We have a woodstove and electric heat, real killers of humidity.
This year I'm placing a boiled kettle of water once a day 10 feet away from plants.

Barb

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2007 1:34 pm
by Knnn
I have an old furniture dolly in the garage to resurrect, going to need to use something this year :)

I read an article a while back, ( I can't find it now ), it was regarding Japanese households with a family Sago, Come Winter time, they would just put it in a dark closet and forget about it till Spring.

The Sago's I've kept on the cool side during the Winter always seem to flush before the ones that overwintered inside, (probably just the temp. differential once it warms up), but any natural means to speed up growth is always a plus :)


Steve

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2007 3:19 pm
by Kansas
Very interesting Steve.
I had planned to simply put a lot of my cycads in a wooden crate and cover and put a couple grow lights in there. From the sounds of your experience, that should work real good then??

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2007 3:36 pm
by Knnn
That is just from my experience in the GH, had quite a few nights last year in the mid 30's.

If you can keep them dry and above freezing they should be OK. ( some will take a lot lower but why risk burning the leaves?)

Check out the small heaters with thermostats, some of them might be cheaper to run than the lights.

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2007 5:53 pm
by Kansas
I do plan on wrapping the greenhouse with plastic and running a heater or two in there also. Right now I have a heater running all day and it keeps it about 10-12 degrees higher than outside, but I have it on the least warmest setting.
But I planned on keeping my palms in the greenhouse since I have so many, and then putting the cycads in the wooden box in the garage.
Now some, like my BIG Taitungensis, the BIG Yucca Trechy, the BIG PDP, & the smaller Spindle, Bottle, & Foxtail, I will bring inside, in the house.

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 6:42 am
by Knnn
Were you planning on leaving a Sago in the ground?
If you do let me know how it goes, I was thinking of planting one or two in ground next year.
The ones you have in ground in their containers, are you finding roots growing through the drainage holes?

Anything you can do the help keep your GH air tight will help, do you have a back up heater? ( Lowes has some of their propane/kerosene heaters on sale)



Steve

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 9:43 am
by lucky1
Steve interesting tip about Sagos re Japanese article. Thank you.
My two sagos will stay inside the barely-heated building, as will the CIDP, and Jade, and 3 Calamondin Oranges, cactus and echeveria and the Trachy (once I get around to digging it out of the ground). That'll be a chore but then I can rest easy all winter no matter what the weather does :)

Moved to the house yesterday: spindle, triangle, Zamias, dioon, Strelitzia, Cymbidium orchid, Hibiscus, Banana, Pachy lamerei and Jasmine.
The furniture dolly sure saved from strains.

Riddle: Where do all the drain saucers for pots disappear to in summer? Can never find 'em when I need 'em.
I'm going to start using old dinner plates! :|

Barb

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 11:27 am
by Kansas
Knnn wrote:Were you planning on leaving a Sago in the ground?
If you do let me know how it goes, I was thinking of planting one or two in ground next year.
The ones you have in ground in their containers, are you finding roots growing through the drainage holes?

Anything you can do the help keep your GH air tight will help, do you have a back up heater? ( Lowes has some of their propane/kerosene heaters on sale)



Steve
Yes, I will have a Sago stay in the ground with a glass inclosure similar to the one your Robusta is in, just not as fancy.
The potted ones, last year I had a problem with the roots growing out of the pots and into the ground, then when I yanked them in for the Winter, the roots snapped. So this year I took some mesh material and taped the drainage holes shut, which allowed the water to drain, and the roots will just grow onto the mesh (HOPEFULLY).
I will keep all updated on the in ground Sago. Here is a pic of it...
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Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 12:23 pm
by Knnn
Wes, ( Kansas), Thanks for the info about the roots and keep us updated.

Barb, My kids figured out those little plastic drip trays make great Frisbee's.... :)
Starting to move things inside.......This is the dining room so far.

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Steve

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 2:52 pm
by Dean W.
Steve,

I like your Bowenia sp." Tinaroo" they look cool.

Looks like your filling your house up there.

I'm lucky w/ my Sagos I get to leave them in the ground w/ no protection.

Dean

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 7:45 pm
by lucky1
Steve, man look at the growth on your Pachypodiums :shock: :shock:
They must've grown over a foot this year!
Everything looks happy and healthy.
Barb

And Dean :lol: good news...for the other forum. :D :D
Barb

Bowenias from Australia

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 10:21 pm
by chumleycycads.com
I really feel bad for you guys like Wes and Steve especilly there in Kansas, or for that matter, anybody living North of Tampa, Florida. It seems like your summer was all too short, and now you have to get busy protecting all those beautiful plants and thinking about a long Winter. I usually have to worry about , maybe one cold night , that will inevidablely get in to the lower 20's for only a few hours. Because of El Nina, they say Florida is in store for a warm and very dry winter. That would please me. But, speaking of Bowenia, I only have one specie, and it's Bowenia Spectabilis. I started out 7 years ago with over 500 in 1 gallon pots but now, unfortunately, I only have the Bowenia seed colony that I planted in the ground seven years ago nubering 50 plants, of which I hope to have a fair number of female plants to produce seed of course. I did the same thing with 100 plants of Ceratozamia "Hildae" which at long last have cones all over. I sold a lot od B. Spectabilis but I had a war with armadillos that destoyed many plants and caused me untold grief.Now, my 30-30 rifle is the answer to armandillos, and I am so happy I planted that seed colony 7 years ago. (I wish I had planted all of them) Robert Chumley

Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2007 10:27 am
by lucky1
Armadillos? :shock:

We'd love to see pics of your nursery when you have some time (away from nailing the armadillos, that is) :D
Cheers.
Barb

Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2007 11:34 am
by Dean W.
Sounds like you have quite the operation there Robert. I too would love to see some pictures, but then again I've yet to post any.

Dean

Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2007 1:14 pm
by Knnn
Barb, It's hard to see in the photo, but the lowest leaves on the Pachypodium are where the crown was at the beginning of the season. At least a foot of growth this year 8)

Robert, The Summer here is too short and Winter too long :| but I'm still amazed by what people in colder areas than me are growing!
BTW ~ Thanks for the great packaging on the C.latifolia, I need to get a better photo but it arrived in great shape.

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Steve

Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2007 7:22 pm
by lucky1
Good point, Dean, time we saw some of YOUR pics.
Steve: I knew that your two pachys had grown a foot or more...well done!
Gorgeous new cycad you've got there!
Barb

Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2007 10:36 pm
by Lori
Steve, where did you get your Bowenia "Tinaroo" seeds? I haven't been able to find any Bowenia seeds for years.

Bwenia

Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2007 10:26 am
by chumleycycads.com
Sorry about not having photos to send you, but I have not been able todetermine how to do it sucessfully. I do have a good digital camera and I did send a few pics of variegated cycads to Wes that went through, but Wes has not been able to forward them. I have some photos of plants that would amaze you , but can't seem to send them HELP..... Robert Chumley

Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2007 3:54 pm
by lucky1
Mr. Chumley, we'd love to see your pics!

Maybe talk (or send a private message) to Wes (Kansas).
Wes had some difficulty posting and got it perfect in no time.

He has been posting some nice ones.

Barb

Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2007 4:41 am
by Kansas
The only problem is, I can not figure out how to post HIS pics. I can do mine, but I can't figure how how to move his pics to the place I use for mine :oops:

Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2007 8:28 am
by lucky1
And I can't remember how I posted YOURS when you emailed them to me. But I do remember it was a hell of a lot of work. Probably 'coz I don't know how to do an easier way.

I think I loaded your email pics onto my photo hosting site, and then I provided the link to Palms North when I posted. You'll recall I forgot your name and posted YOURS as Steve's. Stupid of me.

Maybe somebody "physically" near Mr.Chumley can sit with him at the computer. I'd recommend a photo hosting site like Flickr.com (or whatever). Costs me only $29.00 annually, and I've got about one thousand pics on there. Saves hard drive space. My computer would've bombed by now trying to store those myself...or on CDs.

Barb

Image Hosting

Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2007 10:27 am
by Jay-Admin
You can always use my free image hosting at imagehostdirect.com :D Easy to use.

Regards,
Jay

Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2007 2:54 pm
by lucky1
Jay, sorry I forgot!

Yup, Mr. Chumley, good idea to have your pics on Jay's photo hosting site!

We'll look forward to seeing your gorgeous nursery soon.
I'm drooling already.

Barb

Photos of The Chumley estate Cycads, Etc.

Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2007 4:23 pm
by chumleycycads.com
Thanks for the two sites. Maybe I could try again. I need a play by play. I tryed Photobucket. Maybe youguys can e mail me your email addresses and I can send somthing direct to you and you can post it. Robert Chumley

Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2007 6:54 pm
by lucky1
Mr. Chumley, click on this:

http://imagehostdirect.com/

Jay has assured that it's easy.
There'll be instructions for loading onto the site from your digital camera.

Good luck.
Barb