Did you grow these from seed?

They went in the ground the middle of last Summer.
Should have been a little bigger by now, but I put them in an out of the way spot and forget to water them as often as I should have 🙄

~ Steve

Took some damage after two days of rain and then some more hard freezes, ( I should have at least put up a cover but eventually moved this over )

Some burnt leaves but still some green ones, We have been down to 1*F / -17C so far. I am amazed that any foliage still remains. If I can get new growth from these this Spring I'll be trying to get a breeding colony of these planted in ground 8)

keep us posted. This is great information. I am going to try cycas panzehensis in the ground this year so this info will really help me.
Thanks

Our coldest so far has been -1F / -18.4C
Left the foliage exposed this last cold snap to try and keep keep things on the dry side. Still holding some green!
These have been a big stretch in my zone but may actually work if kept dry. Will know for sure in another month 8)

Hey Steve, wanting an update on these. Whats it looking like?????

After April freezes and 12+ inches of rain in May, things are drying out and warming up.

Starting to see signs of new growth, From above........

And a little closer here, new frond is starting.

Rain and cold seemed to be a bad combination, I'm sure if I had provided better canopy these would be starting this season with at least some foliage.

I am sorry folks, but I really think Steve has made a REALLY important discovery here folks.
The new growth is proof that this Zamia type of Cycad can live in a Zone 5 with a little elbow grease and "want to".
What he has shown here is something, at least to me of VERY big news.
With a little more time, we will see the fullness of that leaf. And if it turns out, what this means is that maybe we can begin spreading the word about this and possibly seeing some bigger Coonties in Z5 yards. Yes, the folks will have to protect them, but a small price to pay if you ask me. In fact, when I go to FLorida next time to Lake City, I may see if there are some down there with size and transplant. The friends there ALWAYS ask me to "weed" their yard to get rid of palms.
Thanks a million Steve, and keep us updated on that leaf.

I just go a couple of these. I hope they do very well as well. Its amazing that they are coming back from such a low freeze. At what temperature did the leaves burn?

The leaves seemed to hold fine until the single digits, also have a couple more outside that were planted during the warm spell in March, then went through two nights of 18F in April and show no damage.

So far 1 of 2 plants is showing new growth after -1F, ( The other one is still holding it’s stems, so it hasn’t decayed ,etc) I didn’t really have enough plants in the ground through the Winter to draw any solid conclusions, but it would seem there is definitely good potential with these 8)

Just an Update ---> The one that was showing growth stalled out, decided to dig these up to take a look. ( it was my intention to move these to a better location anyways )

The one showing no activity was rotting from the bottom up, the other one had very little roots left so it was potted up to recover.

These seemed to do OK thru the Winter until several episodes of above normal temps with rain preceding hard freezes.
( Really think if I had provided better moisture protection these may have ended up in a better state )

This type of info is crucial for us who like to push the limits.

Thanks

Wes,
These might work out well in your area? I haven't given up on these yet, but decided my protection scheme needed some refinement.

Plan on using this shelter for a couple seasons, once these are of some size then a gradual acclimatization 8)

GREAT JOB STEVE!!!
Maybe I should order a bigger, maybe softball size caduex from Robert and let you do your thing with it.

I'm hoping the smaller ones will have a better chance to acclimate.
( With smaller caudexes/reserves they will be a little more touchy, but if they can adapt here, this will give the best chance that these traits will be passed on. 8)

I do have several larger ones in the GH that are starting to show some growth ~ Hoping to see some cones!