There's an old saying "If it sound to good to be true, it usually is."
Quote "2' of trunk in 5 years from seed". I know that's not true at least in my climate. I'd find that to be a stretch in even the most benign climates. They are quite hardy no doubt, surprizing even an old sceptic like me. Perhaps more experimentation is needed. My gallon sized specimans are small and don't grow much. I suppose I have to plant one out and see what happens.

Cheers, Barrie.

It will need tons of heat and humidity for a good part of the year to get anywhere near that growth...

Palmettoman z6-Ajax, On

With all the heat and humidity that we have out here in the prairies, I should be able to get it to grow even faster and bigger. 😆

Allen

Alchris,
I spent a small fortune in seeds for this cycad and found out it puts out one frond a year! I live in balmy Alabama too! Others who have this plant in the Carolinas and TN report the same thing. When they say this cycad will grow a two foot trunk in 5-6 years they left out a zero after those numbers! So if you are about 13 it should be a good size by the time you retire.

It is pretty hardy though. Seedling are unfazed by multiple nights to 22 F.

Thanks Steve.

I am going to save myself the money and the grief. I doubt that it would even put out 1 frond per year up here. I am over 50 now and my grandson has no interest in Palms or Cycads.

Allen

Allen, Try giving Robert Chumley a call. Look up his site in yahoo for "Chumley's Cycad". He will not only be totally honest with you on what you need (fast growing, does well inside for you in zone 3, etc.) but also he is the cheapest anywhere and he always gives a bonus or two.
Just tell him Wes White in Topeka sent you.

This is an example of my Cycas panzihuaensis that I grew from seeds that germinated in December of 2002. This was taken last summer (2006).

Thanks Lori.

My grandson, who is a dinosaur nut, saw me checking pictures on this site and recognized the cycad from the videos that he watches. Now I am germinating seeds so that he and I can have our own 'dinosaur trees'. I'll show him your picture and hope that he will understand how long it takes them to grow.

I guess that he is interested enough to take over raising the cycads when I die.

Allen

Hi, Allen

That's wonderful your grandson is interested. Tell him he will be helping to preserve these endangered species from extinction, so they won't go the way of the dinosaur.

Check out my cycad photos on my web site -- I have some nice shots of mature cycads that I have taken at various botanical gardens in Hawaii, the Virgin Islands, and Mexico. Your grandson might like to see those.