Nice Zamia. I have a question though. Do Zamias produce pups (like Cycas)? My brother and I are growing Z. furfuracea (I think that is what they are; my brother bought both of them and he said they were sold as "Cardboard Palm". I know they are Zamia of some sort.) I can send pics if you want.

This link has some good pictures that should help you positively ID This,

http://www.plantapalm.com/vce/species/zamia_furfuracea.htm

If that is not it maybe you can post or send me some pictures.

These will produce pups after a while, In habitat they take on a bush like form, slowly expanding outward.

A lot of Zamias can go from seed to coning size in as little as 3-4 years, Plus these are easy germinators. If your plants are male & female you'll end up having more of these than you know what to do with 8)

How hardy is this cycad? I see it grows in Hawaii but can it grow in a zone 8b climate?

Zamias seem to be a little more tender than the Cycas in general, Generally most are in the 9B Range.
Z.polymorpha a little more tropical, probably a 9B+
Cardboard palms generally a little less hardy than the Coonties,

The Florida Coontie, (Z.floridana), is listed at 9A with reports between 20-22F,

The Palatka Giant form of the Coontie is listed at 17.5F ,which would make it a 8B, These eventually form large attractive plants and might work for an outside planting in your zone. (There is a seller on E@ay who regulary has these available)

-Steve

EDIT-PS--- I keep my greenhouse between 32f- 40F during the winter months, Z. Polymorpha & several others stayed damp and cold last winter with no ill effects / However, this year I have been ammending all my mixes to try and prevent this.

What mix do you use now, and how did your amendments work out?

Hi Lori,
With mostly damp Winters here, I’ve been tailoring my container mixes to dry out quickly.
Really need to order some better stuff , but for off the shelf supplies have just been using a decent potting mix with about 30% perlite added. This seems to work well with the Cycas.
I’ve been having troubles with some of the tropical Zamias, They seem to survive in this mix but are not growing as well as they should be. ( Maybe they just don’t like being in the middle of Kansas 🙂
Have noticed these grow well in the material I have my orchids in , ( I think this is a Spanish moss or long cut sphagnum ? every time I order a plant from Florida this is what it comes wrapped in) Using 1/3 regular mix in the bottom with this stuff on the top. So far so good.

What mix are you having luck with?

Steve

I have tried lots of different mixes but am going back to my original recipe which seemed to work the best:
3 shovels friable loam
2 shovels coarse sand
4 shovels milled pine or fir bark (not cedar)
1 shovel peat moss (I am going to try coir -- more sustainable)
one cup complete organic fertilizer
(OR 45 grams slow-release pellet fertilizer with micronutrients, 40 grams dolomite lime, 3 grams iron sulphate, 3 grams magnesium sulphate)

Complete organic fertilizer recipe:
4 parts seed meal (e.g. flax or canola)
1 part rock phosphate OR 1/2 part bone meal
1 part lime
1/2 part kelp meal

Thanks Lori , Think I will give your recipe a try!

Thanks for the fertilizer recipe too, that was going to be my next question 🙂

Steve