Average germination period for Dioon spinulosum

I've had seed in soil for 5 months now and 8 months for D. edule. Bottom heat is maintained at 70deg. F. I'm curious as to when I can expect to see some green out of these rascals. D. spinulosum is a favorite of mine.

My usual rate of fresh seed germination for Dioons is a few weeks... but a month is not unheard of... 8 months sounds like bad seed to me.

lol@ badseed....yep, that fits perfectly. Thanks palmbob.

Good to have this thread. Cycads are the greatest, too bad they don't grow well up here. Still waiting for my C. latifolia do do something.
Here's a 'walk on the wild side' from long ago.

hiya balvenie,

That's a lovely spot. Was/is that on your property? I love specimen size cycads as they seem to represent such an interesting window to the origin of modern vascular plants.

Thanks for sharing that pic.

best,
don

Wish it was mine Don. It's in a collectors garden in So. Cal. circa mid 70's. Cycads are exciting when you get past the idea they are merely "palm trees". Of the several books on Cycads the best is by far Loran Whitelock's "The Cycads", with beautiful illustrations by Geoff Stein. I bought a couple seedlings and several seeds from Maurice Levin in 2004 but the seeds are a loss, save the two latifolia. No doubt a result of my poor germanation procedures, mainly no bottom heat and low ambient temps. A warmer clime sure is tempting.
Here's a seed starting tray to make most enthusiasts smile.

Whoa,

There are a few pretty well-known collectors of Cycads close by in the town of Fallbrook and some of our regional botanical gardens have some pretty great collections. I've admired them for years and in my travels have gotten to see some pretty great specimens like the 20ft Cycas cercinalis? Pam and her mom posed in front of on our most recent trip to the Yucatan. I had a few at my old house on the coast (Cardiff by the Sea) and they were pretty care free. Here I've got just Cycas revoluta so far. The grouping is missing some ferns, but the desert air here is murder on them. I'd very much like to collect a few hardier species, but have found them to be ridiculously expensive at places like Jungle Music and other Palm/Cycad growers.

Keeping them expensive may be part of the allure, kind of like gemstones. But that also makes illegal smuggling of the entire family a profitable endeavor. A friend of mine with CITES still marvels at the number of smugglers involved in the Cycad trade. Recently a friend who used to be with a local botanical garden received a group of confiscated plants smuggled out of Colombia and Cycad curators from around the country (Especially Fairchild in Florida) all came to visit the plants because of the incredible rarity. If we, as plant collectors, continue to lust after these things there will always be a few collectors without scruples that will go to any lengths to have something no one else has.

I for one, would love to find a reliable source for good quality seed and start germinating with guidance from more experienced propagators and just start a seed and plant co-op where interested collectors could exchange plants. Aren't there a bunch of them from upper elevations that would do well in the PNW? Especially at the coast?

don on soapbox terminated....lol.

Most would do well under glass up here, but the winters are too harsh for much outdoor growing. Someone told me once that there was no reason to go North because Cycads didn't grow there.

I think Palmbob has the most Cycad knowledge of anyone on DG. As a gardener, enthusiast and artist he's hard to top.

A seed source would be neat, especially one where the seed was reasonably priced. The ones I got from Maurice Levin at A & A Cycads were good, as were the seedlings. He's in Beverly Hills. Does that say something about the price of Cycads ? lol. Cycads, Orchids, Bromeliads and Tillandsias have been a love of mine for close to 50 years, too bad I can't afford a BIG greenhouse and the heating bill. Two C. williak seedlings will have to do, at least till the latifolias decide to sprout.
Best to you, Pam and the horsies.

There is Cycas panzihuaensis http://www.rarepalmseeds.com/shop/CycPan.shtml which seems to be hardier than C. revoluta and a little more hardy to cool wet conditions found in PNW. C. revoluta can survive here if it gets the overhead protection from rain that sits in the crown and causes it to go to mush. I'm very tempted to try out this other species as it appears to be relatively fast growing for a cycad.

I've always wondered if the import of seed require CITES permits as well.

absolutely it does... and some simply can't be imported. Doesn't make good sense, but that's the rules for now. In the mean time, thousands of would be plants die in South Africa as the seeds just fall to the ground and germination rate is 0.1% or less sometimes. Just beurocratic muscle flexing. Some of these species are certainly going to be extinct in the wild soon, and some may be already. There is always someone with enough $$ and too few principles, or using the excuse that if they don't 'save' the plants in the wild, someone else will (heard that one a lot).