Sago Palm Care Info

I bought a sago palm from HomeDepot today. The palm trunk is 6 " across and 3 feet high from the base. I use 16" clay pot and cactus soil. I place it outdoor with morning sun and partial afternoon sun. My questions are:

1. how cold can it handle?
2. Does it like wet soil?
3. how often to ferterlize and what type?
4. how much direct sun? How hot can it handle? my area's temp can get up to 100.

1. I think that plant can take about 20F... maybe a bit less.
2. I likes moist soil as long as it's not freezing cold for days on end
3. Fertilize maybe 4x a year, though cycads tend to be pretty forgiving with over fertilization and sometimes will grow faster and better.. but I recommend liquid fertilizer (eg. Miracle Grow) or a 12 month slow release palm fertilizer.
4. Cycas revolutas grow in palm desert where the temps get over 125F now and then... but if planted amonst rocks that absorb a lot of heat you can burn the base of the plant. Best to plant in grass if in full sun in a hot climate. Can handle nearly full shade or full sun all day long... most seem to prefer sunny locations or part day sun.... get a bit stretched and weak in full shade after a while

I put my sago out on the deck in full sun for the summer, and it loves it. My Queen Sago as well. But I slowly introduce them to the afternoon sun over the course of a week or so to prevent sunburn on the leaves when I first bring it out. I grow mine a tad on the dry side, and use a slow release triple 14 fert on it ( on all my palms), its easier than liquid fert, just topdress and walk away. If you use a slow release, find out how long it lasts-triple 14 lasts 5 months or so. It has always been my understanding that the cycads were more drought tolerent than the palms, but I could be wrong on this.

Some cycads are drought tolerant and some are not.. and some palms are extrememly drought tolerant (literally never needing to be watered) and some will die instantly if they even begin to dry out. So... hard to generalize sometimes... but on the average I would say most cycads are probably a bit more drought tolerant than the average palm in the same climate.

I purchased 2 sago palms at Home Depot about 5 years ago. I planted them both in partial sun/partial shade. However, one of them does get more sun than the other and it is about 1/3 bigger than the other one. It gets new leaves more often and the base of it has a much bigger diameter than the one that does not get as much sun.

These are great plants and I love mine. They look good every year and have been very easy to care for.