The sago palm isn't actually a palm but instead a cycad - more closely related to evergreen conifers than palm trees. Yet it somehow picked up the common tag of being a palm and is rarely referred to as a cycad other than by those who know. The difference: - palms are monocotyledons (seeds sprout only one leaf) while cycads are dicotyledons (you guessed it...they sprout two leaves from the seed). Hardly a big difference when you're trying to explain this plant's genetic background.

While this plant may not be a true palm, its shape and size make it one of the most utilised specimens in landscape tropical gardens. And why not? The foliage, as an architectural texture, is exquisite and as it grows the trunk adds the dimension of height.

Where can sago palms grow?

Almost anywhere the summers are warm and mild and where they will be sheltered out of frosts and snow. If kept in pots they can be grown in cold climates providing they are overwintered and your summers aren't too cold.

If your climate isn't characterised by frost-ridden winters then growing a sago palm in the ground is certainly an option. Obviously palms that grow in the ground have less maintenance requirements and can grow much taller than their pot-bound counterparts.

Problems with the sago palm

• Slow growing - while they look fantastic when they're a decent size waiting around for them to grow can be an exercise in patience. In most cases they will only add 1-2" (2-5cm) per year - and that's a good year.
• Great leaf catchers - because of their shape and growing habit, sago palms are great leaf catchers. This is a bonus if that's why you wanted to grow this plant but for most gardeners it can become they reason they rip them out. Therefore, plant them in a location that isn't beneath a deciduous or leaf-shedding tree.
• They need warm summers - while sago palms can put up with cold winters they really struggle if they can't enjoy some summer warmth. If your summers don't average at least 20°C (70°F) then the sago cycad may not be an option for your garden.
• They need sun - just like warm summers, cycas revoluta basks in full sun. While they will grow in shade and perform quite well in part-shade they can often become leggy and more disease-prone without at least half a day of full-sun.
• Deadly to dogs - for those gardening pet-lovers keeping a sago palm and a dog in the same confines is asking for trouble. The seeds from the sago palm are extremely poisonous and will kill a dog within a few hours of digestion. And, don't think your children are immune - this can seriously harm them as well.

Caring for a sago palm

Apart from the growing conditions mentioned above sago palms are quite easy to care for. A feed of a balanced fertiliser every six months and caution taken when watering (they don't need much) is really all these plants require.

If your sago palm has become a leaf catcher then removing the built up compost from with the plants centre is paramount. Leaving it to rot down within the plant can cause a myriad of disease and fungus problems which are better prevented rather than trying to cure.

Does Sago come the sago palm?

Most of us have enjoyed endured sago at one point or another in our lives so it's not a dumb question to think that this plant may be the source of our child-based memories. However, the true source is from another palm (a real palm) also commonly known as the Sago Palm Metroxylon sagu.

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Fortunately for me, my MIL has been growing a plant that I've wanted to grow in my tropical garden. Plumeria rubra is the common frangipani and has been on my "TO-GET" list for some time. However, I didn't just want to the very common white flowered variety but was more interested in the coral-shades. I had seen frangipanis growing my MIL's garden before but never observed it flowering to know whether it was the correct colour.

On a recent trip to visit the in-laws in Perth, I took a small cutting - certainly not big enough to notice that it had gone missing - and began drying it out. The wound excretes a fair amount of milky sap that can be quite painful if it comes in contact with the skin. This sap needs to stop flowing and the wound harden over before it can be planted out.

Once this process has occurred the stalk can be placed into some potting medium and kept moist and out of full-sun. While it's best to start the process while the frangipani is dormant - during the winter months - it can still be successfully propagated in its flowering season.

TIP: Don't take a cutting longer than 20cm in length and certainly don't pick one that is carrying flowers.

As we head towards winter, this cutting will lose its few leaves and be a bare stick but will regain its crowning glory again in spring. Hopefully, it might even flower but they don't usually within the first two years.

Here's some more info on growing frangipanis.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (4)

The key to growing a syngonium - Neglect!

I'm not joking. This is a photo of the one that resides in my office at work and it has been with me for the past 9 years. I've never changed the soil or repotted it. It's never had any fertiliser. It gets very little sunlight. And there have been many times when I've forgotten to water it.

Yet, it keeps surviving. I would be amazed if I could actually kill it as it seems impervious to any form of neglect.

But I do feel a little sympathetic to my plant from time to time. It has been so faithful and continually bears new foliage despite my lack of affection.

Syngonium plants aren't high maintenance. This is why they are a common indoor plant that many home gardeners opt for and do well with. They enjoy a moist soil but can live in any medium even when it dries fully (though not for long).

Your syngonium does need light for most of the day for perfect growing conditions. However, they can extract enough sunlight from a room that is barely lit without needing to sit on a windowsill. This syngonium in its pot never sees the light so the foliage has climbed down and extracts what it needs.

Syngoniums can be propagated from leaf cuttings.

CORRECTION:

Gary from Plant-Care.com has picked up a wee error in my plant identification. In his recent comment he states;

I agree with the "neglect" aspect of care for this house plant or office plant I guess is more correct. Many plant owners give their plants way too much love and attention.

However, the plant in the photo is a pothos and not a syngonium. They are in the same family, require basically the same care but are two different plants.

I posted a few couple for reference. syngonium images and a pothos.

Keep up the good work and keep sharing your plant knowledge!

Thank you for being so polite in your correction Gary. This is certainly my bad and I apologise to my readers for getting this plant mixed up and leading you all astray. I must admit that I had never even heard the term 'pothos' until Gary mentioned it and now I'm wondering whether I've ever seen these plants marketed as such. I shall continue to investigate.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (6)

Dracaena Marginata is not a plant that you grow for flowers - it's the foliage you're after. You can either grow it in the ground, planted en masse, or as a stand alone feature planted by itself in a decorative container.

And, it can grow just as well indoors as it does outdoors (that's if you live in a semi-tropical to tropical planting zone, that is). Dracaena's aren't very fond of frost but they can tolerate colder climates so long as they're protected. They don't like too much water but prefer their growing medium to be moist.

Draceana's come from the Dragon Tree, dracaena draco, which is a native plant to the Canary Islands, so their growing habits, likes and dislikes, and temperamental preferences are all very similar.

They can grow to more than 4m (12-13ft) but can easily be kept smaller by pruning the stems prior to spring.

The stems of a draceana marginata are commonly flexible and thin and seem adequately disproportionate to its height and also the foliage that tops it. They can easily be bent and shaped to conform to your structural desires by using bonsai wire to contort each stem.

If your dracaena is only single-stemmed and you want it to branch out, cut the foliage from the top and reduce the stem to the desired height. Within a few months the foliage will begin to bud from the wound and new branches will grow.

How to propagate dracaena maginata

Draceana's can be propagated by a variety of ways but the most easiest is by taking a cutting from the stem and after applying some rooting hormone to the base (don't forget which end is 'up') firmly push it into some potting mix. Water frequently and apply a liquid fertilizer when the foliage begins to appear.

Other methods of propagating dracaena include air-layering and basal root cuttings.

Fertilising dracaena marginata

Soluble liquid fertilisers are the best form of nutrient release for dracaena's but during their dormant period you can also add some slow release pellets to their growing area or container.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dracaena Marginata is not a plant that you grow for flowers - it's the foliage you're after. You can either grow it in the ground, planted en masse, or as a stand alone feature planted by itself in a decorative container.

And, it can grow just as well indoors as it does outdoors (that's if you live in a semi-tropical to tropical planting zone, that is). Dracaena's aren't very fond of frost but they can tolerate colder climates so long as they're protected. They don't like too much water but prefer their growing medium to be moist.

Draceana's come from the Dragon Tree, dracaena draco, which is a native plant to the Canary Islands, so their growing habits, likes and dislikes, and temperamental preferences are all very similar.

They can grow to more than 4m (12-13ft) but can easily be kept smaller by pruning the stems prior to spring.

The stems of a draceana marginata are commonly flexible and thin and seem adequately disproportionate to its height and also the foliage that tops it. They can easily be bent and shaped to conform to your structural desires by using bonsai wire to contort each stem.

If your dracaena is only single-stemmed and you want it to branch out, cut the foliage from the top and reduce the stem to the desired height. Within a few months the foliage will begin to bud from the wound and new branches will grow.

How to propagate dracaena maginata

Draceana's can be propagated by a variety of ways but the most easiest is by taking a cutting from the stem and after applying some rooting hormone to the base (don't forget which end is 'up') firmly push it into some potting mix. Water frequently and apply a liquid fertilizer when the foliage begins to appear.

Other methods of propagating dracaena include air-layering and basal root cuttings.

Fertilising dracaena marginata

Soluble liquid fertilisers are the best form of nutrient release for dracaena's but during their dormant period you can also add some slow release pellets to their growing area or container.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you live in a cold climate you've probably already written off palms as a plant that won't grow in your garden - and you would be partly right.

Most palms are tropical and can't exist in temperatures less than 15° C (59° F) but there are many cool climate palms that colder areas can grow quite successfully. Dwarf Sugar Palm - can grow at temperatures of less than -6° C (21° F) and reach heights of nearly 5m (15ft). Also the more common, and much larger, Bismarck Palm [pdf] can grow within the same climate while the Chinese Windmill Palm shouldn't be grown at all in warmer climates.

While these are only a few of the cool climate palms available to gardeners, there are more comprehensive lists available, tropical palms have a beauty and majesty all their own.

The fabulous Kentia Palm is one example. The Golden Cane Palm, Parlour Palm and the gorgeous Raphia Palm are some of the many others.

So, while we can all grow grow palms the question we need to ask is do we want to? I've been a major cynic of palms in the garden for quite a few years mainly because they have become the tree of choice here in Australia for landscaping new subdivisions. It seems every second home has littered their garden with fast-growing Bangalow Palms. Why? Very little maintenance is required. They don't drop leaves and they don't take much to keep looking good.

One day a friend inspired me with his plans to create a tropical rainforest garden in Perth, Western Australia. I cynically assumed he was off his rocker but after some investigation found that not only was it possible but I could also create a similar design to my garden in Busselton (250km south of Perth).

Caring for your palm

Palms don't require pruning but the removal of spent fronds will help keep them looking neat and tidy. Some palms send up suckers which will need to be cut out at base level but apart from sustaining them with a moderate weekly watering they don't need much else.

Palms naturally crave iron, magnesium, manganese and potassium so finding a fertiliser that contains higher levels of these nutrients will be helpful.

You can transplant palms and this is best done during their growing season (early spring) and provided that most of the rootball can be kept intact. Transplant your palm into a whole twice the size of the rootball and water copiously for the first month or so. Then resume normal watering and apply some fertiliser.

To keep your palm warm in winter wrap the trunk with bubble-wrap and mulch it well or wrap plastic sheeting over its drip line.

Growing palms from seed

Palms can be grown quite successfully from seed but palm seeds have a long gestation period. Kentia's for example can take between 2-3 years before sending up shoots. To aid their success, remove the fleshy coverings and soak the seed in tepid water for at least 24 hours. Discard any that are still floating after this period and plant the ones that have sunk to the bottom. Plant them in a good seed-raising mix and keep warm in a greenhouse or on a window sill.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (5)

I have fallen in love with these species of plant over the past couple of years for a number of reasons. Firstly, bromeliads require so little attention yet produce amazing blooms. In fact, it seems that the less you look after them the more they want to show off. Maybe it's just a matter of it wanting to remind us that it still exists.

Our future rainforest garden will feature many of these bromeliads and tillandsias because they're a great tropical plant. They receive their required water via their funnel-like foliage rather than through the soil and these also house many snails, but they're easy to pick out. The flower is not a true bloom rather colorful bracts that appear on an annual basis and can really enhance a tropical garden.

These bromeliads have been sitting in pots for a couple of years and still produce a wonderful show year after year.

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