Important Things When It Comes To Growing Cycads

By Janet Hayes


These lovely plants will find their place in your garden, in your home or on your terrace. They grow successfully in decorative terra cotta pots in any type of cactus mix, and they certainly look attractive. You can buy different varieties, in different sizes, according to your taste, but you probably won't have much trouble taking care of them, whatever type you choose. Or you could grow them from the seeds.

You don't have to hesitate to grow them from seeds, it's really easy. When it comes to growing cycads, You really do not need too much experience. There are just a few simple rules to follow, and these plants really aren't demanding. Since they normally grow in sand, they need simple cactus mix or something. The only thing they are sensitive to is inadequate drainage.

Once the seeds fall from the plant, they should be gathered and kept in appropriate environment until planting. Some varieties may be planted right away, while some need more time to germinate. Make sure to know what variety you are dealing with. The embryo development stage will show you if this is a right time for planting.

The only way to make sure about it is to cut one of those seeds open and see for yourself if the time is right. Of course, this seed will be wasted, but, this is much better than to lose them all. You could also plant a two or three and to wait for some time, to see what will happen, but the first option is probably much better. If it is not the time yet, store the seeds appropriately.

When it comes to the quality of storage, it is important to keep the seeds in a slightly moist environment. If the environment is too dry, it might cause drying of the seeds, and the developing embryo might die in this case. Of course, there are some other things you should be careful about, for example, the remains of the seed coats.

It's better to remove those coat residues as soon as possible, if not before, then certainly before planting. Keeping the seeds in sterile environment might be of a great help here. When you think the it is the time for planting, find nice pots, sand and appropriate soil mixture, for example Perlite or some other cactus mix, and you are ready to go.

Soaking your seeds in water for two days or so will be quite useful. Of course, you should first remove all these possible coat remains, carefully. Make sure to provide sterile conditions for your precious seeds. After soaking them, place them on a sand layer and cover with Perlite, or some other appropriate soil mixture. Water your future plants and continue watering them twice a week.

Maybe you have heard about bottom heaters. These devices are used for enhancing the growth. On the other hand, they can also cook your seeds, if you aren't really careful. In any case, the point is that your greenhouse is perfectly enough warm for this, and you don't really need the heaters. Your living room south window will be also perfect solution.




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