Winter Hardy Cycads

 

Cycas taitungensis3

This Saturday we host the Summer meeting of the Southeast Palm Society…open to members and guests.  That prompted me to take time and inventory which cycads (sago palms) survived this winter for us in the ground without any protection/mulching. Virtually all lost their foliage, but the following list of plants survived our minimum winter low temperatures of between 4 and 9 degrees F (depending on the site). We have several other species that were just planted this spring, so we’ll report on them after another cold winter. At the bottom is a list of cycad species that have not survived our winter temperatures. We currently only offer a few of these for sale, but hope to add more now that we have many years of data from our trials.

Ceratozamia hildae
Ceratozamia kuesteriana
Ceratozamia latifolia Mexico
Ceratozamia mexicana
Ceratozamia microstrobila
Cycas (revoluta x guizhouensis)
Cycas (taitungensis x guizhouensis)
Cycas (taitungensis x panzhihuaensis)
Cycas [panzhihuaensis x (revoluta x taitungensis)]
Cycas panzhihuaensis
Cycas taitungensis
Dioon edule Palma Sola form (Vera Cruz)
Dioon edule Rio Verde form (San Luis Potosi)
Dioon edule ‘Tamaulipas’
Dioon merolae
Encephalartos altensteinii E. Cape, S. Africa
Encephalartos paucidentatus
Macrozamia communis
Macrozamia riedlei
Macrozamia spiralis
Zamia angustifolia

Cycads that did not survive outdoors

Cycas guizhouensis mbc#20050491
Cycas revoluta
Dioon edule Jacala form (Hidalgo)
Encephalartos eugene-maraisii
Encephalartos friderici-guilielmi
Encephalartos ghellinckii
Encephalartos lehmanii
Encephalartos longifolius blue form (sd)
Encephalartos natalensis ‘Kranskop’
Encephalartos princeps
Zamia pumila

16 thoughts on “Winter Hardy Cycads”

  1. Awsome info. THANKS.One thing I have learned from collecting and growing cycads is patients. They grow so slow. I am in Dothan Alabama 8 b ish. How doyou think cycas guizhouensis would fare and a revoluta debeoninsis? Weird that your taitungensis lived but the

  2. Awsome info. THANKS.One thing I have learned from collecting and growing cycads is patients. They grow so slow. I am in Dothan Alabama 8 b ish. How doyou think cycas guizhouensis would fare and a revoluta debeoninsis? Weird that your taitungensis lived but the revoluta died.

    1. Patience, also. You are in a zone that would allow you to grow several cycads that won’t survive here, so I would certainly give C. debaonensis a try. C. revoluta holds onto its foliage to a lower temperature than C. taitungensis, but ultimately C. taitungensis is a hardier plant.

  3. PDN,
    Any updates to the species list after our cold 2015 winter. I had about half of my Cycas revoluta make it through the winter. Mulching the stem/caudex seems to be critical.
    Thanks,
    Brian

  4. Hello Brian,
    Does Encephalartos altensteinii and
    Encephalartos paucidentatus lost their leaves every winter? Caudex stay in the mulch? Do you think a plant with stem may survive with such conditions? Sincerely.

  5. Do you protect these in any way during the winter? Mulching etc.? Or these results were from completely exposed plants?

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