Dark, shiny green foliage. Cycas revoluta (Sotetsu [Japanese ソテツ], sago palm, king sago, sago cycad, Japanese sago palm), is a species of gymnosperm in the family Cycadaceae, native to southern Japan including the Ryukyu Islands. Cycas Revoluta or the Sago Palm is a beautiful easy care houseplant with a mischievous twist that easily fools people in three ways. Sago palms usually flower every 3-4 years and they generally show no ill effects from this natural cycle. It is extremely slow-growing, sometimes putting out just one set of new leaves per yearor sometimes not that often. Cycads are a very old group of plants that are closer to conifers than to palms. Sago Palm is The cones are not particularly ugly but don’t have the same panache as a traditional flower. Pull off the orange seed coating using gloves to prevent staining your hands. For this purpose, wait until the seeds turn deep red and then they will easily pop out of the spent cone. Sign up to get all the latest gardening tips! Gary, our sago palm grower, and I check the blooming plants daily to determine when each is ready for pollination - timing can be somewhat critical. 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Sago palm, Cycas revoluta, is not a palm at all but a cycad.However its palm-like, feathery foliage, and cones, make it very similar to a palm or tree fern. Outdoors, the sago palm produces a brown, upright inflorescence that, once pollinated, will produce small, seeds. Male flowers are upright; female flowers are round. The sago palms are subtropical plants that love the heat. Sago palm grows well in full sun or partial shade but exhibits larger leaves in more shaded situations. Male sago palm flower will produce long, golden cone-like structures, somewhat like large pinecones. Some gardeners find them unattractive. What we have always been taught to call a Sago Palm is actually a Cycad. If no female is nearby or you don’t plan on propagating additional sago plants, you remove this structure from the plant without causing it any harm. Sign up for our newsletter. What you are describing are the male and female flowers of the Sago Palm, which by the way, is not really a palm at all. Normally it has two layers of bright green leaves. Flowering takes place in late spring. Sago Palm Sago palms are easy to care for but do require special needs, such as bright light, although they will tolerate low-light conditions. How To Prune Sago Palm Tree Sago palm trees need very little maintenance. The sago palm seeds were huge (almost 2 inches long!) In the Northern Hemisphere, Cycas revoluta ("King Sago Palms") begin to flower at the end of May. If the flower is pollinated by a nearby male, the flower will close up and develop seeds. It’s unlikely to see a sago palm flowering indoors. It can easily take a sago palm five or six years to achieve its full pot size of 2 feet. Cycas revoluta (the sago palm), is a superior accent plant for the landscape. tall. […] Sign up to get all the latest gardening tips! These attractive, low-growing plants are actually cycads. Pruning … It is found mainly in swamps and along streams, lakes, and rivers. If no female is nearby or you don’t plan on propagating additional sago plants, you can simply remove this structure from the plant without causing it any harm. Tropical landscape plant. Cutting off sago flowers is really only necessary if you need to fertilize plants that are some distance away. Soak the seed in a bucket for several days, changing the water daily. Male cones stay viable for a few days when stored in a plastic bag. If no female is nearby or you don’t plan on propagating additional sago plants, you can simply remove this structure from the plant without causing it any harm. The dark-green, stiff leaflets have a linear shape with a shiny upper surface. It flourishes in damp lowlands in the Malay Peninsula, New Guinea, Indonesia, the Philippines, and adjacent islands. Sago Palm: One Landscape Plant You May Want to Avoid There is nothing wispy or soft about a sago palm (C ycas revoluta). 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