CYCAS DEBAOENSIS
SUPER RARE RATHER NEWLY INTRODUCED CYCAD FROM CHINA

MULTIPINNATE LEAVES, SMALL CAUDEX, LONG LEAVES

In my opinion, this is one of the most desirable cycad species introduced in the past several decades.  It was formally described in 1996.  Native to China, it is a plant with a rather small caudex, typically under a foot in size, but with long leaves that stretch upwards and will divide to the third order.  Some argue that it's just "bi-pinnate", but if you research pictures of the leaves, there is a small stem leading to two or three leaflets.  Therefore, I consider it to be "tri-pinnate".  In other words, the main stem will fork and that branch will fork again, this last stem holding the leaflets..  The Caryota palm divides to the second order and is considered to be multipinate as well.  With this branching, this species produces a very tropical and exotic appearing leaf.  It typically will hold two to four leaves, but has been reported to hold as many as ten leaves.  Length of these can reach ten feet.  They tend to go straight upwards, flexing down over time.  Cycas debaoensis prefers filtered light and is cold hardy to the lower 20's F. 

CYCAS GUIZHOUENSIS
ARE SMALL TO MEDIUM SIZED CHINESE CYCAD 
GREEN UPRIGHT LEAVES


This small to medium sized exotic cycad is from southwestern China.  Only in the past 20 years has this species been available in the U.S.  It has green upright leaves and can develop a trunk about three feet tall.  Leaves are green and leaflets narrow and shiny.  Sometimes you’ll see the leaflets twisted on their axis.  It comes from elevations of 1000 to 1500 feet or more and has potential to have reasonable cold hardiness, at least into the mid and possibly low 20’s F.  The crown width is about eight feet across with leaf lengths of three to five feet.  At the nursery it seems to grow quite well. 

Regular price 1.5 gallon size with caudex 2.5 inch caudex $275
Sale price 1.5 gallon as described $185

CYCAS NEOCALEDONICA
AKA CYCAS SEEMANNII
ATTRACTIVE CYCAD WITH NO LEAF SPINES OR PRICKLES

Being a friend of the island of New Caledonia, I am going to show you the only cycad native to their country.  It is Cycas neocaledonica.  They are quite proud of it.  But, taxonomists have in more recent years declassified it as a species and now call it Cycas seemannii.  Most remarkable is the fact that this cycad essentially has nothing sharp or pointed to poke you.  The leaf stems are without prickles or spines.  Leaves are green and shiny. Crowns can hold as many as fifty leaves with lengths up to 7 feet.  Trunks are 8 to 12 inches thick at maturity and overall height of centuries old plants can be over 40 feet.  Most grow this species is part day sun or strong filtered light although it takes full sun right on the coast.  Cold tolerance is about 22 to 24 degrees F.  The plant on sale is about 14 years old.

Regular price 15 gallon with old trunk 4 inches wide and 12 inches tall $1250
Sale price this actual 15 gallon as described $925

CYCAS PANZHIHUAENSIX X C. DEBAOENSIS
CYCAD HYBRID OF TWO RARE SPECIES
NEVER AVAILABLE BEFORE - SHOULD BE A GREAT GARDEN PLANT

 On sale here is a very rare hybrid of the genus Cycas.  Both parents are native to China.  The C. panzhiuaensis is known for it's medium size, blue-green foliage in sun and cold tolerance.  Cycas debaoensis is known for it's mutlipinnate leaves and fluffy leaf appearance.  I've not had this cross before and there are no pictures of mature plants available.  It should make a small to medium sized adult plant and take at least part day with a cold hardiness into the low 20's F.  For a 1.5 gallon container, the plants on sale are huge for their pots.  There are no mature plants for photos of this hybrid.  Shipping should be easy, weather permitting.

Regular price 2 gallon of this hybrid with 3 inch caudex $405
Sale price these 2 gallon this size $300  

CYCAS SCHUMANNIANA – GREEN CYCAD FROM NEW GUINEA
MEDIUM HEIGHT – UPRIGHT GREEN LEAVES TO ABOUT 8 FEET
GLOSSY KEELED GREEN LEAVES

This rare green, medium height cycad is native to New Guinea.  It gets to a height of about 8 feet and has rather “smallish” upright leaves that are keeled.  Trunks get six to eight feet tall with about 4 foot leaves above the trunk.  It tolerates full sun.  Exact cold hardiness is not clear but it easily tolerates a freeze.  We rarely have this species for sale.

Sale price 1.5 gallon plants with caudexes 1.5 inches $110

Regular price 7 gallon with old caudex 4 x 12 inches $1020
Sale price this actual 7 gallon cycad $750

Regular price 25 gallon, 20 years old, caudex 8 x 36 inches:  $2750
Sale price 25 gallon this size $1925

DIOON ANGUSTIFOLIA
SUN AND COLD TOLERANT THIN LEAF CYCAD
NEVER OVERLY LARGE

This cycad species is from Mexico and is known for its very thin leaflets.  You will see this cycad as a single trunk plant or as a cluster with multiple stems.  The overall crown size is not large, typically with a spread of four feet.  A plant with a caudex of 12 to 18 inches is a very old plant.  Cold tolerance is Definitely into the low 20's F.  It likes full, hot sun.  This would be a good sun species of cycads for those who live in a colder climate.  It is closely related to Dioon edule.   This species is also ideal where an enthusiast needs a plant that will not get tall and needs to fit into a smaller area.

DIOON CALIFANOI
MEXICAN CYCAD WITH STIFF KEELED LEAVES
FULL SUN SPECIES – VERY ATTRACTIVE

This attractive Mexican cycad is found in the areas of Oaxaca and Pueblo.  It is a medium sized plant with stems up to about ten feet.  The leaves are not particularly long, typically about four feet.  The most notable thing about this species are the strongly keeled leaves with thin leaflets.  By "keeled" I mean that the leaf, in cross section, looks like the keel of a boat. The color is green or gray-green.  The leaflets are tightly spaced.  It is a full sun plant and cold tolerant easily into the low 20's F.  It is a rare species to find at nurseries.  This plant can be mail ordered.  We do have similar plants this species.  

Regular price 15 gallon with caudex 3 inches $555
Sale price this 15 gallon with caudex 3 inches $410

DIOON CAPUTOI
SUN TOLERANT, COLD HARDY CYCAD WITH VERY THIN LEAFLETS
SUPER RARE AND HARDLY EVER AVAILABLE

This has always been one of our nursery favorites.  It's a slow growing species from Chiapas, Mexico.  Trunks can, over centuries, get up to ten feet tall.  Trunk thickness is about a foot on average.  They can branch overhead and pup from the base.  Leaf color is green or a definite gray-green.  A plant with a 3 foot trunk can easily be a hundred years old.  Leaves are gently keeled and leaflets are spiney and reflected backwards toward the ground.  Thus, in cross section the leaf looks like the wings of a bird.  Leaves are often stacked as you see with the citrus pot plant below.  The span of leaves on a healthy plant is five to eight feet.  Along the coast this species takes full sun.  In far inland areas, I'd give morning sun.  Cold hardiness is down to about 20 to 22 degrees F.  It's not as cold hardy as Dioon edule but, I think, a lot prettier. We can offer a nice variety of sizes for sale.

This is a very nice species from Oaxaca, Mexico.  It is known as the fish bone cycad because of how its leaves look (spaced leaflets which have a similar took to a fish’s skeleton).  This beautiful cycad has green leaflets which have a fine silvery/white tomentum.  It is hardy to sun, though it can tolerate a partial sun exposure.  This species is slow growing, but can get to heights several meters tall.  This would not be typical in cultivation though.  D. purpusii is quite rare in cultivation and is a real treat to see in person.  It is hardy down to the mid 20’s.  Availability of this species is always very limited. 

DIOON SPECIES "RIO VERDE"
MEXICAN CYCAD WITH LONG LEAVES
FULL SUN SPECIES – NEVER SUPER LARGE
FAIRLY COLD HARDY CYCAD

This surprisingly cold hardy Mexican cycad is known for its longer leaves.  Compared to an ordinary Dioon edule, it has much longer leaves.  These leaves have a somewhat yellow petiole and leaf color is green or blue-green.   And, there's an extra treat: new leaves flush an interesting pink-green color.  This is a slow growing species.  Trunks rarely get to two feet.  They cluster freely. It is a sun species that is cold tolerant into the upper teens F.  It tolerates heat and full hot sun. 

Regular price nicely sized (large) Dioon rio verde in band size $85
Sales price these band sized Dioon rio verde $65

Regular price citrus pot Dioon rio verde with approx 3 inch caudex $375
Sale price citrus pot with 3 inch caudex $285

ENCEPHALARTOS ALTENSTEINII
LARGE SOUTH AFRICAN CYCAD WITH GREEN LEAVES
TOLERATES COASTAL SUN – FAST GROWER 

Compared to the Encephalartos aemulans above, this is a faster growing and bigger species.  Leaves are six to eight feet long.  The trunk is very stout, over 24 inches if well grown.  Mature plant height can approach twenty feet in many decades.  Leaf color is green.  Leaflets are shiny.  A hallmark of this species is the lack of prickles at the base of the leaf stem.  In other words, one could grab the leaf there and not get stuck by prickles.  Along the coast, this species easily tolerates full sun and is cold hardy to about 20 to 22 degrees F.  The last photo shows a larger plant from the nursery with over three feet of trunk.

This species is endemic to northern Tanzanian and southern Kenya, where there are two isolated populations.  This is a medium sized plant.  Leaves can reach a length of about two meters.  Stems are fairly short only reaching a height of one to two meters on very old plants.  The name 'bubalinus' comes from the Latin word meaning "buff", which is in reference to the color of the tomentum on its stem and petioles.   It’s been described as a beautiful and tropical looking plant, which has green to grey/green leaves.  It has cupped leaflets, which tend to be slightly plumose or out of plane one larger specimens.  Its leaflets are moderately armed as are its petioles.  They are not terribly sharp though.  Depending on exposure, this species can sprawl out or hold upright crowns of leaves.   It will tolerate partial or perhaps full sun along the coast and a few hours of sun far inland.  Cold tolerance is estimated at 25 degrees.  This is a super rare species to find for sale.

ENCEPHALARTOS DYERIANUS
SUPER RARE SOUTH AFRICAN CYCAD
NATIVE TO THE TRANSVAAL DISTRICT
YOUNG PLANTS AVAILABLE

This sought after and very rare blue to blue-green South African cycad is native to the Limpopo Province in northern RSA.  There it is critically endangered with a few hundred plants remaining.  It lives on granite mountain slopes at an elevation of about 2000 feet.  It prefers full sun and is an average speed growing species.  Mature size is over ten feet in habitat in centuries.  Leaf color in full sun is typically blue.  It is considered one of the more rare of the "Transvaal" South African cycads. 

Regular price this extremely rare species is citrus pot with a 1.5 inch caudex $525
Sale price this super rare species in citrus pot with 1.5 inch caudex $375

ENCEPHALARTOS FRIDERICI-GUILIELMI
SMALL TO MEDIUM SIZED BLUE COLORED CYCAD
THIN, NON-POKEY LEAFLETS
SALE ON THIS RARE ACTUAL PLANT 

This species is endemic to the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces of South Africa.  Plants grow in sunny, hot grasslands where the steep terrain is composed of rocky soil and outcroppings.  This species is small to medium sized.  Leaves are approximately one meter long.  Stems are stout and can get up to a height of  four meters over a few centuries.  This is a beautiful, fine leafed and blue cycad.  The leaves are unarmed, and are not pokey.  This plant (as well as the other fine leafed Encephalartos) tend to be very cold hardy as well tolerant of heat.  This plant prefers to be in the full sun, but can tolerate part day (3-5 hours) sun in coastal and inland areas.  For desert climates partial sun or filtered light would be ideal.  This cycad also needs a soil that drains well. 

Regular price on this rare species in a citrus pot with caudex 3.25 inches $815
Sale price this actual 15g as described here $625

This species is endemic to southern Malawi and Mozambique.  Encephalartos gratus is a medium sized cycad.  Leaves can grow in excess of two to two and a half meters, depending on exposure.  Stems are fat and can reach heights of  three meters over  a very long time.  This species can produce basal suckers, but does so sparingly.  This species has many favorable characteristics.  It is fast growing, has a very tropical crown of leaves and is very showy!  Leaflets and petioles are armed, but the spines are fairly flexible and soft.  This cycad is similar in appearance to other Central African varieties, such as E. hildebrandtii, but is easier to grow than many of them.  In coastal areas, this species does well in sun or partial sun.  For inland areas partial sun or filtered light is better.  In desert areas, this species need filtered light or shade.  This species is somewhat water tolerant and likes a good draining top soil.  Estimates of cold hardiness is down into the mid-twenties F.

ENCEPHALARTOS HILDEBRANDTII
ANOTHER LARGE CENTRAL AFRICAN GREEN CYAD
VERY FAST GROWING – GIVE IT SOME ROOM TO GROW 

This Central African cycad is of medium size and native to Kenya, Tanzania and possibly Mozambique.  In habitat, it grows at anywhere from sea level to 2000 feet elevation.  When I think of this species I remember two things:  New leaves emerge vertically in a V-shaped crown.  And, that the leaflets have multiple thin points on the end, sort of resembling a pitch fork.  New emergent leafs are generally green but can sometime have a copper color.  Leaves are green and about six to eight feet long.  The trunk is stout and up to eight feet height.  Leaves are a glossy green color.  Growth is vigorous and it's been said that it can cone in less than a decade.  Trunks can get up to almost twenty feet and in my experience are about 18+ inches thick when well grown.  Even along the coast, part day sun is probably best to avoid limy color to the leaves.  Cold tolerance is 23 to 25 degrees F.

Regular price band $75
Sale price band size $55

Regular price citrus pot with  5 inch caudex $550
Sale price this actual size citrus pot $410

ENCEPHALARTOS LANATUS
SILVER BLUE SOUTH AFRICAN CYCAD
THIN LEAFLETS - SMALL TO MEDIUM SIZE MATURE
THIS ACTUAL PLANT FOR SALE

This species comes from the Gauteng and Mpumalanga regions of South Africa.  It is a small to medium sized species.  Encephalartos lanatus have short leaves that scarcely exceed a meter.  Their stems can reach about a meter and half in a few centuries.  Plants are almost always solitary, but they can occasionally produce basal suckers (very rare and very few).  The name 'lanatus' is derived from the Latin word meaning "wooly".  The petioles, newly emerging leaves and cones are all 'wooly'.  The leaves on this species emerge a pale green with a thick wool-like tomentum (plant hair).  They are a pale green when they first emerge.  As the leaves age, they transition to a powdery silver/white color.  The leaflets and petioles on this species are unarmed and are mildly pokey.  The leaflets are thin.  This species has to have soil that drains very well.  It also need to be in sun for coastal and inland areas.  If you plant it in the shade, it will slowly die.  For desert areas, sun is a possibility but you can grow them in partial sun to filtered light.  The second photo was ten in South Africa but an unknown a author who emailed it to me.  The burnt trunks are from a fire.

Regular price citrus pot size with 3 inch caudex $600
Sale price citrus pot with 3 inch caudex $460

ENCEPHALARTOS LAURENTIANUS
LONG LEAFED & LARGE CENTRAL AFRICAN GREEN CYCAD
INDIVIDUAL LEAVES UP TO 209 FEET LONG!
EXTREMELY RARE SPECIES - HARD TO FIND
   
This species is endemic to the Kasongo-Linda districts of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.  The climate is quite hot and humid.  This is one of the largest cycads on the planet, and has longer leaves than any other species of known cycad.  Leaves can grow in excess of seven meters and their fat stems can grow a staggering height of over fifteen meters (over hundreds of years).  Before this plant ever makes a foot of trunk, leaves will streak into the air, dwarfing much around them.  Old specimens can easily be mistaken for palms as they are so large and tropical looking!  In all areas, this species requites filtered light or shade.  In the tropics or exceptionally humid areas, you can get away with growing this species in sun.  It is not very frost tolerant (truly a tropical species of Encephalartos) but has seen temperatures of about 30 degrees at our nursery.  The specimen photo is c/o Tenerife Botanical Garden. 

Regular price 15 gallon with caudex 3.5 inches $700
Sale price 15 gallon this size $545

This medium sized, green leaf cycad comes from the Lebombo Mountains in the Republic of South Africa.  It has several habitat locations.  In more recent times, the species of E. senticosus was split from this complex.  E. lebomboensis has a trunk that is fairly narrow for its trunk height of ten to twelve feet. I call this a "medium" size because leaves are typically only four to six feet long with widths of about two feet.  Leaflets are a glossy green, not very long or wide and mildly armed.  In the average garden, don't expect more than four to six feet in your lifetime.  This is a full sun species and cold hardy to the low 20's F.

Regular price 2 gallon with caudex 2 inches $200
Sale price 2 gallon with caudex 2 inches $145

Regular price 15 gallon with 6 inch caudex $660
Sale price 15 gallon with 6 inch caudex $500

Regular price 25 gall male in cone with caudex 13.5 inches x 13.5 inches tall $2575
Sale price the above 15g coning cycad $1975

ENCEPHALARTOS MUNCHII 
UNIQUE SMALL TO MEDIUM SIZE CYCAD
UNIQUE CENTRAL AFRICAN HABITATS
BLUE FORM ON SPECIAL - CITRUS POT SIZE

 This species is native to Mount Zembe in western Mozambique.  There are also populations described in Zimbabwe.  This is a medium sized plant.  Leaves tend to be about two meters (or slightly longer) in length.  Stems are often stout and get about one meter in height.  This species (named after Raymond Munch - a prolific student and collector of this alliance) is within the "manikensis alliance" (a large alliance of closely related species which consists of 5+ species within Mozambique and Zimbabwe).  An interesting characteristic of this plant is that it is the only one of this alliance that can be blue!  Its color is quite variable in the plants can range from an olive green to a stunning blue color.  This species is armed, bearing spines one the leaflets and petioles.  E. munchii is a fast growing species, and can push up to twice in one season if the culture is ideal. In coastal and inland areas, this species is well adapted to full or partial sun areas.  In desert areas, this species would do better in partial sun or filtered light. 

ENCEPHALARTOS NATALENSIS
GREEN, MEDIUM SIZED SOUTH AFRICAN CYCAD
DURABLE AND FAST GROWING SPECIES

This versatile green cycad is a mainstay of every cycad collection.  There's not a cycad enthusiast who's not growing this species.  It is native to the Eastern Cape in South Africa.  There are quite a few sub-varieties – all a bit different.  So, when you see an Encephalartos natalensis in a garden, it may look a bit different than the next one you see.  Trunks get up to twenty feet in a century or two.  Leaves are five to eight feet long, straight or minimally arched, and more compact in bright sun.  Growth rate is medium to fast.  I'd consider this a medium to large species.  Cold tolerance is about 22 degrees F. 

Regular price citrus pot with 3 inch caudex $330
Sale price citrus pot with 3 inch caudex $255

Regulsar price 15 gallon with caudex 7 inches $840
Sale price 15 gallon with caudex 7 inches $635

Regular price coning sized 25 gallon caudex 11 inches wide and 9 inches tall $2150
Sale price this coning sized 25g as described here $1600

Regular price 24 in box 11 x 15 inches $2565
Sale price this 24 inch box with caudex 11 x 15 inches $1925

This species is from the Great Kei River, in the Eastern Cape of South Africa.  The mature leaf length on this species is a meter or less.  Stem heights in cultivation rarely exceed one to one and a half meters.  Though, plants in the wild can reach heights of five meters after many centuries.  This species can be solitary, but it is more common to see this species produce basal suckers to a greater or lesser extent.  One of the most striking characteristics of this plant is its lovely color (which can vary from a powdery silver to a turquoise blue).  This plant can be confused with E. lehmannii, but has a few differences.  The cones, stem size and angle of attachment are all different between these two species.  You can use these traits to help identify the difference.  This plant is it is an excellent grower, and is mostly unarmed.  The Female cones on this species are green and the male cones are a greenish/yellow and brown.  In coastal and inland areas, this species wants to be grown in sun.  For desert areas, I recommend partial sun or filtered light.  E. princeps needs a soil that is quick draining and does not like to stay excessively wet.  Note that enthusiasts always have to pay more for this sought after species.

This species is endemic to the Eastern Province of Kenya.  It grows in dense forest on rocky slopes and outcroppings.  This species makes a large plant.  Leaves are between one and a half to two meters in length, and stems are quite fat (getting around a meter in diameter) and over ten meters tall.  This species is large and showy, before you see any vertical stem, this plant will produce a large upright crown of leaves.  As it grows, E. tegulaneus almost looks like a palm tree (and has been mistaken form one - you will see why in the photos).  The leaflets are long and are a deep green.  The leaflets and petioles are armed and are sharp.  Female cones are an orange color and male cones are yellow.

This desirable cycad species first appeared on the market two to three decades ago.  At that time it was known as the "Uganda Giant" and an assortment of other common names.  This species was named after the famous cycad author Loran Whitelock.  It proved to be a quick growing species with very long, upright leaves.  Stems are very thick and can get up to almost fifteen feet tall over time.  Leaves are long - up to twelve to fourteen feet long.  They are green in color.  Leaflets are narrow and armed.  It is quick growing and will tolerate full sun along the coast.  But, I think they look best in part day sun.  If one lives far inland or in a desert area, try strong filtered light.  It has some trouble with dry Santa Ana winds.  Although most enthusiasts can grow it, because of its natural habitat in Central Africa, it is not as cold tolerant as species from colder South Africa.  Figure it'll take perhaps into the mid-twenties F. before showing cold burn.

This species is the largest of any Macrozamia and is from Queensland, Australia. Trunk height can get to twenty feet.  It has a fairly thick trunk to an 18 inch diameter or more.  Leaves are also keeled.  Leaf length can reach eight feet.  So, give it some room when planted.  A nice thing about this species is that it is fairly cold hardy for a cycad.  I've gotten reports that it's the easiest cycad to grow in the SF Bay area and can tolerate temperatures into the upper teens F. without protection.  It is a full sun species. 

Regular price boxed specimen 50 years old with 18 inch wide caudex $4800
Sale price this or similar boxed old plant $2800

Of the Macrozamias shown here, this is probably the smallest of the four.  Trunk heights are two feet to five feet.  Leaves are either flat or sometimes keeled and a gray green in color.  This species is native to the north-west part of Australia near or south of Perth.  Leaves are about five feet tall.  Cones are short.  This species likes full sun along the coast and is cold hardy to the low 20’s F.  

This is  small Mexican cycad with stems typically under one foot tall in size and green leaves about two to three feet long.  It usually holds about five or so leaves.  Leaflets are quite thin in texture and have soft spines on the margins.  Overall, this species has a "fern-like" appearance and most consider it a very "cute" cycad.  The names "vasquezii" replaced the more commonly known name of "fischeri" but most still refer to it by its prior name.  This is an excellent potted cycad and some have grown it inside.  In the garden, give it filtered light.  Cold tolerance is into the twenties F.  Cold weather can make it drop its leaves.  The plants on sale are in citrus pot with a 2.5 inch caudex.

Native to coastal regions of Columbia and Venezuela, this rare cycad is extremely hard to find.  The plants on ale are in a citrus pot with a caudex that is about three inches.  They are coning size.  Mature, stems only get to about 8 inches.  Leaves are three feet long with wide, exotic leaflets.  It wants filtered light and not to see temperatures below a freeze.  We only have a few plants left of this species.  

Regular price citrus pot with 2 inch caudex $375
Sales price citrus pot with 2 inch caudex $285

ZAMIA PICTA
AKA ZAMIA VARIEGATA
THE WORLD’S ONLY VARIEGATED CYCAD 
EXOTIC UNDERSTORY CYCAD WITH SPLOTCHES OF YELLOW ON LEAVES

This exotic cycad is known as the only variegated cycad in the world.  It is native to various countries in Central America where it is found on the rainforest floor.  It is not particularly a dwarf species as it can develop trunk height and have leaves up to three feet long or more.  In habitat, a healthy plant could be over six feet tall.  Leaflets are about four to six inches long with serrated edges.  But, the hallmark is the variegation.  It has yellow splotches or streaks on a dark green background.  Leaflets come to a point.  These traits are seen well in the second picture.  Note that the degree of variegation is variable as shown.  This is a filtered light species with a cold hardiness into the mid-twenties F.

Regular price citrus pot with 3.5 inch caudex $650
Sale price this size citrus pot $495