How to sow sago palm seeds? Detailed sowing methods and precautions
The sago palm is actually what we commonly call the iron tree; it got its name because its wood is so dense that it sinks when placed in water. The sago palm is a fairly common and very graceful ornamental tree species, so the editor will introduce the sowing methods and precautions for the sago palm.
Sago palm
1. Seed treatment before sowing. After harvesting the seeds in late autumn, first store them in a refrigerator or freezer at -20°C or subject them to sand storage treatment, then direct sow in the open field or raise seedlings in a hotbed between March and April in spring. The sago palm has hard-shelled seeds that do not easily allow air or water through, so before sowing you must use pruning shears to cut off the cortex at the tip of the seed to expose the kernel (see the image on the right), and then sow; this can promote earlier germination.
2. Soil for sowing. Sandy soil has poor water retention; heavy clay soil is not suitable for sowing, as the soil becomes too wet when there is a lot of water and hard and dry when there is little. The ideal soil is a mixed soil of half fine sand and half peat soil.
3. Sowing method. For direct sowing in the open field, dibbling can be used, with a burial depth of 2 times the seed, not too deep or too shallow. For indoor pot sowing, the pot soil should be pressed flat, and after placing the seeds and covering with soil, soak the pot, then take it out once the surface soil is fully moistened and place it in a warm, sunny spot; cover the pot with a piece of glass to maintain relatively high temperature and humidity. Generally, rooting and germination begin about 40 days after sowing.
4. Management after sowing. After sowing, keep the soil fully moist, but not waterlogged; in the early stage after sowing, it is best to water with a fine-holed watering can. After the seeds germinate, remove the covering to allow full absorption of light.
5. Potting and transplanting. When the seedling roots change from white to yellow-brown, begin potting and transplanting. The pot soil should be loose and porous, usually prepared by mixing 2 parts peat soil with 1 part fine sand. In the early stage, 3 seedlings can be transplanted per pot, and after one year they can be transplanted individually. The sago palm likes acidic fertilizer and water; during the growth period, apply once every half month a fermented alum fertilizer water (add 0.2% ferrous sulfate to the fertilizer water), which can promote robust plant growth.
Sago palm cultivation methods and precautions
Chinese scientific name: Sago palmLatin scientific name: Cycas revoluta Thunb.Other names: iron tree, phoenix-tail iron, phoenix-tail banana, phoenix-tail pineBinomial name: Cycas revolutaKingdom: PlantaeDivision: GymnospermaeClass: CycadopsidaOrder: CycadalesFamily: CycadaceaeGenus: CycasSpecies: Cycas revolutaDistribution area: China, Japan, the Philippines and IndonesiaSago palm. Common name: iron tree; other names: fire-warding banana, phoenix-tail banana, phoenix-tail pine, phoenix-tail grass; Latin name: Cycas revoluta Thunb. Cycadaceae, Cycas genus. One explanation is that it got its name because its wood is so dense that it sinks immediately in water, heavy like iron; another explanation is that it needs a large amount of iron elements for growth, hence the name. Also known as phoenix-tail banana, fire-avoiding banana, phoenix-tail pine; it is mostly planted in the south, and is now widely distributed in countries such as China, Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia. The sago palm is most famous for its flowering, which is called "the iron tree blooms." The sago palm is a graceful ornamental tree species and is extremely commonly cultivated; the stem contains starch and can be eaten; the seeds contain oil and abundant starch and are slightly toxic, and are used for food and medicine, with effects of treating dysentery, relieving cough and stopping bleeding.1. Morphological characteristics
The trunk is about 2 m tall, rarely up to 8 m or taller, cylindrical, with obvious spirally arranged rhombic leaf-base remnants. Pinnate leaves emerge from the top of the stem; the lower ones bend downward and the upper ones extend obliquely upward, and the outline of the entire pinnate leaf is obovate narrowly lanceolate, 75-200 cm long; the cross-section of the leaf rachis is quadrangular-rounded, the petiole is slightly quadrangular, with tooth-like spines on both sides, extending horizontally or slightly obliquely upward, the spines 2-3 mm long; pinnate leaflets number more than 100 pairs, linear, thickly leathery, hard, 9-18 cm long, 4-6 mm wide, extending obliquely upward and slightly forming a "V" shape, the margins conspicuously revolute downward, the upper part gradually narrowing, the apex with a spine-like tip, the base narrow and asymmetrical on both sides, the lower side decurrent, the upper surface dark green and glossy, slightly concave in the center, with a slightly raised midrib in the groove, the lower surface light green, the midrib conspicuously raised, with sparse soft hairs or hairless on both sides.Male strobilus cylindrical, 30-70 cm long, 8-15 cm in diameter, with a short stalk; microsporophylls narrowly cuneate, 3.5-6 cm long, the apex broad and flat, its two corners nearly rounded, 1.7-2.5 cm wide, with an acute tip about 5 mm long, upright, the lower part gradually narrowing, the upper surface nearly keeled, the lower surface with dense yellow-brown or grayish-yellow long tomentum on the midrib and apex; anthers usually 3 clustered together; megasporophylls 14-22 cm long, densely covered with pale yellow or pale grayish-yellow tomentum, the upper top plate ovate to long ovate, the margin pinnately divided, the lobes 12-18 pairs, linear-subulate, 2.5-6 cm long, the apex with a spine-like tip; ovules 2-6, borne on both sides of the megasporophyll stalk, tomentose.
Seeds red-brown or orange-red, obovate or ovate, slightly flattened, 2-4 cm long, 1.5-3 cm in diameter, densely covered with grayish-yellow short tomentum that gradually falls off later, the middle seed coat woody, with two ridge lines on both sides, the upper end without a ridge or with an inconspicuous ridge, the apex with a pointed tip. Flowering period June-August, seeds mature in October.
2. Growth habits
The sago palm likes a warm, hot and humid environment, is not cold-tolerant, grows very slowly, and has a lifespan of about 200 years. In the tropics of southern China and the southern subtropics, trees over 10 years old almost flower and set seed every year, while sago palms cultivated in the Yangtze River basin and various northern regions often never flower in their lifetime, or occasionally flower and set seed.
Cultivation methods and precautions for Cycas rumphii
Chinese scientific name: Cycas rumphiiLatin scientific name: Cycas rumphii Miq.Other names: spiny-leaf cycad, dragon-tail cycadKingdom: PlantaeDivision: GymnospermaeClass: CycadopsidaOrder: CycadalesFamily: CycadaceaeGenus: CycasSpecies: Cycas rumphiiDistribution area: southern Asia to northern OceaniaCycas rumphii (Latin scientific name: Cycas rumphii Miq.), also known as spiny-leaf cycad and dragon-tail cycad. It is cultivated in various parts of southern China. It is produced in Indonesia, northern Australia, Vietnam, Myanmar, India and Madagascar in Africa. The type specimen was collected from Indonesia. It is an evergreen tree. It likes strong light and prefers warm, dry and well-ventilated places. It is propagated by sowing or tillering. It can be used medicinally. It is for ornamental use, the young leaves are edible, and the pith contains starch, which is edible.1. Morphological characteristics
Trunk cylindrical, 4-8 m tall, rarely up to 15 m, with remnant leaf bases on the upper part, branched or unbranched. Pinnate leaves 1-2 m long; the cross-section of the leaf rachis nearly circular or triangular-rounded; the petiole 10-15 cm long or longer, often with three blunt edges, with short spines on both sides, the distance between spines 1.5-2 cm, rarely without spines; pinnate leaflets 50-80 pairs arranged in two rows, long lanceolate-linear or linear, slightly curved or straight, leathery, green, glossy, the midrib slightly concave on both surfaces, the apex gradually long-acuminate, the margin flat or slightly recurved, rarely slightly wavy, the base asymmetrical, the upper side abruptly narrow, the lower side relatively wide or slightly narrow, decurrent; the pinnate leaflets in the middle of the rachis 15-30 cm long, 10-15 mm wide. Male strobilus with a short stalk, elliptic-oblong, 12-25 cm long, 5-7 cm in diameter; microsporophylls cuneate, 2.5-5 cm long, the top truncate, densely covered with red or brown-red tomentum, slightly recurved or not recurved, with a curved blunt tip; anthers 2-5 clustered together; megasporophylls 20-35 cm long, initially tomentose, later gradually glabrous, the lower stalk long, often four-angled, with 1-3 (mostly 2-3) ovules on each side of the upper part, rarely 4-8 ovules, the ovules nearly smooth, half sunken in pits when young; the upper top plate narrowly spatulate or lanceolate, the apex with a subulate tip, both margins with several fine short lobed teeth. Seeds flat-round or ovate, sometimes slightly concave at the apex, with a slight central protrusion, 3-4.5 cm in diameter, the middle seed coat woody, with two ridge lines. Flowering period May-June, seeds mature in October.2. Growth habits
It likes strong light and prefers warm, dry and well-ventilated places. It is not cold-tolerant and grows slowly. The soil should preferably be fertile, slightly acidic sandy soil.3. Geographical distribution
It is cultivated in various parts of southern China. It is produced in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan and southern Yunnan. Abroad, it is distributed in Indonesia, northern Australia, Vietnam, Myanmar, India and Madagascar in Africa. The type specimen was collected from Indonesia.4. Propagation and cultivation
Propagated by sowing or tillering. For the sowing method, collect and store seeds in late autumn, and dibble sparsely in spring. Cover with deep soil; at a high temperature of 30-33°C, they germinate in 2 weeks. After 2-3 years of cultivation, transplanting can be carried out. For the tillering method, carry out after growth stops in winter, cut off small offshoots from the root crown and cultivate them. If the offshoots do not easily sprout, cover them with a flower pot to keep them out of sunlight, and gradually expose them to light after the leaves emerge. The burying-cutting method is to cut the sago palm trunk into thick slices 10-15 cm thick and bury them in sandy loam; once new shoots emerge around them, they can be separately planted. With this method, be careful not to water heavily, otherwise they easily rot.