Cycads of South Africa

[nan]

Eugène was my Dad's name... sure it will germinate... with succes

[Sharifa]

Thank you nan Now I have hope

[dup]

.[/quote]

Did you germinate the seeds Dup?
I am trying for the first time with the eugene maraisii and it is a long process but hopefully I succeed. I am trying to get as much info as I can.[/quote]

Hi Sharifa,
I will try to explain how I did it,during the weekend .I think for once I listen very careful and the person who explain did a good job. I germinate 35 seeds out of 60 more or less 50%.

[nan]

50 %... is good

[dup]

OK this is what I did with the Lebombohensis seeds,
-I leave the seeds on the mother plant until they fall off on their own, this I always did with any seeds that's been harvest.
-I leave the seeds for a few months in a open box to dry , 2-3 months.
- Without worry too much about the time off the year I plant them in a seed tray. Now this tray was just a square wooden box in my garden(sun and shade), without a bottom and with a sand 30% /good garden soil 70%(not compost) mixture.
- The seeds was planted with the soil mixture just cover the seeds 5 mm .Some seeds was even expose after it germinated.
- Water was given only once a week or only rain water, the seeds definitely was only just kept from drying out.I believe that we sometimes give our garden plants too much water.Enough water vs too much water.
- Next was the difficult part ; keep ants away from your seeds and have patients.After about 6 months I suddenly saw the first leave to appear.
- luckily my seed tray have no bottom because the pen root was already 100mm down when the leaves appear. Remember when you replant them to dig deep and us "big/deep" enough pots.
- I replant after 3-4 months when they have 2 leaves. It is 8 months later and they still have 2 leaves. Some gardener's boost their plants but I'am not keen on that , I will give the bigger plants some organic leave feeding.
If you asked me how to guarantee success ; it is easy.... luck and love.
Good luck!!!

[dup]

50 %... is good

Thanks nan I think it was beginners luck, friends of mine promise me some seeds so I will try again.

[Sharifa]

Thanks Dup
That makes a lot of sense to me 50% is very good for cycads
I am told I will be very lucky to get a few to germinate out of 170 seeds.
I am a lazy gardener, I like planting things and then want nature to take over after the initial nurturing. The plant must then grow with just a little help from me but this time I am being very vigilant.

[Sharifa]

E.arenarius

This cycad species is endemic to South Africa. These plants grow in a small, limited area near Alexandria in the Eastern Cape Province, where they grow on stabilized sand dunes. These plants will do well in full sun or semi shade. There is also a very rare "blue" form that is virtually extinct in nature, that should be grown in full sun.



"E.arenarius stems may be up to 1m tall, but in its habitat the lower part of the stem is usually covered by sand and leaf mold. Smaller plants often appear to have subterranean stems for this reason. The diameter of the stem is 20cm to 30cm but it may be wider at the base. The crown of the stem is covered with light-brown hair, especially before new leaves are formed. Single stems occur, but plants are more usually branched from the base to form clumps with stems of varying height. Taller stems usually lean over to one side.

The attractive leaves of E.arenarius may be 1m to 1.5m long, including a leaf stalk of 15cm to 20cm long. The rachis is recurved at the tip and the leaves are light green when they are young with a slight bloom. Older leaves become darker green in colour and the bloom disappears. In a few, probably dryer, localities a bluish-green form occurs.



The pinnae at the middle of the leaf are 12cm to 16cm long and 2,5cm to 4cm broad. The leaflets have three or four lobes on the lower margin. The upper margin is usually smooth, but may occasionally have one tooth. The lobes are in the same plane as the leaflet or slightly twisted. The lower leaflets have only one or two lobes and are reduced in size to an occasional single prickle. Seedling leaves have three lobes at the tip, with or without a tooth on the upper margin and one or two teeth or lobes or the lower margin. The leaflets overlap in the top part where they are attached to the rachis in the form of a "V". Lower down they are more widely spaced and more spreading.



Single cones are formed. Mature cones are light green in colour and are borne on a short thick peduncle, 4cm to 8cm long. The male cone is 30cm to 50cm long and 8cm to 15cm in diameter. The scales at the middle of the cone are approximately 3.5cm long and 2.5cm wide. The beak of the scale protrudes approximately 1cm.

Male cone



The female cone is barrel-shaped, 35cm to 60cm long and 20cm to 30cm in diameter. The scales at the middle of the cone are approximately 7cm long, 5cm broad and 4cm high. The face of the scale is usually four-sided with a slightly wrinkled surface and a beak which protrudes approximately 2cm. The female cone is often pushed down to an almost horizontal position by the formation of new leaves. The sarcotesta is red and shiny and seeds are approximately 5cm long and 2,5cm wide, with a fleshy beak.

Female cone



E.arenarius was once fairly numerous in its habitat area. It was threatened even before it was described as a species, however. When Dr Dyer visited the area in 1954, he was told by local farmers that "a large number had been removed for cultivation within recent times". (Dyer, R.A. : "A new cycad from the Cape Province".) Numerous plants were also removed to make way for farming activities, especially the establishment of pastures for dairy herds.

The accessibility of the habitat and the relative ease with which plants can be removed from the sandy soil, have made E.arenarius an easy target for destructive collectors. Truckloads of plants were illegally removed with the result that E.arenarius has now become fairly rare in nature."

@ Lisbeth - this one is easy to recognise. It has blue leaves if it is grown in full sun and green leaves if grown in the shade, though you can't really notice the blueish colour in the photos.

[Lisbeth]

This one is beautiful and as you say, different ...........but I suspect that it pricks

[Sharifa]

They all do Lisbeth and badly