Help! My cycad is dying!

[Cynthia]

I re-potted a Revoluta Cycad two weeks ago and it is losing it's colour
fast! It was the healthiest specimen in the garden centre, growing in full
sun among other plants and now it's looking sick.

I now think that I may have been over watering it a little. It's at a north
& west facing position in full sun on a paved terrace and over the last two
weeks it has been *very* hot and windy out there. I was watering the plant
every three days and over the New Year, I didn't water it at all on the two
very hot days we had down here in Sydney. the temperature was up in the
40's. When I next looked at it on the 2nd Jan, it looked drastically
different. The leaves looked much lighter, as though they were slowly
turning yellow, and the stems of the plant are definitely going towards
yellow.

I panicked and immediately watered the plant as I thought that the hot
weather had done it some damage. Since then we've had rain every day and if
I've been over watering the plant, there's no chance of it drying out for
the next week as we have rain forecast.

I checked with the garden centre who sold it to us and they reckon that the
peat we have used to replant it with is fine, but they are unsure as to why
it has become yellow so soon.

Is it too late for me to save it? It would be such a waste if it dies. It
puts me off trying another one so soon as it wasn't cheap.


Cynthia.

[A&G&K&H]

"Cynthia" > wrote in message
u...
> I re-potted a Revoluta Cycad two weeks ago and it is losing it's colour
> fast! It was the healthiest specimen in the garden centre, growing in full
> sun among other plants and now it's looking sick.
>
> I now think that I may have been over watering it a little. It's at a
north
> & west facing position in full sun on a paved terrace and over the last
two
> weeks it has been *very* hot and windy out there. I was watering the plant
> every three days and over the New Year, I didn't water it at all on the
two
> very hot days we had down here in Sydney. the temperature was up in the
> 40's. When I next looked at it on the 2nd Jan, it looked drastically
> different. The leaves looked much lighter, as though they were slowly
> turning yellow, and the stems of the plant are definitely going towards
> yellow.
>
> I panicked and immediately watered the plant as I thought that the hot
> weather had done it some damage. Since then we've had rain every day and
if
> I've been over watering the plant, there's no chance of it drying out for
> the next week as we have rain forecast.
>
> I checked with the garden centre who sold it to us and they reckon that
the
> peat we have used to replant it with is fine, but they are unsure as to
why
> it has become yellow so soon.
>
> Is it too late for me to save it? It would be such a waste if it dies. It
> puts me off trying another one so soon as it wasn't cheap.
>
>
> Cynthia.
Don't panic!!!!!!
Its OK. Its prolly not dead, just in survival mode which is something
cycads are very good at.

Now is it in the garden or in a pot? ... it'll do best in a well-drained
garden spot so now's the time to put it where you want it as they don't like
being moved.
Just make sure the soil is moist for the next little while but don't
overwater.
You'll have to wait for a while as it looks dead for the next few months or
even up to spring, but I reckon you'll notice a new whorl of leaves appear
eventually.

We transplanted a reasonably large one last year and also its 3 pups to
where we wanted them in the garden as opposed to the bizarre and
disorganised planting style of the house's original occupant. The large
cycad immediately went into the death throes of turning yellow and looking
dead for a few months ...before a lush new whorl of leaves appeared. It has
since had a second whorl appear in spring which is decidedly healthier than
the first.
Of the pups, 2 had leaves on them and one was just the base bit. The leafy
pair of pups put out a couple of new leaves within 2 months (the original
leaves died) and the other one took almost a year to show signs of life, but
its now the healthiest of the pups.

Just be patient .... it will take a while, and you'll think its dead but
just leave it be for a while and I hope it recovers.
Cheers
Amanda

>
>

[Cynthia]

Thanks Amanda. You've put my mind at rest for now. I've read about the new
leaves springing up and it's good to hear from someone with direct
experience. I'm not used to plants which require a lot of patience and I get
itchy feet for results. I'll let it rest as you suggest.

We've had rain on and off for the past week, so I've avoided watering the
plant and the reading from the moisture reader which I bought a week ago has
always suggested that the plant has plenty of moisture in it.

There is a pup on our cycad too, do you suppose it's better to leave it for
now? I don't know how big they can be left to grow before you have take them
off. Ours is about an inch and a half tall.

Cynthia :-)

[Cynthia]

The plant is currently in a 45cm square terrazzo pot and we transferred it
from a 30cm H x 20cm diameter terracotta pot. It's in full sun and wind.

Sorry I was so late to reply Amanda, I had a very busy week.


Cynthia.

[A&G&K&H]

"Cynthia" > wrote in message
...
> Thanks Amanda. You've put my mind at rest for now. I've read about the new
> leaves springing up and it's good to hear from someone with direct
> experience. I'm not used to plants which require a lot of patience and I
get
> itchy feet for results. I'll let it rest as you suggest.
>
I hope it does come around, as I say, we got 4/4 when we transplanted ours
but we had to wait a while.

> We've had rain on and off for the past week, so I've avoided watering the
> plant and the reading from the moisture reader which I bought a week ago
has
> always suggested that the plant has plenty of moisture in it.
Moisture yes, soggy feet, no....
>
> There is a pup on our cycad too, do you suppose it's better to leave it
for
> now? I don't know how big they can be left to grow before you have take
them
> off. Ours is about an inch and a half tall.

Leave it for now I think.
>
> Cynthia :-)
>
>
>

[A&G&K&H]

"Cynthia" > wrote in message
u...
> The plant is currently in a 45cm square terrazzo pot and we transferred it
> from a 30cm H x 20cm diameter terracotta pot. It's in full sun and wind.

Don't have much experience with them in pots - I just know they don't like
being moved much.
>
> Sorry I was so late to reply Amanda, I had a very busy week.

That's OK - I was more worried that you'd miss my reply and turf the thing
when it really might be OK in a few months.
A

[Cynthia]

On close inspection of the stem of the cycad, I noticed that there are
hundreds of minute orange bugs going about their business. I was wondering
if you got the same thing on your plants. They might be living on the dead
material on the outside of the plant, but it's all new to me.

The garden centre recommended Seasol to boost the plant's health, so I'm
going to put just a bit of it (diluted of course) onto the soil where I know
the roots are - in an attempt to avoid soaking the rest of the pot.

Cynthia.