Is it in a pot or in the ground?

Sagos tend to grow in annual spurts. A good number of the growers on this forum either grow these outside (where hardy) to put them out seasonally (mine for example are out from early March until some time in December). The outdoor triggers are easy (heat plus sun and a bit of fertilizer). Cycas revoluta (Sago palm) is not the easiest cycad if you are going to grow it as 100% indoor plant.--Sagos really enjoy life outdoors (even if only seasonal). Good luck!

Not sure where your located but the best time to encourage growth would be late May when it is warm outside,so I guess you would need to put them outside.
(-;
I have made mine flush by putting lawn fertilizer on it,usually works in less than a week.
In the link I say to be careful with the lawn-fert but the next year I bombed it like 3-4 times with it(flush or die!),it flushed,Sagos are pretty tough!
Here is a thread I posted on it back in the day(-:

Here is a link that might be useful: Sago flushing

Lawn fertilizer... Good Idea jim. Thats really high in nitrogen and must work really well as a last resort for growth. I wonder how good it is for normal heathy palms?

butiaman: It is in the pot.

njoasis: Thanks for the suggestions, I have placed it outdoors. Anything else I should do?

butiaman: Thanks, some great tips. That was helpful.

jimhardy: Thank you for that helpful thread. Your sago look cool in the pictures.

Your very welcome!

Lawn fertilizer is really not the best choice,I was bullying my Sago because it was LAZY-haha,just kidding I love my Sago-especially now that it is growing.
I will post a pic of it this summer when it flushes again-bully,bully!
Something like Carl Pools that has all the minors and the RIGHT ratio of NPK would be better.

Also,20-20-20 or something close to that
(tomato fertilizer)really gets them going,they really don't need all the P but.....my palms respond well to(K) potassium.

Gardener, as long as your Sago gets lots of sun, fresh air, adequate but not excessive moisture and fertilizer, it will grow. As I said they grow in spurts. So a plant that essentially looks the same for months will suddenly put out up to dozens of new leaves. When it does begin to flush, make sure you do not damage the newly emerging fronds. When they are emerging they are very delicate and easily injured. After a few short weeks those delicate fronds become virtually indestructible. Cycads are not plants that can be rushed. They have been around forever and will be around when we all are dust. Why would any plant be in a hurry when it intends to be around for up to a 1000 years.

Where I live they don't even need full sun, they do quite well in the shade of pines and live oaks.

They are more closeley related to pines than palms.Thats why they are cone bareing plants.If you have ever seen a big male plants cone,it's impressive to see In person.I've only seen one in person in my life.Does anybody know how to tell a male from a female plant,before they start a cone or in the case of a seed sack on a female plant?Why I ask is I have two 15gal.plants and I cant tell any difference so far.One does have pups growing around it,but the other has none around it,they are both the same size,and the same age.They are both cycas revolutas also.

Most Cycads are highly dependent on building up enough carb reserves in the caudex for a flush of leaves. Each species has an undefined threshold level that must be reached, along with the right temperatures and light, etc, before a leaf flush is initiated.

A high Nitrogen boost seems to be highly effective for this. Many species have nitrogen-fixing root nodules which gives us a clue: they need nitrogen, which is lacking in habitat. Artificially boosting N can trigger new growth quickly.

Lawn fertilizers tend to be high in N, so they work nicely. Just remember that the goal is a boost in nutrition for several weeks duration. Long-term all cycads must have a well-balanced fertilizer with all the micro-nutrients, especially Mn and Mg.

Another technique for quick growth is to cut off all the leaves. The plant needs leaves for photosynthesis so a new set can be formed prematurely if the old ones are removed. The new leaves however may be smaller and fewer in number than expected. This technique is used to speed up stem elongation. With each flush there is also cataphyll expansion and extension, which may be desirable for a grower looking for quicker gains in height.

What I do is wait until the weather is consistently warm and then I apply a well balanced fertilizer. After a few weeks, assuming the root tips are now active, I supplement one time with a granular, quick release lawn fertilizer and also a weekly drench with Miracle-Gro liquid lawn fertilizer for about 3-4 weeks +/-. As soon as I see signs of a flush - older leaves bending down, the growth point expanding - I stop with the liquid N and rely on the long-term granular fertilizer for the remainder of the growing season.

If all goes well, you can pretty much be guaranteed a nice new set of leaves about a month later or sooner. The only time this hasn't worked for me is for a recently transplanted Cycad. These tend to sit around for up to a year with no new growth.

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What kind of granular lawn fert do you use? I assume you can apply the same fert to sagos, zamia, and encephalartos...?

Thanks.

T

I can't think of which one of the top of my head, I think it's one of the Scott's brands. I know for sure it only has N-P-K with N around 25 or so. It is quick acting and has no herbicides or fungicides.

N is found as urea or ammonia. By mixing granular and liquid feed, the plant can take advantage of the good qualities of both. Also make sure to water thoroughly to wash out the salts, etc.

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Xero
Makes sense-I tried this because mine hadn't grown in 2 years.
One thing that was probably contributing to this was that I didn't give it much direct light during winter,probably depleted it's carb reserves over the winter-

If you can keep your cycads cold and dry enough during the winter they enter dormancy and metabolic activity slows down significantly, thereby maintaining rather than depleting starch reserves.

If it is too warm during the winter but there is inadequate water and/ or light you will see older leaves lose their coloration. What is happening is the plant is pulling nutrients out of the older leaves and shunting them towards new growth. Old leaves are "disposable". If you cut them off completely, a new set soon forms because photosynthesis is obviously critical, but depending on how much energy is stored, the new leaves won't be a full set.

One of the great things about Cycads is that their growth patterns are very predictable and can be manipulated for a variety of purposes.

x

Very interesting. I was wondering if I should be fertilizing my cycads. So far, only one has put up a frond. The rest are just chilling out. Probably literally, too. The one that sent the frond out is closest to the heater. I think I should wait to fertilize though - it's too cold for them to go outside and I've got too many to drag in and out every day.

Sago palms (Cycas revoluta) and cycads in general are slow-growing but grow in spurts. They grow new leaves in "flushes" that emerge and expand, all at once, and quite rapidly and can have one, two, or maybe more flushes per growing season (and occasionally none). I grow mine in pots and get one, sometimes two flushes a year. I've heard that using a high-nitrogen fertilizer will encourage flushing but since mine are in pots (and slowly but steadily outgrowing their allotted space!) I'm not trying to make mine grow fast so I don't fertilize heavily.

I've been reading more about cycads.I read where they can pull nitrogen out of the air.Has anybody read about this?

Cycads will develop root nodules on the surface roots which contain Nitrogen-fixing bacteria. These modified roots are short, thick and bumpy. It is a symbiotic relationship, also seen with Legumes.

It probably accounts for a minor portion of Nitrogen intake. Fertilizing your plant should maximize a Cycad's growth potential, all else being equal.

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I have a potted indoor sago palm its in an east/south window I have noticed a flush of leaves but there is only one leaf coming out of the top of the crown i fertilized it will slow release fertilizer at the beginning of the growing season and again this month I water it when the soil is dry what do you think is causing this? can anyone help!

I have a potted indoor sago palm its in an east/south window I have noticed a flush of leaves but there is only one leaf coming out of the top of the crown i fertilized it will slow release fertilizer at the beginning of the growing season and again this month I water it when the soil is dry what do you think is causing this? can anyone help!

How big of a plant is it?
When they are small they only
flush a few at a time
until the Caudex gets bigger.

the trunk measures 2ft wide give or take this is the first time i'v seen new growth ever on this plant

Any pics???
Can you take/post one?

The trunk of the Sago is two feet wide and you have it on an indoor 'window sill?!

yeah it gets less than an hour of direct sunlight but bright light the rest of the day. The new growth ( Single frond dosn't seem to be streching so i guess its getting enough light and i don't let the soil dry out at this time of growth.

This is a first BTW. Actually, my wife is telling me this plant actually had a male cone two years ago. Is it possible it's changed?

Yes, it is now known that cycads are not genetically male or female, but express their sex and can change if given the correct amount if stress at the exact perfect time.

Hi Mario, I'm worried about one of my sego palms. I googled "sego palm not blooming" and saw the pic you posted with your palm that has new growth. Sans the new growth, that's what the center of my palm has looked like for a few months and it seems stagnant. How long did it take your palm to establish the new growth?

I have a question about my sago Palm, will someone please tell what I should do next in her current situation???

Has anyone seen new growth like this - almost 3 times larger than the old fronds? It was outside last summer and fall. I was ready to put it out again in May, but noticed new growth so decided to wait a few weeks. It just kept growing and growing, and I didn't add fertilizer or anything to stimulate growth.

I'd say not enough light when pushing new growth.