SagoLover, photos are: E horridus, E horridus, C rumphii, C revoluta, M moorei, E horridus, E altensteinii, E longifolius (?), E altensteinii, E arenarius Re: rotting cycad, my optimism has turned into pessimism. There is lots more rot down the side. Heat is a double edged sword - it's good for plants, but also good for fungus. I will scoop out more rot, remove the entire caudex with it's fleshy tubers, and will repot into a smaller container filled with pure perlite. I have read about an E whitelockii rotting all the way down to the roots and the plant was similarly treated, then 4 years later it sent out some new growth. You never know. I will likely replace this plant with a new one. Moral of the story: inspect your plants carefully if they are sitting dormant somewhere. x

Thanks PJ. This year the exotic- for- us- palms,are showing up at the chain nursery's again. I hope to see more of these palms one day.

That heat is what Cycads love. I'm sure the very long and hot summer builds up reserves to handle the winter cold. I would even bet that a very cold winter that does kill Cycad fronds?..only gets the plant to flush new fronds even sooner.

Coonties burn their foliage at about 18 degrees. The stems survive because they are underground, or under mulch for cover. If a stem is exposed during a freeze that is 16 or lower, the top can rot right off. It actually usually comes back over time, but that's a good 5 years or more. Most Caribbean and Mexican Zamias have contractile roots. That means they pull themselves down naturally. If you are planting in pure sand, it won't hurt to put the apex at or just below ground level. If you are in a wet, highly organic area, I'd keep it above. I've used coonties in about 600 landscapes and never had a problem with mulch, but I only used pine bark mulch when the homeowner insisted.