This has been a fascinating post for me as a biologist. I have so much trouble buying plants because I want to just go by Genus species name, but I can hardly ever find a good label that has that on it. Also lots of confusion with the way the cultivars are named. It drives me nuts and I can see how it would drive a casual gardener even more nuts. There's a lot of variables to buying good plants. How and where they were grown, were they shipped, how, where, what's the soil been like for them, how were they transplanted, how were they cared for, how were they bred. You can run into trouble in any number of areas--or not. For example, right now I have some type of horrible wilt that I think came into my garden last year from tomato plants I got at Home Depot. Meanwhile, I have a japanese maple I got MAIL ORDER from a reputable nursery recommended to me on GW japanes maple forum, it came in a cardboard box, looked like a stick version of Charlie Brown's Christmas tree, I planted it late over Thanksgiving weekend during an extended fall season that year, but had zero expectations for it. And yet is is growing like gangbusters, which I attribute to good breeding!! On the other hand, I have bought scraggly looking somewhat pot bound (not to the extreme) versions of what I know to be hardy plants at K-Mart and they are doing fine. You have to know what you are doing--what is hardy, what is not, what is a good price and what is not. I once bought a whole flat of scraggly looking basil and a closeout sale at a nursery for 3.50, I figured if any of them lived it would be fine. Almost all did, since they were small and basil is an hardy annual that can recover. On the other hand, some of my local nurseries get their shrubs all hopped up on fertilizer and when you buy them and install them they soon poop out--a lot of nitrogen means lush leaf growth but weak overall structure. And sometimes all it takes is one stoned high school summer assistant to totally screw up a local nursery if they're not careful. Still, IMHO, if you can find a local nursery where they really love plants and take pride in what they do, you will not be sorry. Somehow, Monrovia just does not cut the mustard with me, marketing hype rarely means real quality, because producers of real quality do not need to advertise, they get their business by word of mouth. As for the big boxes, I have gotten some good deals there, but I am getting kinda wary, espcially after my wilt experience with HD. Pots of tomatoe seedlings seemed like a no brainer at the time. I have no absolute proof they vectored the wilt, they are just the most likely suspects since they all had it last year and the wilt spread to that area of the garden.

shrublover, thanks for reviving this topic! I didn't knew there was such topic, so after almost a year it's time to introduce myself too. :) My name is Alexander, I'm currently 19 years old and I'm from Belgium, somewhere near Antwerp. My nickname (a giant sea reptile which is extincted for 155 million yrs or so) may seem weird for use on a gardening forum, but it's a relict of me watching "Walking with Dinosaurs" more than ten years ago; and now I got quite used to it. And best of all: that nickname seems to be always available! ;) I started liking conifers as a small boy when walking through spruce forests in Wallonia and Germany. Since a few years, that "liking" developed itself into a fascination; beginning with mostly spruces and firs, and now for all conifers, especially the Pinaceae. Living in one of the most densely populated regions in one of the most densely populated countries in one of the most densely populated parts of the world, I sadly lack space to plant all trees I would like to plant. Driven by the eagerness to still have as many as possible I'm currently exploring the world of the dwarf conifers. I'm also occupying myself (in a very amateuristic manner I must confess) with growing conifers from seeds extracted from cones I found in the wild. Disadvantage is that all those species are regular forest species, and thus will get too big too soon, so I'll have to find a way to get rid of most (give them away, plant them somewhere where I'm allowed to), but that's one of the things you don't think about when having fun! :)

Why does this whole thing with Tom & Bob keep coming up? I have bought stuff from both of them and am glad that the world has both of them. Tom posts on several web sites and always has (free) advice & experiences to share. He is never arrogant or disrespectful - always gracious and helpful. As an amateur cycad enthusiast, I have a tremendous amount of respect for the research he has done (and information published). While some of us may get tired of seeing the 10,000 questions asked about 'sago palms', Tom graciously tries to help and answer questions such as the one posed in this thread (and make a point in his crusade against CAS). Thanks Tom. Anyone interested in buying cycads & not sure who to trust on the internet can rest assured that he's the real deal. I have no problem with people posting links to their businesses as long as they are legit & offer a relevant service to those who are viewing the thread. If he were posting links to V I A G R A or some other BS, then it would be unwelcome and he should be rightly shot or hanged. Bob is also a nice guy whom I have bought a few plants from. Always helpful, always throws in and extra plant or seeds or whatever. His web site is not as informative as Tom's, but he knows his dioons & ceratozamias better than I ever will. Another trustworthy source. BTW - Chip, the sago looks great. You have a nice plant. After it flushes, be prepared for nothing to happen for another year (unless you fertilize regularly & have warm weather). As long as it's green (not brown, yellow or covered with white crud), it's healthy. Cheers & Happy New Year!

Well the first thing is that is a Cycad. They are often confused with palms; however, they are much closer related to pine trees than to palm trees! Coconut palms are what give you coconuts. Cycads are ornamentals. I don't know any that are really used as a significant source of food, although there are 1000's of species so it's possible some are somewhat edible. You have a Cycas revoluta which is a really common one. They are very low maintenance plants in the landscape, but they require a lot of light for the fronds to grow normally. The reason why yours is looking so "weird" is because the new fronds did not develop properly because of the lack of light. I've personally never had luck with cycads indoors. Mine always flushed before I took them outside for the summer which meant I get stuck with the same disfigured fronds yours have. I've actually had more luck growing coconut palms indoors than cycads (I take my coconut palms outdoors during the summer and unfortunately they will never fruit in a pot!) My recommendation is to cut off the new weird growing fronds and bring it into a place with direct light. If you can take it outside during the summer months, that would be great for it (just make sure it does not get full sun for the first few weeks because the fronds will burn in the sun since they are used to indoor life). If your cycad makes a "flush" outdoors, it will probably grow normally, but they will not develop normally indoors. They make great indoor plants when they are not actively growing though as you probably noticed! Good luck! -Alex