I have always had pets and toxic plants at the same time. Things like Lantana and Oleander. One of my dogs loved to chew on tree branches that fell. He never chewed anything poisonous. The disconcerting thing about the Sego palm is that I read one article that said dogs are actually drawn to that formation. I think you should ask a veterinarian how common the poisoning actually occurs.

That's what I was thinking too socalgal

What I was thinking was that as an avid gardener I've seen hundreds of them growing all over Southern CA for my whole life and I've never seen one with seeds. Have I just not been as observant as I thought I was or is producing seeds a relatively rare thing?

The entire plant is poisonous and you need to wear gloves and long sleeves when handling the fronds. There was a thread on it a couple months ago in another forum here on GW. Maybe the Palms and Cyads forum? DH now wears gloves and long sleeves when working with them.

We have 3 plus many pups and I've tried to give them away on freecycle / craigs list. Mine are old, huge and prolific. For 2 years I've tried, but no takers. I've even asked nurseries if they want them. Nope! Mine are full of seeds, but I don't have a dog. We are now systematically scooping out the centers so they will stop growing and hopefully die. It would take a huge truck to pull them out.

Suzi, why not just cut them down and paint the cut end with concentrated glyphosate?

They are just too big. 6' x 7',

The one that I have in San Diego doesn't set seed, so I assumed that they are male/female because some of the ones that I had in Orange county definitely set seed every year. They never seemed to be a problem for any of my dogs.

I dislike trimming them and tidying them up. You have to wear gloves because they're sharp. They look cool, but I'd like to get rid of the one that I have now.

I took care of a gigantic yucca that was eating our house with a reciprocating saw with a pruning blade and glyphosate. You just have to cut off all the fronds first to make it manageable.

To fit the fronds in our garbage cans, we'd have to do a few each week for a friggin year! LOL!

Even big Sagos are easy to remove as their root system is not large. I moved a 4' tall one by myself from one house to another. Until a few years ago, large specimens were frequently stolen out of yards. They grow very slowly so large ones are rare. It seems supply has met demand so large ones aren't very valuable any more.

Females have a single "flower" shaped like a cabbage in the center- wider than tall. Males have one or more cone shaped "flowers" in the center - much taller than wide.

Virtually every house around me has at least one. It is extremely rare to see one with seeds. I can't imagine any dog eating fronds or seeds.

They are easy to trim without gloves or protective clothing with the right tools. Most cycads are slightly sharp, most palms are worse.

JX, after reading up more on these, I've decided it's probably best not to put these suckers in the ground because online there are bucket loads of complaints about how difficult they are to remove. If they're potted, and you tire of them, you can always bust up the pot, hack them up and say goodbye and good riddance. In pots, I suspect they'll stay tidier and growth will definitely be contained. Anyway, I like putting a few potted plants in the garden for the sake of sculptural interest.

Side note, how many other flora out there are poisonous to dogs.

ASPCA has a list that can be sorted for dogs, cats and horses. I like that you can choose to show non-toxic options. https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/toxic-and-non-toxic-plants

I have written multiple articles concerning toxic plants and pets (on a web site that Gardenweb does not allow one to post on the forums, however)… I am a veterinarian and have worked in emergency for many years… seen many cases of toxicities in dogs and plant toxicities were relatively rare (except for marijuana), and though most real plant poisonings, by far, were fairly mild and of little concern, the ones that caused the most loss of life, despite all we tried to do to save them were the dogs that ate cycads. Fortunately these cases are fairly rare… but compared to other plant toxicities, they are one of the most common. Most dogs end up surviving the experience, but many do not. In my opinion, cycad toxicity is the most serious of all the plant toxicities there are in dogs, based on frequency and severity of illness (mushroom toxicity is a close second).. .there are LOTs way more toxic plants in California (dozens more toxic, and thousands of toxic plants overall)… but the thing about toxic plants is they almost all taste horrible (and good thing!)… except cycads do not (problem with mushrooms, too… they also rarely taste bad). They reportedly (from the few stupid people who tried to eat them) said they tasted like mildly bitter plastic.. and the fruits, which are the most dangerous part due to their taste and easy edibility, actually taste pretty good. Still, I have many dogs, and many cycads, and so far no problems. My dogs rarely find the plastic-like, spiny foliage to their liking so never eat them, and hardly ever chew on them. ANd only mature female plants produce fruit, and historically large, mature female plants are pretty expensive (I have none)... though Sago palms (not really palms) are so common and cheap nowadays, the large female plants are affordable. I prefer to grow rarer species, and obtaining a coning female cycad of rarer species costs a real fortune (thousands of dollars)… so I am just slowly growing my own (very slowly). Cycad poisoning is a much greater concern in areas of the world where cycads are native and grow a lot faster due to the tropical climate. But then there tend to be way more dangerous things in those climates as well (snakes, gators, lions etc.). Florida is one of the places where cycad toxicity is fairly common, due to many landscaping with common cycads that are mature and fruiting (eventually could become a more common problem in California, too, as more and more Cycas revolutas (aka Sago Palms) mature.

Bob,

Great info.

THANK YOU DR. PALMBOB! I think you just about closed the book no the topic.