PlantFiles: Cycad, Giant Dioon, Gum Palm
Dioon spinulosum

One of the most reliable cycads for the bay area.It can be counted on to flush every year-sometimes twice,although the early flush is from last years growth ,but still... Looks best with some shade from hottest summer sun. Upper 20's have not affected mine.Fertilize in summer. Beautiful slow growing container plant. Very rare to spot one here outside of botanical gardens. That's a shame because they look and do great.

I live in zone 8b and have had this palm for 9 years. It dies back to the ground every year thus I have never had over two years. Everyone thinks it's a sago. But I love it anyway.

Great tree, but a painfully slow germinator. I started 5 (3 survived) in early February (south florida, things start to warm up that time of year). It is now mid june, and all are still developing a crown, with no sign of splitting to allow a leaf. In contrast, I started a c. revoluta in March, and it now bears a single leaf, measuring 6in long by 3in wide. Maybe by next feb I can expect a few leaves.

I have two young cycad plants out of a total of 5. They are about 5 months old add about a foot tall.

This is one of the more commonly grown cycads in cultivation, though still relatively rare in the average garden. It is one of the largest cycads, too, getting up to 20'+ in the tropics (Mexico). It has wide, tapering, pointed leaflets which are very smooth and sea-green. It is one of the more frost tender cycads with frosts down to about 28F damaging the foliage. However, the plant will easily survive those temps, and new leaves will come out in the spring.