Sago Palm Tree
The scientific name for the Sago Palm is - Cycas revoluta. Sago Palm is a cycad. Cycads are known to be among the oldest plants on earth, unchanged for millions of years, originating in East Africa. It is also called Japanese Sago Palm, King Sago Palm, and Sago Cycas.
Growth Rate: Slow
Height: up to 7 – 10ft
Light Req: full sun to Partial Shade
Water Req: moderate
Cold Tolerance: down to 10F
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Sago Palm Description
Cycas revoluta is a very slow growing palm that can get up to 7-10ft tall. Young specimens have thick shaggy subterranean trunk 8-10 inches in diameter. It could take 70-100 years for the Sago Palm to reach its maximum height. Trunks can branch multiple times, creating multiple heads of leaves. As the palm matures, it might produce suckers at its base forming a large multi-stem clump over time.
The Sago Palm has pinnate, or feather-like, leaves that are 4-5ft long and 10 inches wide. The Sago Palm Tree is a very symmetrical plant with fronds growing in a circular pattern creating a rosette. Leaves are dark green, glossy, with stiff, pointed leaflets. Leaflets are narrow, only 4-7 inches long and have strongly recurved edges. In late spring or early summer, sagos produce a light green spikes of new leaves, called a ‘break’. They slowly unfold growing to the ultimate length of the leaf.
It takes Sago Palm around 13 years to start to bloom. The Sago Palm is dioecious, meaning that each plant is either male or female. The female inflorescence is feather like, later forming a tightly packed seed head, closely covered by whitish miniature leaves. The male cone is pineapple shaped. When it is time to pollinate, females sagos begin to flower and male sagos produce cones.
For more photos click here Sago Palm Pictures.
Growing Sago Palm
The soil for growing this palm should be well drained and rich in humus. The Sago Palm can tolerate cold weather down to 15F. Leaves may be damaged and turn yellow at temperatures below 15 degrees. It is a cold hardy palm.
If you don’t live in the warm climate and still want to have beautiful palm trees in you backyard, to get this book – “Betrock’s Cold Hardy Palms.”
Sago Palm Propagation
Here is a good article on sago palm http://www.rhapisgardens.com/sagos/
Propagation of sago palms is either by seed or by removal of offshoots or pups. Seeds will germinate within 3-9 months. But it may require more than three years of growth to reach a small bulb size of 1″ in diameter.
Soak seed in water for several days, then remove the red skin, but leave the white hard seed coat. Plant the seed in well drained soil. Keep the plant in warm, lightly moist conng and the older specimen will develop a thick, stout trunk about 9″ and reach a height of 6 feet.
Sago can be propagated by offsets or pups. Remove the pups growing at the base or along the sides of mature Sagos. Remove all the leaves and roots from the pups. Allow the raw spot to dry and plant in well-drained soil or a sandy mixture so that half the ball or trunk is below soil level. Water thoroughly to ensure rapid growth.
Roots will slowly begin to form and the first leaves appear several months later. At that time, apply a mild dose of fertilizer and water when almost, but not completely dry. Before re potting, allow the new plants to form a good root system.
Sago Palm Problems
If you notice that your Sago palm is getting yellow leaves, be aware that the natural course of leaves on plants, including palms and cycads, is first green, then turning yellow, and finally brown. The yellow stage is where the frond is losing its chlorophyll as it is being re-absorbed into the plant. The final brown stage is the completion of the nutrients re-absorption process and is nothing to worry about.
So… if you cut off sago fronds too soon, you are actually depriving your sago palm of its natural technique to conserve nutrients. Best is to wait until a frond is totally brown and shriveled up small pieces.
The exception to not being worried about yellow or brown fronds on your sago palm is if they are occurring in the center “new growth” area. If new fronds soon turn yellow and head for brown, you have a nutrition problem. You are not feeding properly. Sometimes sago palm may take a year or two or more to develop the “quick yellowing” symptom. Don’t let that fool you.
Bugs may also be the problem, but not nearly as likely as improper feeding. Poor drainage may also be the problem, but not if your sago palm is well established in its location. Newly planted in your soil or a pot, poor drainage is a suspicion. A final suspicion for newly planted sago is that you planted it too deep.
Buy Sago Palm Tree Today
We don’t sell palm trees on this site, but you can buy it from one of my favorite sites – Real Palm Trees.com. It has beautiful palm trees at discounted prices and offers a Free Shipping. This is one of the few sites that I trust, because each palm tree comes with Certificate of Authenticity that guarantees highest quality of the tree. All of their palm trees are properly grown and acclimatized to the correct hardiness zone.
Most importantly, you will receive a tree in perfect health and wouldn’t have to worry about it dying few weeks later. 100% Satisfaction Guarantee or you money back. To purchase a Sago Palm Tree, click on one of the links below:
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A lot of palm trees die from fertilizer root burn and nutritional deficiencies. To avoid these problems, use fertilizer that has continues release formula, which feeds your palm tree for few months, rather than using a cheap fertilizer that will wash away after 2-3 rains.
I personally use 
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