Tsikas

Tsikas (Cycas) is a palm-like plant belonging to the Cycovnikov family. As its main representative, this native of hot countries is also often called the cycad or sago palm. According to different classifications, up to two hundred different species are included in the genus. Most of them live on the islands of the Pacific Ocean, as well as in Asian countries and Madagascar.

Tsikas is considered a very ancient plant: traces of it were found in strata belonging to the Mesozoic era. Each of its copies can exist for over a hundred years. Many types of cicas are no longer found in nature, but in floriculture this plant is in great demand due to its beautiful crown and unpretentiousness, even despite its high cost.

Cycad stems, like its seeds, are very rich in starch. These parts of the plant are used to produce edible sago groats. But before eating, they must undergo a special treatment that rid the future product of the poison.

Description of cicas

The name of the flower comes from the ancient Greek "palm". Tsikas does bear significant resemblance to palm trees, but it is not their relative. This is a large thick-stemmed plant, sometimes reaching a height of 15 meters. Even with a more compact size (about 3 m in height), the trunk girth of a cicassus can be equal to one meter. Sometimes it can be forked. The surface of the trunk is framed by a kind of carapace created by the remnants of dead leaf stalks of the cycad foliage. The leaf blades have a feathery structure, appear at the top of the crown and look like fern foliage.

Domestic specimens of cicas do not differ in gigantic sizes: usually such plants do not reach 1 meter in height. The annual growth is only 2-3 cm, while only one row of new leaves is formed on the crown. Fresh foliage is bright green and slightly pubescent. It is soft to the touch, but over time it begins to harden, darken and acquire a glossy shine. The leaves in each leaf have an elongated shape and one developed vein. Due to their more compact forms, domestic cicas are more like shrubs than trees.

As a rule, cicas does not bloom as a houseplant; you can wait for its flowering only in a greenhouse. This plant is dioecious. During the flowering period, female specimens of the cycad form cones, in which rather large orange seeds will later appear. But their future germination can only be guaranteed by a specialist.

Due to their slow growth rates, cicatas are often grown as bonsai.But in general, this plant is more suitable for experienced flower growers who are able to create optimal conditions for the cycad. Due to the high cost of a flower, before purchasing it, it is necessary to especially carefully evaluate its appearance. A healthy plant should have at least 3 full leaves, as well as a healthy, strong trunk.

Brief rules for growing cicas

The table shows brief rules for caring for cicas at home.

Caring for cicada at home

Lighting

Before purchasing a cicas, you should take care of finding the most suitable place for a flower. Adult specimens will need a fair amount of free space. Tsikas are considered light-loving plants, but under direct sunlight, their leaves begin to wilt a little faster and lose their visual appeal. If you place the pot in partial shade, the growth rate of fresh leaves will be significantly reduced.

In the summer, you can take the container with the cicassa out into the open air - in the garden or on the balcony. For him, they try to find a place with diffuse and uniform lighting, as well as reliably sheltered from strong winds. If the plant is transferred to a room with a different intensity of light, it is advisable to accustom it to such light gradually.

Temperature

Tsikas thrives at room temperature, but it is best to keep it in a cooler room during the winter. In this case, the lower threshold is considered to be +15 degrees, but the exact indicators depend on the type of cicas. Without cool wintering, the plant can shed some of its foliage.

Watering mode

For the correct and full development of the cicassa, a certain amount of moisture is required, but it should not be watered too abundantly. In summer, the earth is moistened moderately, in winter this rate is reduced, being guided by the temperature in the room where the pot is. In cooler weather, the cicas can practically not be watered, but if the house is warm, more water will be required. For irrigation, use only soft water, room or slightly higher temperature. At the same time, drops of moisture should not fall on the plant cone - the ingress of water on the leaf buds can lead to the development of rot.

Air humidity

For the cultivation of cicassa, a sufficiently high humidity (up to 80%) is preferable. To optimize its level, it is recommended to spray the plant with settled water. You can also wrap damp moss around the trunk of the cicada and periodically wipe the leaves with a soft, damp cloth.

The soil

For planting cicas, neutral or slightly acidic soil is suitable, which does not retain water. For this, all kinds of baking powder are introduced into it: perlite, pumice, coarse sand. Planting mix may include humus, leafy and peaty soil, sand, and a double slice of clay turf.The planting substrate is pre-sterilized, a pinch of charcoal is added to it, and then supplemented with a drainage layer.

Fertilizers

Top dressing is carried out only during the growth of cicas, monthly fertilizing it with organic compounds that do not include magnesium and potassium salts. You can use mullein or horse manure, while mineral mixtures are not recommended to be introduced into the soil, but fertilizers for palms are still acceptable.

Transfer

Until the cicasus has reached a large size, it is replanted every 2 or 3 years. Older plants are not moved until the size of the pot allows. The optimal capacity for a bush should be a couple of centimeters larger than the size of its trunk. The depth is also calculated based on its thickness: usually it is 2 (or 2.5) times greater than it. Excessively large pots can often lead to acidification of the soil and plant diseases.

Transplants can be carried out at any time, but spring is still considered the optimal time. A cicassus beginner will take root better in a new pot. Otherwise, you can injure the young foliage appearing on the crown. Before transplanting, part of the leaf plates (about a third) will have to be removed. For this, they try to choose the oldest leaves. The bush must be moved very carefully, trying not to damage the roots - their injury or deformation usually leads to the appearance of rot and plant diseases. When transplanting, they try not to deepen the stem cone of the plant.

Cycas breeding methods

Growing cicas from seeds

Seed propagation of cicassa is considered too difficult for home cultivation. It is very difficult to wait for flowering in such conditions, and only a professional gardener can usually pollinate the flowers correctly. The germination of the obtained seeds lasts for three years. If the seeds of the cicas were still obtained, they must be kept in warm water for a day before sowing.

It is recommended to plant such seeds in perlite. They are distributed over the surface, pressing a little into the ground. In a warm place, where it stays at about +25, the entrances should appear in a couple of months. After the same period, a full-fledged leaf blade should form on them. After that, the seedlings are planted in separate pots using the same soil as for adult plants.

Separation of processes

As a rule, the adult cycas sometimes forms the stem processes-children, in appearance resembling small onions. Basically, they are kidneys that develop in the sinuses. Gradually, such a bud turns into an air bulb, and then begins to form its own foliage, and sometimes even roots. Sometimes gardeners try to artificially cause the appearance of children, slightly damaging the trunk in certain places. The same method is used to make the cicasa take on a dwarf shape and form several caps with leaves.

Such babies can be used for reproduction by carefully separating them from the trunk with a sharp instrument and processing the cut on the mother plant with crushed coal. The foliage from such an offspring is removed, dried, and the sections are treated with fungicidal preparations and root formation stimulants. For planting, coarse sand or perlite is used, and a sand-peat mixture is also permissible. After the offspring is planted, it is watered and placed in a very warm (up to +30 degrees) shady place, trying to maintain constant soil moisture. Rooting can take up to one year. After that, the young plant is carefully moved into the soil for adult specimens.

Diseases and pests

Major pests

Scabbards are the most dangerous for the cicassus. These insects are covered with a special coating that protects them from insecticidal treatment. Because of this, adult scale insects will need to be removed manually, and the larvae are fought with pyrethroid drugs. Processing is carried out only in the evening on cool days, when the temperature in the room with the flower does not exceed +30 degrees. If necessary, the treatment can be repeated after 5 or 10 days.

Another possible pest is the mealybug. Such insects can inhabit the entire green part of the plant. They should also be collected by hand, and then process the bush and moisten the soil in the pot with products containing cypermethrin. Re-processing, if necessary, repeat after 5 days, but no more than 4 times.

If the bush is infected with mites, treatment with acaricides will help. It is carried out three times, at intervals of a week. Phosphorus-containing preparations will help against the invasion of aphids. In this case, they are used 2 or 3 times, maintaining a weekly break.

Cycas disease

The main disease of cicas is considered to be rot, which affects the roots and the root region of the trunk - caudex. In this case, young foliage begins to turn yellow, and new leaves stop forming. If the plant begins to rot, it should be taken out of the pot and the soil should be carefully cleaned from the roots. Then, using a sharp and sterile instrument, all rotten and darkened areas of the roots are cut to healthy places. After that, the rhizomes are kept in a fungicide solution for half an hour, the cuts are sprinkled with crushed coal and dried in air for several hours. After these procedures, the cicas can be transplanted into fresh soil. For this, you can use lighter and more conductive substrates: sand or perlite. The soil for planting is disinfected in advance. Before transplanting, the roots of cicas can be dipped in a solution of a growth stimulating drug. Top dressing of such a plant is carried out only by foliar method, and they try to water it in moderation. Recovery from heavy pruning can take up to six months.

After such a transplant, the cicassus can shed the foliage, but you should not be afraid of this - this is how the plant tries to redirect all its energy to recovery and rooting. The procedure will not help only if the rot has reached the inside of the trunk.

Yellow foliage

Mass yellowing of cicassa leaves is another common problem in its cultivation. The foliage of a healthy plant may turn yellow due to aging, but this usually only occurs with individual leaf blades. As a rule, to restore the normal color of foliage, it is enough to identify and eliminate the cause of such a change. Most often, the foliage of the cicassa begins to acquire a yellow tint due to:

• Lack of nutrients. This happens if the plant has been fed too rarely. The most common cause of yellowing of the leaves is a lack of nitrogen. After making the necessary additives, the new foliage should acquire a normal color, but the old one will remain yellowed. The assimilation of the applied fertilizers can also be hampered by too low temperature in the room or frequent watering with too hard water. In this case, root development may temporarily stop. To correct the situation, the conditions for keeping the flower will have to be adjusted.
• Lack (excess) of light. Different types of cicas can have different requirements for the level of illumination. Sometimes the cause of yellowing can be a sharp change in conditions, for example, when a plant is taken out into the air without preliminary hardening or transferred from a dark place to a bright one.
• An uneven watering schedule when the bush is flooded or dries up. Between waterings, you can wait for about half of the soil clod to dry. You can water the plant in two steps: first, the soil is moistened to moisten it, and then - in order to additionally saturate it with moisture. Its amount can be adjusted by pouring excess water out of the pan. If the lump turned out to be completely dry, you need to try to correct the lack of moisture with the help of more frequent spraying. So the plant will get the missing water faster. It is not recommended to feed such a flower until the watering schedule is restored.

In addition, yellowing of foliage can also be caused by:

• root injuries caused by transplantation. Perhaps, after some time, the plant will come to itself on its own. It usually takes about 2 months to recover.Watering during this period is carried out especially carefully, you can add root development stimulants to the water. Top dressing is best done by wetting only foliage with a nutrient solution. The transplanted cicassus is especially in need of proper lighting and frequent spraying.
• too low soil temperature if the pot is in a cold place. In this case, they try to find a warmer corner of the plant.
• too concentrated dressings. They may be evidenced by a white coating on the surface of the earth. In this case, the soil should be spilled abundantly in order to remove excess fertilizers from it. The procedure is repeated up to 3 times.

Yellow foliage signals unfavorable conditions of detention, therefore, in order not to endanger the flower, you need to try to adjust the care of it as soon as possible.

Drying foliage

The yellowing and drying out lower leaves of cicas are a normal process for its growth. On average, the plant sheds about a couple of leaves per year. Their disappearance should be accompanied by the appearance of fresh leafy shoots. However, the tips of younger foliage can dry out due to too low moisture levels, as well as due to excessive dosage of nutritional supplements.

Other foliage problems can also be due to improper care of the cicada. So too long, elongated and underdeveloped foliage indicates that the plant is kept in a too dark room. The lack of young growth is a consequence of too low temperature in the room, problems with lighting or watering. If the adult foliage of the cycad begins to curl, it means that the plant is too hot, and the air humidity is not high enough.

The main types of cicada with a photo

Among the most common types of cicasa in culture:

Cicas drooping, or rolled cicas, or cicas revoluta (Cycas revoluta)

The southern Japanese species is considered the most popular among amateur flower growers. It has a large column-like trunk. In height, it can reach up to 3 m, and in width - up to 1 m. The foliage is pinnate, up to 2 m long, and consists of many narrow, slightly bent leaves. The foliage is leathery to the touch. Young leaves have a little fluff. Growing up, they become naked, darken and acquire a glossy shine.

Male plants form narrow buds up to 80 cm long and 15 cm in diameter. Female cones have a looser structure and light reddish pubescence, and then form large (up to 5 cm in length) orange seeds.

This cycas is cultivated as a home or greenhouse plant. In regions with cold winters, plants are often exposed to the air during the summer, using them as a basis for plant compositions. If the cicassus is satisfied with the growing conditions, it forms up to 15 leaves annually, which have an almost vertical arrangement. Over time, the leaves deviate slightly to the sides. Young foliage appears slightly curled inward, which makes it look even more like a fern. Each leaf can last up to 5 years.

Curled cicas or cochlea cicas (Cycas circinalis = Cycas neocaledonica)

Distributed in southern India, inhabits the islands of this region, but also occurs on the Australian continent. It has a columnar trunk up to 3 m in height. Some specimens can grow up to 10 m. The foliage is arranged in bunches, the length of each plate at the same time reaches 2 m. Young leaves are vertical, but eventually sink. The leaf contains up to 60 pairs of small, narrow, elongated leaves. Their length can be up to 25 cm with 1.5 cm wide. The petiole has short spines starting towards the end of the leaf.

This cicassa species is widely distributed as an ornamental plant in many warm and sunny regions, and is especially fond of in the state of Florida. Such a cicasus reproduces with the help of seeds and stem processes. The foliage of the plant can form throughout the year, depending on the season, only the number of leaves in a young bunch differs.

Cicas medium (Cycas media)

Strongly palm-like tree up to 7 m tall.It has feathery foliage up to 2 m in size. It forms rosettes at the top of the trunk.

The male cones of such a cicas are small (up to 25 cm in length), while the female cones resemble spikelets. In the 19th century, the seeds formed by this plant, after special processing, were consumed by the Australians for food.

Cycas rumphii

Cycad view from Sri Lanka. It prefers to grow in lowlands or coastal areas. It differs in one of the largest sizes - the height of its trunk reaches 15 m. The feathery foliage grows in bunches, its length reaches 2 meters. Small leaves in its composition are lanceolate, 2 cm wide and about 30 cm long. They are located very densely.

Siamese cicas (Cycas siamensis)

Grows in the forest zone of the Indo-Chinese savannah. It forms a bush with a height of almost 2 m. The trunk of the plant has a thickening only in the lower part - as it approaches the top, it becomes thinner. The feathery foliage is more than a meter in length, each plate is formed by thin bluish-silvery leaves about 0.5 cm wide and up to 10 cm long. At the end, each leaf is slightly pointed.