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Zamia vazquezii, just noticed a cone emerging today









Steve

Right-On!

Thanks, between the winter temps & being container bound, wasn't sure I would ever see any!

AHHHHHH STEVE. Dangit!!! I had 3 Vazquez cones last fall. Dangit we could of had baby Vazies.
I will tell you if I get another one and if I do, I will give it to you for some breeding.

nice. I like the hanging baskets. the wife wants something similar and they were $80 at the garden center.

The baskets came from Dollar General, end of the season sale at $3.00 ea, the smaller ones were $1.00

The Zamia may be very pleased about your $3 purchase price and has decided to cone to show its appreciation for your thrifty shopping efforts. Either that or you have provided perfect growing conditions.

Wes, Good work with yours! Let me know next time, would be great to have seed set



Kent, If you're looking, Lowes carries those planters too.

Either that or you have provided perfect growing conditions.

Not sure about that, I think the plant has just adapted to my bad habits


Things still moving along,





Steve

Still moving along for a total of three, going to collect & store the pollen.









Steve

Steve

The largest cone is just starting to open up now,





Once it starts shedding pollen, I will be attempting to collect & store.

Here is a good article that covers that: http://cycadjungle.8m.com/cycadjungle/C ... ollen.html


Steve

Steve, if your plant is on a similar schedule to mine, it should be dropping pollen soon. Here is a photo of my male:



And here is my female right next to it:



This species often gets open-pollinated in my yard (you can see some volunteer seedlings behind the female cone). So far I haven't seen any beetles on any of the cones, so I may have to hand pollinate this year.

Jody

Jody, Looks close enough to be the same schedule
Luck with yours and thanks for the photos, nice to see what a female cone looks like!


Steve

Hello wow thats great. Ive loved looking at the pics. Im learning every days as I read on. Its just a coincidence that I went to water my dioon edule angustifolia I saw a cone starting to emerge. I wonder what sex it will be.

macario wrote:Hello wow thats great. Ive loved looking at the pics. Im learning every days as I read on. Its just a coincidence that I went to water my dioon edule angustifolia I saw a cone starting to emerge. I wonder what sex it will be.

Post a photo and we can probably help you out with the sex ID.

Jody

Mike, Congrats!


Steve

Thanks steve just luck i guess. Heres the pics it has about a 13" across caudex. I hope its clear its from my phone. The lower pic is where it lives in my yard 9 months out of the year. What sex do you think it might be?

<img src="http://inlinethumb53.webshots.com/46132 ... 500Q85.jpg" alt="dioon">

<img src="http://inlinethumb32.webshots.com/38687 ... 500Q85.jpg" alt="DSCI0030">

From that photo, I am pretty sure it is a male. Here is a photo of my receptive female cone from a couple months ago:



Jody

thanx alot. Should I let the cone form or should I remove it ? Will it help it save any energy by being removed?

Did yours get pollinated?

If the plant was outside in a warm climate, I would say let the cone go to completion. However, if you have it indoors now it might not be a bad idea to remove the cone early.

I did pollinate my cone. Since I didn't have any D. angustifolium pollen at the time, and since I have long had an interest in learning more about cross-pollination in Dioon, I actually pollinated it with D. spinulosum pollen from my large male plant (below; you can actually see a couple leaves from the female D. angustifolium at the bottom right of the first photo). I don't really expect the seeds to be viable, but it will be interesting to see what happens either way.





I might add that I posted photos of this very pollination event under "wet pollination" in the Illustrated Glossary of Cycad Terms on the Cycad Society's website:

http://www.cycad.org/publications/illus ... ossary.htm

Jody

I hope your pollinating works. Thanks for the info you very nice plants in your yard. I wish I could do the same

Here are two more cones that I pollinated this year:

Encephalartos ferox (pollinated with E. whitelockii pollen):



Zamia inermis



Jody

Thanks for the photos & info!




Mine started dropping pollen today,







A little closer look and you can see the pollen sacs.








Removed the cone & collecting the pollen as long as it sheds.







Here's a video that shows the complete cone progression: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgtAGhr4Giw



Steve

Holy cow, this is getting exciting!

First of all, Mike, congrats on Dioon coning. Gorgeous plant. Would it take too much energy out of the plant to leave the cone intact, even indoors? 13 inches across? Wow. Looks very cool.

Steve, congrats on the video.
Thanks especially for the pollen close-up, have never seen that before.
Spectacular.

Jody, those specimens are beautiful. Is that a salamander or newt on the cone? great shot.
Do the beetles only show up around the time cycads are coning?

Is it correct to assume that ANY Dioon can/may crosspollinate with another Dioon?
Zamia and Zamia?

If true, all the more reason to keep plants in groups so as to not miss the opportunity.

I'm living vicariously through all you guys.
Barb

I know barb its fun isnt it!! Watching everyone else do well with there plants. You know barb I may just leave the cone and using the method in one of the links keep it in the refridgerator. Maybe someone on this board will need it at some point.

steve ill do just as you did with my pollen.

lucky1 wrote:Jody, those specimens are beautiful. Is that a salamander or newt on the cone? great shot.

Barb, that is a Caribbean anole (Anolis segrei) lizard, which is an introduced species here in south Florida. I have literally hundreds of them in my yard.

lucky1 wrote:Do the beetles only show up around the time cycads are coning?

Yes. But even so, I rare see them at all. I posted a couple photos of the Mexican pollinator (Rhopalotria mollis) on a male cone in my yard last year. Here is a repeat of the photos:

lucky1 wrote:Is it correct to assume that ANY Dioon can/may crosspollinate with another Dioon?
Zamia and Zamia?

Many hybrids have been created in Zamia and Encephalartos, but very little is known about the ability of Dioon species to cross-pollinate and produce viable offspring. I will report back here when the cone breaks apart and I can check the seeds for embros.

Jody

Jody,
I remember seeing that beetle/cone pic when you first posted it.
Stunning even the second time.

So the lizard isn't a second to the beetle for pollinating? Perhaps there's more than one species that can.

We'll watch your Dioon work with interest, Jody.

BTW Steve, I think we all agree that the close-up of the pollen sacs is top-notch photography.

Barb

Thanks Barb, was just good luck with that photo.
(The camera used is an old Ricoh 3.2 mp that cost me all of $20 from eBay


Mike, It's great to see yours coning, gives me hope that mine will someday!
This is the first opportunity I've had to collect & store pollen, just following the procedures in the article.

(Here's the link again for anyone who might have missed it: http://cycadjungle.8m.com/cycadjungle/C ... ollen.html )


Here's today's pollen harvest,






I had to improvise on the desiccant, been saving those little packets that come with most everything these days. Cut them open, then cooked in the oven for a couple hours to dry them out





From here, a couple days in the refrigerator while the moisture level drops , then into the freezer for long term storage.




Steve

Excellent pics here ..... and great information ..... and way over my head.

Here is a short video I made that shows the collection & storage process.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oemOJNTAcEI



Steve

Bravo!

Outstanding video.
Beautiful close-ups of a mysterious (to me) process.

Barb

The start of this year's cones,







Steve

Collecting more this season,


Cone is ready,



.
.


Pollen sacs visible between the scales,







.
.

Pollen still mostly contained (just shook out of the cone)




.
.

Stored in a paper envelope with a desiccant for a few days in the refrigerator,( to drop moisture levels), then into the freezer for long term storage





Thanks to Tom Broome for the indicating desiccant!

Steve

Has that Zamia ever gotten huge.
You had the right trick by putting it up so high in the GH.
And the sun didn't fry it (I thought they hated direct sun).

I love those pollen pics. very nicely done.

I should have sent you this guy in September:
<img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4112/499 ... 44138e.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="DSC03903" />
Had never seen one in my life!
Probably blew here on a storm.

Barb

Barb,

The Zamia is somewhat shaded, most of the light reaching it is through tinted polycarbonate panels.
(I've plenty of pollen now, need to find a female Z. vasquezii

Any idea what that bug is?

Steve

Steve,
Tinted panels were a good idea since you knew you could only go UP in your GH

The bug is definitely a weevil, from the distinctive "snout" that only weevils possess.

I've lived here for 33 years and have never seen one until now.

My research showed this "coloring" confirms it to be a Spruce Weevil, which is bad news for the balance of our forest industry in this area.
By bad news I mean that the Mountain Pine Beetle has virtually decimated marketable pine stands, leaving Fir and Spruce trees mostly untouched.
And now this guy comes along, presumably with an appetite for Spruce.

So I did my civic duty and sent him to bug heaven

Barb

PS--meant to tell you my Z.vasquezii isn't a likely candidate, even if it's a female.
Hasn't grown in ~2 years, looks sick and pale, so if your male is looking for a female, my specimen will be the ugly wallflower at the dance.