I bought this sago from a guy who removed it from a job site. It was out of the ground for about a week when I planted it in palm soil a month or two ago. The surrounding soil is mostly clay and I did blend the two. I have not watered it much as I believe they are very susceptible to root rot. I live in Northern California, zone 9b I believe. I think it needs more water but I am worried that the water will puddle in the hole because the surrounding soil is clay.

Since I planted it, it has started to droop and yellow on the fronds. I must save this plant! Please help!

I watered the heck out of it yesterday because we have a couple days of triple digit temps this weekend. Hope it helps!

Sagos (cycas revoluta), and cyads in general, are pretty tolerant of abuse. It might drop all of its current leaves but will flush again when it establishes roots. I transplanted a young sago a few years ago, and completely forgot to replant it after having dug it up out of the ground. It was out of the ground (with a small rootball) for about a week before I got around to replanting it. It lost all of its leaves, and for the next two years, it didn't flush out any new leaves. It just sat there, probably putting most of its energy into developing roots. Just this weekend, I noticed there is a new flush of leaves coming up in the center.

The mistake is keeping those leaves on the plant. You can see it happening. The leaves will pull away at the apex and sometimes, kill the plant. Remove the leaves at once and hope the damage hasn't happened yet. There is enough starch in the stem to keep it alive until new leaves come out. I learned how to move sagos properly by an article in The Cycad Jungle article section.

Thanks for the info! I'll hack off most of the leaves tonight.

also, the pups should be left unpotted for a week to allow a scab to form. Then it will root. Strange plants these are!

Leave the leaves. Just water it. When the leaves start to look ratty? Ok,cut them off. Otherwise they should hang in there until its first flush on new roots. Might not be until next year.

If you have offsets that have been removed that means you also have untreated wounds on your main stem. I would read both short articles on this page to make sure you keep your plant and offsets alive over the years. Stan do you see the leaves on the right side already pulling away at the apex? If you still think leaves are bad to remove, at least reduce their size and reduce the weight that makes them pull away at the apex. I've dug up and moved well over 1000 cycads including some that were estimated to be $20,000 to $50,000 each.

http://cycadjungle.mysite.com/cycadjungle/Most%20Frequently%20Asked%20Questions.html

Thanks 56!

I watered it a couple days ago and it looks like the fronds are perking up a bit. Last night I removed most of the fronds and I will watch it carefully from now on. If it droops more, I'll go ahead and hack off the rest of them.

The guy I got my plant from had removed a few pups from it and I did not treat the scars so I will buy some Daconil to coat the openings and then apply some black tree sealer.

I sure wish I joined this group earlier! I probably would have saved my treasured fruit cocktail tree when I transplanted it. Oh well.

Here's how she looks today, perking up a bit I think. Keeping my fingers crossed! Thanks everyone!

Pretty hard to kill.Been around since the dinosaurs.Yes water it with triple digit temps.

to illustrate the point, here is a young transplant that has gone without any foliage for at least 2 years. I noticed today that it's finally going to flush.

Water it regularly and it will come back.

Well, the Sago's condition seems worse than before. We have had 3 solid weeks of tripple digit temps with dry wind and I have been watering it but now it looks as though it is losing the battle. The fronds are turning black at the apex and appear to be really loose. I cut even more fronds off in hopes of saving it but I honestly cant tell if I am over watering or underwatering it.

Your only option is to wait it out. Keep the root zone moist and be prepared to wait... a long time.

It would have been better if you had removed those leaves from the start, but you have what you have now. What you need to be careful with is not to over water. When there's few or no leaves the plant doesn't take up much water so if you put in more it will sit around the roots with risk of rot setting in. Because you have it in a hole in clay you risk losing it when there's a lot of rain. It looks like the roof will shed water on it as well. Good drainage is pretty important.

I would have removed all of the foilage initially but my wife would kill me over it. Afterall, this thing is right outside the front door for everyone to see.

The gutters drain far away from the area and there is a ground drain about 5' from the base, so that should help.

I think I will stop watering it for a while and monitor it closely as I have no way to tell if the roots are wet or dry.

Good luck with it. Keep us informed how it goes.

I just found out that my wife has been watering it after I asked her to never water it. This could be the whole problem as I have been closely monitoring the amount of water that I have been giving it. Sheesh

In Feburary I was offered a similar size sago if I would remove it. I broke most of the recommendations given above. I clipped the roots, removed the offspring with a sharpshooter and placed it in a bucket with the native soil covering below soil level. Once home used cheap topsoil with compost and filled the rest of the container to the the previous soil line. I place the offspring in small pots with the bagged soil/compost. I did not let them dry or paint anything on them, nor the mother plant. I watered about once a week mixing liquid miracle grow 1/3 cap full with one gallon of water. I only removed the dead fronds. Keeping anything green. There were 4 offspring and slowly they pushed growth but the mother plant was stubborn. About a month ago I clipped the remaining fronds from the mother plant and a week ago the new growth appeared. I think 27 fronds. I made lots of mistakes. didnt protect the wounds, wrong soil, didnt clip the fronds earlier, didnt let them dry out first but the containers were on concrete and had good drainage only watering once a week. 100% success. Maybe just luck.

Just a quick update on the Sago. It has been recovering slowly and the blackening at the apex has stopped. More of the fronds are rising up past 45degrees, rather than drooping. There is no new growth but it has been tripple digits for the last two months, relentless. We just ended a record setting July and now that the wife has stopped watering it, I have been giving it a light watering every 3 days or so.

Believe me- you should thank your lucky stars for the heat...its only helping the recovery. Keep watering- the roots of Sagos can also produce chlorophyll and are busy rooting in also. With all that sandstone pavers around it...you are not over watering it

I wouldn't prune any fronds that haven't turned to straw.

Do NOT fertilize.

Good luck ,almost there!

New growth on the Sago! Life is good! Thanks everyone!

Always fun to do this- "I told you so"! Also,CONGRATS!

NOW,is a good time to fertilize- those fronds will be bigger on a mild dose.

Awesome! Cycads are very resilient plants.

UPDATE after just over a year post transplant. It is doing great and the second new set of fronds are unfolding as we speak! The larger drooping fronds were the originals from a year ago.

I suppose it’s time to fertilize?

What fertilizer should I use?