Tsikas. Care, Cultivation, Reproduction. Diseases And Pests. Flower, Plant. A Photo

In translation, the name of the cicas from the Greek (Kykas) means a palm tree, apparently due to the external similarity of these plants. Another version is from the Greek name for the refreshing drink kykeon, which contains sago extracted from cycads. The inhabitants of the islands have been cultivating sago palms since ancient times, and also use wild plants to obtain starch (sago).

Tsikas (cycad) is characterized by a very wide range - from China and Japan to India and the Pacific Islands and Australia. The highest species diversity is observed in Southeast Asia. One species of cycad is found in Madagascar and the east coast of Africa.

The oldest plant on the planet. Cycad (cicas) refers to living fossils, as these are the remains of a huge group of plants that were once widespread on Earth. Under natural conditions, cycads grow into huge trees.

The genus Tsikas, or Cycas, includes about 10 plant species of the Zamiev family. Distributed in the tropics of the Eastern Hemisphere (India, the Pacific Islands, Mascarene, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, Java, Sulawesi, New Guinea, the Indochina Peninsula, Northeastern Australia).

Representatives of the genus are evergreens with a thick, short, up to 1.5-3 m (sometimes 10 m) trunk, less often bifurcated; underground and aboveground parts are bulbous. The trunk has a thick bark, a wide pith containing a lot of starch, densely covered with scales and remnants of leaf stalks. Leaves are large, up to 3 m long, pinnate, less often double-feathery, appear annually in several or more numbers, located at the top and alternating with scale-like leaves covering them in the bud (last 2-3 years); young leaves (when they appear) are bent, pubescent, later - spreading, naked; leaflets are linear, linear-lanceolate, whole-edged, leathery. with one developed median vein (without lateral ones), glabrous, with a sharp apex, whole, less often dichotomously branched; the lowest ones turn into thorns.

Dioecious plants. Cones (megasporophylls - female and microstrobila - male) are apical or located near the apex, single or collected in several.

In the core of the trunk of cycas and in the seeds, there is a large amount of starch (up to 45%), which is used to prepare a special product - sago, for which these plants are often called "sago palms". In its raw form, all parts of the plant are poisonous, but for the locals who use the detoxifying methods of preparing sago, it is an important food product.

Among the plants that resemble palms in their appearance, cicas is one of the first places. It was not without reason that the Swedish botanist Karl Linnaeus, misled by this striking similarity, gave him the Latin name from the Greek 'kykas' - "palm" and placed it together with other cycads in his system among the palms.

When buying a cicada, it should be borne in mind that this is a rather capricious plant that requires compliance with keeping conditions. It is better not to start a plant for novice growers.

Features:

Temperature: Moderate, cicasus tolerates temperature fluctuations well, and grows in warm and cool rooms. In winter, it is preferable to keep it cool at a temperature of 12-16 ° C, minimum 8 ° C. It is advisable to rearrange the cycad pot on the balcony or in the garden in the summer, in a place where there is uniform lighting from all sides and protection from the wind.

Lighting: Bright, intense light, kept in the brightest place in both winter and summer. Well suited for south and southwest windows.

Watering: Abundant in spring and summer, moderate in winter. Tsikas does not tolerate stagnant water in a pot. When watering, do not allow water to get on the cicas cone, as it contains leaf buds, and moisture can lead to decay.

Fertilizer: During the period of intensive growth - from April to August, the cicas are fed every two weeks with a special fertilizer for palm trees or other fertilizer for indoor plants. Fertilizer should not contain calcium and magnesium salts.

Air humidity: Loves humid air, so regular spraying is needed, especially in summer and winter during the heating season. You can periodically place it under a warm shower by covering the potting soil with a plastic bag.

Transplant: Young plants up to 5 years old are transplanted annually, over 5 years old - after 4-5 years. Soil - 2 parts of light clay-soddy, 1 part of humus, 1 part of leaf, 1 part of peat, 1 part of sand and a little charcoal. Good drainage is a must. When transplanting, it is important that the cycad cone is not buried in the ground.

Reproduction: Babies that appear on the mother's trunk. After removing the baby, the cut is sprinkled with gray or crushed coal. The baby is dried for a couple of days and planted in a mixture of leaf and peat soil and sand, watered very moderately, slightly moistening the soil. It is best to use soil heating and rooting stimulants. It is also propagated by seeds - with soil heating. Seedlings will appear only after a month or two.

Care

Tsikas prefers bright diffused light, with some direct sun, it is suitable for growing at windows of the west and east direction, can grow at the north window. It is recommended to shade the cicas from direct sunlight at the windows in the south direction in summer. In the summertime, you can expose the plant to the open air, in a place protected from the midday sun. Keep in mind that it is recommended to gradually accustom the plant to the new level of illumination.

The correct temperature regime is very important for cycas. In the spring-summer period, plants prefer a moderately warm content (22-26 ° C). The optimum temperature in the autumn-winter period for curled cicas is 10-12 ° C, for curled cicas a little higher - 16-18 ° C. If the cicassa is not kept cool in winter, it gets sick and may shed some of the leaves.

The cicas are watered moderately from spring to autumn, allowing the substrate to dry out to a depth of 2 to 4 cm, depending on the size of the pot, but avoiding prolonged drying. In winter they water it even more moderately than at other times; during this period, waterlogging is especially dangerous. Watering is carried out with soft, settled water at room temperature.

Tsikas prefers high humidity; it is recommended to regularly spray it with soft, settled water at room temperature. You can also place the plant pot on a pallet filled with damp expanded clay or peat. You can bathe the plant from time to time under a warm shower, just make sure that no water gets into the pot.

From spring to autumn, cicas are fed with mineral fertilizer for palms once every two weeks. Starting from October, feeding is reduced and carried out no more than once a month, and it is recommended to halve the fertilizer concentration from the summer rate. It is not recommended to use fertilizers with potassium and magnesium salts.

Tsikas has a pronounced dormant period in the winter. Keep plants in a cool, light place. The optimum temperature in winter for curled cicas is 10-12 ° C, for curled cicas a little higher - 16-18 ° C. Water carefully.

Young specimens are transplanted annually; in adults, it is enough to replace the top layer of the earth or replant if the plant becomes very crowded in the pot. For transplanting, use a soil mixture similar to the "palm" one, i.e. a mixture of turf, leaf, peat, humus and sand in a ratio of 2: 1: 1: 1: 1. The optimal time for transplanting is spring, before new growth begins. The bottom of the pot provides good drainage. Keep in mind that when choosing a pot, do not try to take a large container, try to keep the plant cramped in the pot, otherwise the cicassus can get sick due to acidification of the substrate.

Reproduction

Cycas are propagated by seeds and the separation of bulbous young shoots, sometimes developing on the trunks of adult specimens. Starting its development with an air bulb, which is essentially an axillary bud, this shoot gradually acquires a normal crown, and sometimes adventitious roots.

Gardeners cause branching of the trunk artificially, causing mechanical damage to it in order to obtain either a bizarre dwarf shape with several crowns, or a large amount of planting material.

When separating the "baby", the place of the cut is sprinkled with crushed charcoal and dried for 1-2 days. "Children" are planted in a soil mixture of peat, leafy earth and sand with the addition of fine granite chips. Water very sparingly until roots appear.

Seeds remain viable for 2-3 years; germinate quickly 1.5-2 months after sowing.

Possible difficulties:

From direct sunlight, especially in the summer, the plant can get sunburn; cicas should be taught to them gradually.

The plant is prone to rapid decay due to overflow and acidification of the substrate. A special sensitivity to overflow is a characteristic feature of cicas.

Tsikas suffers from high winter temperatures and dry air, and can shed their leaves under these conditions.

Damaged by: scale insects, thrips and spider mites.

Kinds

Curled cicas, or cochlea (Cycas circinalis)

It grows along the banks of rivers in South India, the islands of Taiwan, Sri Lanka, Fiji, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Eastern Australia. The trunk is shortly columnar, 2-3 m high (sometimes up to 10 m). Leaves 1-2 m long, several in a bunch, directed upwards, later semi-horizontally located; the middle vein is highly developed; pinnate leaves with 50-60 leaves on each side of the rachis, narrow-lanceolate, flat, up to 25 cm long and 1.5 cm wide, densely arranged. The petiole is semicircular below, without spines from the base to the middle of the leaf, and above with short spines on both sides of the rachis.

The snail cicas is highly regarded as an ornamental plant and is widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical countries. In Florida, for example, its popularity is so great that it is called the "Florida sago palm" here.

Features: propagate this species as vegetatively - by rooting of shoots appearing on the trunk of an adult plant; and in the presence of seeds - by seeds.

Plants grow continuously throughout the year. The top of the cone of a bunch of young leaves appears at different times of the year - in July, October, January and other months. The number of young leaves in a bunch varies from 15 to 26, depending on the age, as well as on the season. The growth rate of leaves is not the same.

Cicas drooping (Cycas revoluta)

The native land of the plant is South Japan (Kyushu and Ryukyu islands). The trunk is columnar, short, up to 3 m high, thick, 30-50 cm (up to 1 m) in diameter. Leaves are pinnate, 0.5-2 m long. Leaflets are numerous, densely located, narrowly linear, slightly bent back along the edges, decreasing towards the base, leathery, hairy pubescent in youth, then glabrous, dark green, glossy, whole-edged, with a sharp apex, with one midrib. Male cones are narrow-cylindrical, up to 60-80 cm long and 15 cm in diameter in the thick part; stamens numerous, flat 3-sided, on short stalks, widened and thickened at the apex; anthers on the underside. Female cones are loose, with turned carpels up to 20 cm long, reddish pubescent, with a widened sterile end, in the middle part of the pubescent petiole there are 2-8 straight ovules. The seeds are large,3-5 cm long, orange.

Highly decorative plant, widely used for landscaping interiors, grows well in rooms and winter gardens. In northern and middle latitudes, plants can be taken outdoors for the summer to create an exposition. Under favorable conditions, the leaves appear annually, at the same time, 10-15 pieces, in the form of an elegant, almost vertical crown. Rachises of young leaves and the feathers themselves are slightly coiled inward, like in ferns. As the leaves develop, they gradually deviate to the side, and then, at 4-5 years of life, bend down and die off.

Tsikas Rumph (Cycas rumphii)

It grows in low places in Sri Lanka, in the coastal zone of the Andaman, Java, Sulawesi islands. Columnar trunk, up to 8-15 m in height. The leaves are pinnate, 1-2 m long (appear in bunches); leaflets linear-lanceolate, 20-30 cm long and 1.1-2 cm wide, densely arranged.

Siamese cicas (Cycas siamensis)

Found in savannah forests in Indochina. The trunk is up to 1.5-1.8 m tall, tuberously thickened to half the height (then it becomes thinner). The leaves are pinnate, 0.6-1.2 m long; leaflets narrowly linear, 10 cm long and 0.5 cm wide, pointed, bluish-white. Petiole spiny to the base, yellowish.