Unbelievable germination in Dioon spinulosum
by Jody Haynes

I have just this year acquired more than a cursory interest in cycads, and thanks to Tom Broome I am now trying to establish colonies for seed/seedling production. Before I knew much about growing cycads and before I knew anything about germinating cycad seeds, I attempted to germinate some Dioon spinulosum seeds that were given to me. So, earlier this spring I filled two shallow trays with Promix and buried, lengthwise, about 20 seeds per tray half-way into the medium. Come to find out after reading Tom's article entitled How to optimize cycad seed germination, I guess I did a fair job for a first time. But this isn't the unbelievable part (don't laugh!)...

I laid the trays on some ground cloth at a friend's nursery among numerous other trays containing palm seeds and seedlings. Although not receiving full sun, this germination area does receive blazing hot sun during the hottest part of the day. I could not afford irrigation for the area and, as it turns out, I couldn't seem to find the time to get by there as often as I should have to water the trays. So I asked my friend if he would water them a couple of times a week.

This would have been enough water had it been June or July--during the rainy season in south Florida. But I sowed the Dioon seeds at the very beginning of an 8-week drought that occurred here in March, April, and May. To make matters worse, my friend was busy setting up his nursery and I was busy doing what keeps me busy (like this website) and we both forgot to water the trays. I finally made it out to check on my palms about mid-way through the drought. I found mostly dried husks for palm seeds and brown, dried-up leaves on almost all of my palm seedlings. My precious palm collection that I spent the previous year amassing (over 200 species if I included the seeds and seedlings) was reduced by 30% or more. I was sick!

Well, I pretty much forgot about the two trays of cycad seeds and I just couldn't bear to go back there and observe the devastation again. A couple weeks later the rains began and I figured anything that survived would be alright for awhile until I figure out what to do with them (I had to move them somewhere else). I finally returned to the nursery to move what remained of my palms just this past weekend (18 July 1999). I was prepared to see barren trays everywhere, perhaps with an occasional drought-tolerant individual poking up; for the most part, I was not surprised. Very little remained of the palms, but a few things were still alive. The Coccothrinax crinita seedlings were doing well in deep cone flats; a few straggler Sabal sp. and Trithrinax braziliensis seedlings were still alive; all of the Crysophila albida seedlings were doing well; and the Coccothrinax readii seedlings were just beginning to emerge enmasse.

But, I digress. This story is on Dioon spinulosum, so I guess I should regress back to the moral of the story. To my surprise and amazement, every single Dioon seed has germinated! The roots have grown through the slats in the bottom of the trays and appear healthy, and the first leaves are just beginning to emerge from a several of the seedlings. I still cannot believe the hardiness of those Dioon seeds/seedlings. I guess this lends creedence to the grandeur of these "Jurassic plants" and removes from my mind any doubt or wonder regarding how and why cycads are still around.

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