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  • Results 1 to 13 of 13

    Thread: Sexual Revolution

    1. #1
      CraigP's Avatar
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      Sexual Revolution

      For twelve years now, my King Sago palms, Cycas revoluta, bloom without fail. Cycads are dioecious... sexes are on separate plants and these have both always bloomed a male cone. I went out yesterday to dump some coffee grinds on them....the grinds keep them free of the Cycad scale insect...and to my great surprise, one had presented me with a female cone.

      I had never heard of this happening but after a quick internet search, I learned that under certain conditions they can indeed change sex and the change can go either way. Live and learn. Now what to do about the bathroom situation. < g >
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      Craig

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    2. #2
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      That's neat! I did not know coffee grinds deter scale....I think I will try that near my small bamboo grove. It sometimes has a problem with scale.

    3. #3
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      That is cool! It always seems that about the time you think you got something figured out, it throws you a curveball!
      Gallagher.

      "I always put off what I can until tomorrow, because a little part of me says I could be dead by then!"

      "When I die bury me deep, lay my bicycle at my feet, strap a helmet to my head, so I can ride when I'm dead."

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    4. #4
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      I checked the female plant today and I have to say, the whole process seems pretty neat. The female "bloom" ( really a gymnosperm cone a la a pine) stayed open for a number of day see original photo, but then closed...new photo. Not knowing if it was necessary or not, I hand pollinated the female and got antsy to see what was happening behind closed bracts, so took a peek. The seed are swelling, who knows, in twenty years I could have a cycad forest,. < g >
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      Truth is not what you want it to be; it is what it is. And you must bend to its power or live a lie.”― Miyamoto Musashi

      "Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens." ~ Jimi Hendrix

      “The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.”― Stephen Hawking


      Craig

    5. #5
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      The male cone is defunct, but if I wrapped it in aluminum, the female cone would resemble a jiffy pop container. The process has been fascinating to watch! I had thought that since Cycas is a gymnosperm, like a pine cone, the female Cycas cone would open in one fell swoop exposing the seed, but I notice today that the individual bracts are opening as the seed ripens and they are ripening from the bottom up.
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      Truth is not what you want it to be; it is what it is. And you must bend to its power or live a lie.”― Miyamoto Musashi

      "Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens." ~ Jimi Hendrix

      “The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.”― Stephen Hawking


      Craig

    6. #6
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      That's got to be cool watching that develop. I'm about to try out your coffee grounds method on my desert roses, they are getting some kind of scale on them this summer.
      John

      All truth goes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Then, it is violently opposed. Finally, it is accepted as self-evident.


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      This is really cool. I love watching it change in the photos!
      Gallagher.

      "I always put off what I can until tomorrow, because a little part of me says I could be dead by then!"

      "When I die bury me deep, lay my bicycle at my feet, strap a helmet to my head, so I can ride when I'm dead."

      "The artist must possess the courageous soul that dares and defies."
      kate chopin.



    8. #8
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      way cool, any new pictures?

    9. #9
      CraigP's Avatar
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      Update.........The seeds are close to ripe and the cone is deteriorating. If you see something that looks like coffee grounds they are....the infernal pest known as Cycad Scale is starting to infest the plant and coffee grounds, for reasons unknown to me, eliminates them.
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      Truth is not what you want it to be; it is what it is. And you must bend to its power or live a lie.”― Miyamoto Musashi

      "Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens." ~ Jimi Hendrix

      “The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.”― Stephen Hawking


      Craig

    10. #10
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      I believe it is the alkaloids from the grounds that deters them, apparently coffee is effective against many soft body pests like aphids, mealy bugs etc and the same alkaloids are probably discouraging to other pests even if not fatal.

      Take some used grounds and put them in a clear plastic bottle, fill with water and place in the sun for about a week. Strain the "sun tea" and spray directly on pests.

      I used it on a Hibiscus that was crusted with aphids. Sprayed and then repeated two days later and it did some serious damage to the aphid population. I plan to use it in conjunction with the alcohol/peroxide spray we talked about and it should be a pretty effective treatment.
      John

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    11. #11
      CraigP's Avatar
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      Hey John,

      This bout of scale surprised me....they weren't on the fronds; they started on the seed in the clone. I might mix a batch of coffee and Zerotol to spritz them with this week once the wave stops dumping on us....2" yesterday and today's storms are rumbling out there now.
      Truth is not what you want it to be; it is what it is. And you must bend to its power or live a lie.”― Miyamoto Musashi

      "Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens." ~ Jimi Hendrix

      “The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.”― Stephen Hawking


      Craig

    12. #12
      FIT BMX's Avatar
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      That thing is looking great! It kinda looks like a really big pineapple. LOL
      I will keep the coffee thing in mind.
      Gallagher.

      "I always put off what I can until tomorrow, because a little part of me says I could be dead by then!"

      "When I die bury me deep, lay my bicycle at my feet, strap a helmet to my head, so I can ride when I'm dead."

      "The artist must possess the courageous soul that dares and defies."
      kate chopin.



    13. #13
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      Quote Originally Posted by CraigP View Post
      Hey John,

      This bout of scale surprised me....they weren't on the fronds; they started on the seed in the clone. I might mix a batch of coffee and Zerotol to spritz them with this week once the wave stops dumping on us....2" yesterday and today's storms are rumbling out there now.
      I hate to complain about rain, but this is not helping anything at this point. I have a ton of stuff that is showing signs of overwatering or root rot from all this rain. Guess I should have doubled up on he perlite this year.....
      John

      All truth goes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Then, it is violently opposed. Finally, it is accepted as self-evident.


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