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Dioon Holmgreni Cycad
Location
Ancient Garden
Dioon Holmgreni Cycad
- Common name: Dioon holmgrenii, Sun Palm, Holmgren’s cycad
- Scientific name: Dioon holmgrenii
- Family name: Zamiaceae
- Origin: Oaxaca, Mexico
- Height: Up to 20 ft
- Width: 8-10 ft
- Growth: Slow
- Zone: 9b-11
- Light needs: Full sun to part shade
- Salt tolerance: Moderate
- Soil/pH/Texture: Tolerates a wide range of soil types, as long as it is well-drained. Neutral to slightly alkaline pH (pH 6.0-7.5)
- Moisture: Moderate water needs, water regularly but don’t let the soil become too saturated.
- Drought tolerance: Moderate
- Pests/Diseases: No pests or diseases are of particular concern.
- Growing conditions: Thrives in a warm, humid area with lots of sun. Although it is a slow grower, it can get very large, so give it plenty of room to grow. It is frost-tolerant but does best in an area that is free from frost.
- Characteristics: Trunk is rough and scaly in texture, and it may grow to be 20 ft tall and 16 inches in diameter. Young leaves are fuzzy. Petiole is a light lime green. Mature leaves are stiff, flat, and long with hundreds of pairs of leaflets. Leaflets are lanceolate and spiny along the edges. This plant is diecious, having separate male and female plants, which produce different cones. Cones of this plant are light tan and spiny.
- Propagation: By seeds.
- Wildlife: Its leaves provide shade and shelter for small animals such as birds.
- Facts: This endangered plant is only found in one area of the world, in humid pine-oak forests just to the southwest of San Gabriel Mixtepec in Oaxaca, Mexico, where there are only two known populations. Its populations is declining due to destruction due to agriculture and over-collecting.
- Designer considerations: Due to its large size and showy, featherlike leaves, it makes a good specimen planting with a distinct tropical look. It also pairs well with palm trees and other tropical plants.