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Garden

Fanfare for a fossil

A plant doesn't have to be a fresh young thing to be named a Florida Plant of the Year. The cardboard palm, an intimate of dinosaurs, has been named a 2007 winner.

By JUDY STARK
Published January 13, 2007

The 2007 winner, cardboard palm (Zamia maritime or Zamia furfuracea), is a member of the cycad family, a group of endangered ancient plants that have been growing on the Earth since before the age of the dinosaurs.
	[Photo: Yvonne Swanson]

ADVERTISEMENT Shower-of-Gold Galphimia gracilis (formerly known as thryallis) is a drought-tolerant, evergreen shrub with blue-green foliage and yellow clustering flowers that bloom year-round. It likes full sun and plenty of room, and spreads up to 6 feet high and 4 feet wide. Holly fern Cyrtomium falcatum is hardy in North, Central and South Florida as a perennial ground cover that loves shade and moist soil. Glossy, dark-green fronds emerge from the center of this low-growing (18 inches), clumping evergreen. Limelight dracaena Dracaena deremensis is a hardy, low-light houseplant in most of Florida, but can be grown outdoors in South Florida. It has bright, glossy lime-green leaves and can grow up to 5 feet tall and 4 feet wide. Purple lovegrass Eragrostis spectabilis is a perennial Florida native that grows 18 inches high and 24 inches wide, with purple spikes on its flat blades. It’s hardy in droughts and rainy seasons. Round, hairy stems give this plant an unusual, casual appearance.

Plant names can be so misleading, as in the case of the cardboard palm, which isn't used to make cardboard and isn't even a palm. Remember its name, though, because it has just been named a "Florida Plant of the Year" by the state's leading nursery and landscape group, the Florida Nursery, Growers & Landscape Association in Orlando.

Each year this professional organization selects a half-dozen or so plants that thrive in the state's different geographic regions. Experts are asked to choose "great plants that are versatile, easy to maintain, hardy for a significant area of Florida, have consumer appeal and are available to the consumer through their local garden centers," says spokeswoman Jennifer Nelis. For 2007, five plants were honored: besides the cardboard palm, a fern, shrub, perennial grass and houseplant (see the pictures and descriptions below).

The 2007 winner, cardboard palm (Zamia maritime or Zamia furfuracea), is a member of the cycad family, a group of endangered ancient plants that have been growing on the Earth since before the age of the dinosaurs. It's considered a "living fossil," along with other common cycads, such as coontie palm and sago palm. Cycad means "palm" in Greek, and the plants do resemble the palm, but these cone-producing plants are more closely related to pine trees, according to Tom Broome, owner of the Cycad Jungle in Polk City and a leading expert on the species.

The cardboard palm's thick, slightly fuzzy leaves feel like cardboard, hence its name.

There are hundreds of varieties of cycads, and many are rare and extremely expensive. Cardboard palm, however, is one of the more commonly available cycads and a good choice if you're new to growing these unusual plants. Cardboard palm, admired for its hardy disposition, is not susceptible to the highly lethal Asian scale disease that is obliterating the sago palm.

"You can grow these plants better if you give them good stuff, but for people who don't want to do anything, these are excellent plants. Stick them out (in the yard), and they take care of themselves," says Broome, whose 3.5-acre nursery is home to 30,000 individual cycads. In their natural environment, cycads have thrived for thousands of years, growing in sand and even on the surface of rocks. Providing even minimal care is a luxury to these stalwarts, he says.

Cardboard palm adds a tropical look to the landscape and will grow in sun or shade (although its natural habitat is full sun). Its tough green fronds grow from a central point up to 4 feet long; when placed in bright sun, its fronds are tightly clumped and overlap. In a shady location, it forms a more sweeping habit of loosely arranged fronds and produces fewer cones. Mature size can reach 5 feet high and up to 6 feet across, so give your plant plenty of room to grow.

There are male and female plants (be sure to find out at the nursery which gender you're buying). Males produce an exotic-looking cone that bears pollen. Females grow similar cones, which ripen, split open and drop bright red seeds. Cardboard palm's biggest drawback is its toxicity: Every part of the plant, but especially the seeds, is poisonous, so exercise caution when children and pets are near.

"If you have a small animal, you should get a male plant," says Broome, who notes that some pets are attracted to the berries that can litter the ground around the female plant.

The biggest consideration in planting cardboard palm is to choose a well-drained location. You can amend the soil with organic matter or plant in the soil you've got. In addition to growing well in sand, this old-timer is salt- and drought-tolerant to boot. It needs no pampering, but if winter temperatures dip below 30 degrees, its leaves can be damaged, although the plant won't die.

Cardboard palm is self-fertilizing, but you can feed your plant if you like. Broome suggests a minimum feeding each spring of a high-nitrogen product (such as Nutricote) to keep your plant looking its best. If you want to speed its growth rate and production of cones, more frequent applications of a high-nitrogen product are needed. Broome has developed a 24-7-8 "Cycad Special" fertilizer that's sold by mail (a half-gallon jug is $12). Visit his Web site at www.cycadjungle.8m.com or call (863) 984-2739.

Cardboard palm is virtually pest-free, except for occasional mealybugs, which are easily zapped with this spray recommended by Broome: Mix 2 teaspoons of rubbing alcohol in a quart of water and spray on the plant. It won't hurt the foliage, but it will quickly kill the pests.

Yvonne Swanson is a freelance writer in St. Petersburg and a master gardener for Pinellas County.

*   *   *

In addition to the cardboard palm, these hardy plants were chosen as this year's winners by the Florida Nursery, Growers and Landscape Association:

Limelight dracaena Dracaena deremensis is a hardy, low-light houseplant in most of Florida, but can be grown outdoors in South Florida. It has bright, glossy lime-green leaves and can grow up to 5 feet tall and 4 feet wide.

Holly fern

Cyrtomium falcatum is hardy in North, Central and South Florida as a perennial ground cover that loves shade and moist soil. Glossy, dark-green fronds emerge from the center of this low-growing (18 inches), clumping evergreen.

Purple lovegrass

Eragrostis spectabilis is a perennial Florida native that grows 18 inches high and 24 inches wide, with purple spikes on its flat blades. It's hardy in droughts and rainy seasons. Round, hairy stems give this plant an unusual, casual appearance.

Shower-of-Gold

Galphimia gracilis (formerly known as thryallis) is a drought-tolerant, evergreen shrub with blue-green foliage and yellow clustering flowers that bloom year-round. It likes full sun and plenty of room, and spreads up to 6 feet high and 4 feet wide.

[Last modified January 12, 2007, 09:18:57]