Cycas revoluta - with a lovely new flush of leaves.

Gosh, what an unusual looking thing :)

This is the swirl of new leaves at the crown of the plant - I love watching it as it unfurls.

Would you take more pictures at its other stages too please ? :))

Certainly can ... I'm hoping it flowers again this year as well. It did last year but I didn't get a shot! It's an interesting bloom - absolutely stinks when it's passing over though!

Would be interested to see this as it develops. Have tried to keep these as pot plants with varying success. Aren't they one of the oldest plants in existence - and I believe there is a HUGE one in the glass house at Kew! Which is millions of years old... alright probably a slight exaggeration!

Antigone - having googled these I found out they are one of the most primitive living seed plants and are often called 'living fossils'. Apparently they're related to cone bearing plants which trace their origins back to the ancient flora of the early Mesozoic era.

I think to get these to grow successfully in pots, they need very deep pots, they prefer to be dry and must have bright light. They are very slow growing - I have two of them growing around my courtyard and they are about 15 years old now.

Thanks for the information - they are expensive to buy over here, but I intend to have another go. My partner spends quite a bit of time in SWTurkey and they grow well there, I think sometimes we just don't have the warmth required!

so amazing to see the new growth....look forward to the up dates bernieh

I've seen these growing in the wild in South Africa. There are male and females - you need both to get the cones

Great Photo Bernieh

Homebird - would you believe both my cycas are out in the courtyard close to the house and yes there's a stink when the flower starts to wilt and die!! It's not too bad though - it's just that we have to walk past them both when we leave the house.

You're so lucky to have all these exotic plants. But I'm sure there has been a lot of hard work going on to get to this state!

Thanks Oldgunner - it's true for all gardeners. There's a lot of work that goes into making sure our plants flourish. These two beauties take care of themselves now - the only thing they get from me now is watering!

Marvellous, Bernieh! Paleobotany!! I'm sure there are specimens growing in the greenhouses of our Botanical Gardens...I've never been fortunate enough to see one though.... lots' of pics here on goY of them growing in UK gardens... with lots of special care and careful handling! Terrific picture!

Lori - no careful handling or care for the ones I have. They're well established and look after themselves now. Just down the road from my house is a wholesale Cycad nursery - it's huge and sells cycas revoluta and others to landscaping companies. I have to drive past it every day and see literally hundreds and hundreds of these in various stages of growth!

Lol.... I really have to make it down under one of these years...sounds a wonderful place.

If you ever do Lori, make sure Canberra Botanic Gardens is on your list of places to visit - it's full of Australian native plants