How To Grow Sago Palm Pups | Removing Sago Palm Pups

Looking forward to growing these attractive plants in your garden? Learn How To Grow Sago Palm Pups and to maintain their continued healthy growth.

Botanical Name: Cycas revoluta

Other Names: Sago palm, King sago, Sago cycad, Japanese sago palm

Sago palms belong to the Cycadaceae and are cycads. They are hardy and evergreen plants growing on alluvial, sulfidic, and sandy soils in tropical climates. They have a thick and glossy, needle-like frond, appearing like a palm, but they’re not a palm.

Sago palms are slow-growing and have two varieties–King Sago Palm (Cycas revoluta), which is considered male, and Queen Sago Palm (Cycas rumphii) considered as female. Both of its varieties produce pups at the base of their trunks, after attaining maturity.

Removing Sago Palm Pups

Mature sago palm, both the male and female varieties, produce pups or suckers around the base of their trunks. These pups can be used to grow a new sago palm plant. For removing sago palm pups, follow these steps:

1. Harvesting the pup should be done in the months of spring or winter. To pick the pups, water around Sago Palm’s base to hydrate its roots.
2. Take a knife and keep it immersed in a bleach solution (10% bleach and 90% water) around half an hour. Let it dry.
3. Wear gloves before fetching the pups from the palm, as Sago is toxic.
4. Using the sanitized knife, chisel the pups from the tree. Try to move the pups back and forth to loosen them so that they can easily be detached. Make sure not to damage the mother plant. The pups look like light bulbs, having reddish-brown outer skin.
5. You can choose both leafless or leafy pups but prefer pups with less foliage. Avoid brown pups as they can be rotten.
6. Once you fetch the pups from the tree, fill the soil back to level the surface.

How to Grow Sago Palm Pups

1. Clean the pups off leaves or roots, using a knife after harvesting them.
2. Rinse the pups thoroughly to remove any debris from their surface. Dip the pups in a rooting hormone and let them dry.
3. Keep them in a cool and dry place, away from direct sunlight at least for a week, letting them develop the callus.
4. For propagating sago palm pups, choose a small pot of around 4-inches and fill it with a well-draining potting mix, containing half part of potting soil and half part with sand or peat moss.
5. Place the pups in the soil, in the middle of the pot, and water them thoroughly.
6. Put the pot in a partly shaded area and water it regularly and deeply until roots start appearing, which can take a few weeks to some months.
7. Don’t fertilize them until some leaves and roots start to emerge.
8. Once they attain their growth, repot them into a bigger pot with drainage holes.

Also Read: How to Grow Sago Palm in Containers

Caring for Sago Palm Plant

Keep the plant in full sun or partial shade. Provide ample water (avoid overwatering), especially during spring and summers, but reduce watering during winters. Since it is a toxic plant, especially the seeds, always keep your pets and children away from this plant. To learn on How to Care for Sago Palm, click here.