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| Category: Cycad |
| Family: Cycadaceae (Cycads) |
| Origin: Mexico (North America) |
| Evergreen: Yes |
| Flower Color: NA |
| Bloomtime: Infrequent |
| Height: 10-16 feet |
| Width: 6-8 feet |
| Exposure: Sun or Shade |
| Irrigation (H2O Info): Medium Water Needs |
| Winter Hardiness: 25-30° F |
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Dioon rzedowskii (Rzedowsk's Cycad) – A large attractive tall growing Mexican cycad that can eventually reach 15 feet tall with beautiful mature 5 feet long by about 1 foot wide arching leafs with Up to 80 pairs of 6 to 7 inch long leaflets that are tomentose when young and become a glossy pale green color and leathery within a few months. Plant in full sun to light shade in a moderately well drained soil and irrigate occasionally. Hardy at least down to the high 20s F. This plant is an attractive plant in the garden and is particularly useful in places like Santa Barbara where other wide leafed Dioon species do not thrive. It also makes a nice large container specimen. This cycad was first described as a new species in 1980. It comes from the valley of the Rio Santa Domingo in Oaxaca, Mexico, where it grows in crevices of limestone cliffs in open forest from 2100 to 2800 feet in elevation. It looks very similar to the more common Dioon spinulosum, though with leaflets that are entire, without teeth. The leaf also have 4 to 6 inch long bare petioles, which distinguishes it from Dioon meijae. Dioon rzedowskii is both hardier and tolerates full sun better than these other wide leafed Dioons and also remains the rarest of these three wide-leaf Dioons. The name honors Jerzy Rzedowski (1926- ) a Polish born botanist who moved to Mexico as a young man and became a prominent taxonomist and authority of Mexican plants. Our thanks to Eric Anderson for providing us with this greeat plant.
This description is based on our research and observations made of this plant as it grows in our nursery, in the nursery garden and in other gardens that we have visited. We also try to incorporate comments received from others and appreciate getting feedback of any kind from those who have additional information about this plant, particularly if they disagree with what we have written or if they have additional cultural tips that would aid others in growing Dioon rzedowskii.
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