Native Plants

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Search Smarty Plants

See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

rate this answer

Not Yet Rated

Monday - January 24, 2011

From: Gonzales, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Non-Natives
Title: Transplanting non-native sago palms in Gonzales, TX
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

How to harvest Sago palm pups. I have 2 very old sago palms and they have loads of new starts (pups) coming off of the plant. I want to cut some pups and start some new plants without harming the parent plant. How do I do that?

ANSWER:

Since Cycas revoluta, Sago Palm is not native to North America, it falls out of the expertise of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. From Floridata, here is an article on Cycas revoluta,

From this article, especially note this paragraph on propagating the offsets or "pups" of this plant which, by the way, is not a true palm: