When cardboard plants attack!

The first time I saw a cardboard plant was up north when I worked for a garden center.  They were small specimens meant to be houseplants in that situation.  And they did feel just like cardboard to the touch or even something artificial.  Here in Southwest Florida, the cardboard plant or cardboard cycad is a popular landscape plant for shrub boarders that gives a very tropical lush appearance.  They grow slowly, but can eventually get up to six feet in diameter.  Planning ahead for the space needed, the cardboard plant can make a nice addition to any yard.

The cardboard plant has been available to Florida gardeners for some time and is  a frequent component of many landscapes.  Although palm-like in appearance, the cardboard plant is a cycad more closely related to conifers.  Other plants that are cycads include the native coontie and the sago.  The fronds of the cardboard plant are leathery and have the feel of cardboard due to the fuzzy texture.  New fronds emerge from the center of a thick trunk in  a rosette pattern.  There are separate male and female plants which each produce cone-like reproductive structures.  The female plants develop seed-bearing cones which produce large red seeds.  These attractive red seeds (and plant parts) are noted to be toxic to both animals and people so make sure to keep pets and children away. 

Not only was the cardboard plant listed as one of Florida Nursery Growers & Landscaper Association’s (FNGLA) 2007 Plants of the Year, but it is also considered a Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ plant selection.  As such, it is considered drought tolerant, salt tolerant and will grow in sites from full sun to partial shade. 

As mentioned previously, the cardboard plant needs room to grow.  I have seen many plantings that did not take the ultimate size of this plant into consideration and they outgrew the site spilling out into walkways and other such travel areas poking and interfering with passersby. Cardboard plants are also armed with spines on their stems which can be hazardous.    As a result, they were often hideously pruned by hacking off portions and shaping them into no-longer ornamentally useful ragged cubes.  Not only did they outgrow the site as individual plants, but they also spread via side-shoots and germinated seeds.  This is one of those cases again where you need to “plan before you plant”.    Those smallish two-gallon plants will slowly, but surely grow larger into six-foot disks.  If pruning is needed, just take off out-of-bound fronds.

Cardboard plants are excellent subjects for the landscape that are practically carefree.  However, prior planning will help keep these beautiful cycads under control and in your good graces!  For information on all types of plants suitable for our area, please call our Master Gardener volunteers on the Plant Lifeline on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 1 to 4 pm at 764-4340 for gardening help and insight into their role as an Extension volunteer.  Don't forget to visit our other County Plant Clinics in the area.  Please check this link for a complete list of site locations, dates and times - http://charlotte.ifas.ufl.edu/horticulture/Plant%20Clinics%20Schedule.pdf.

Resources:

Gilman, E. F. (2014) Zamia furfuracea Cardboard Plant, Cardboard Cycad.  The University of Florida Extension Service, IFAS.

Scheper, J. (2004) Zamia furfuracea.  Floridata.com, Tallahassee, FL.

Culbert, D. (2007) Five New Plants For 2007.  The University of Florida Extension Service, IFAS – Okeechobee County.

Zamia furfuracea. (2015) Wikipedia.

McAvoy, G. (2015) Cycads Provide and Exotic Prehistoric Look.  The University of Florida Extension Service, IFAS – Hendry County.

Gardening Solutions (2015) Cardboard Plant.  The University of Florida Extension Service, IFAS.

The Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ Guide to Plant Selection & Landscape Design. (2010) The University of Florida Extension Service, IFAS.