How To Harvest Sago Palm Babies

A beautiful sago palm (​Cycas revoluta​, USDA hardiness zones 9-12) growing in your garden can easily be propagated. You'll simply need to harvest the sago palm babies that grow along the base or sides of the tree trunk, let them dry for a few days and pot them up in a well-draining soil mix. Place the harvested babies out of reach of curious pets and children, because all parts of this plant are toxic when ingested.

Sago palms are from the Cycadaceae family and are not actually palms but cycads — slow-growing and hardy plants. The sago palm is relatively easy to care for and has wispy, feather-like leaves that can grow to 5 feet long with a span of around 10 inches.

The small plants or babies that emerge from the base or sides of the sago's lengthy trunk are easy to harvest from the mother plant. These clumps of fresh growth are also called "pups."

Sago palms produce pups, or offsets, when they are healthy and well-fed. These sago palm babies can be gently removed from the base or sides of the trunk and transplanted to a pot to grow indoors or in a well-prepared outdoor garden or landscape.

To separate sago palm babies from the main plant, they will need to be quickly snapped or expertly cut from where they join the main tree trunk. Harvest sago palm babies when the plant is in a resting phase during cool weather, just before it begins to sprout new leaves in summer.

Lift the leaves of the sago palm baby plant and find where it attaches to the base of the parent tree trunk. Give the pup a gentle tug while wiggling it back and forth. It should pull away from the parent plant easily.

For a stubborn pup, cut it cleanly with a sharp knife or pair of pruners at the narrowest part that is still attached to the parent. Clip the leaves and roots off the newly harvested sago palm pups. The leaves and roots will pull much-needed water from the pup and die off during the drying time anyway. Give the pup time to dry in a shady location for about a week before transplanting it.

When your sago palm pup is dry, you can plant it in a pot that is slightly bigger than the pup by a few inches. Make sure the pot has holes in the bottom for good drainage. Use a soil mixture that drains well, such as half perlite and half peat moss. Fill 2/3 of the pot with soil and water well. Push the pup into the soil until it is covered halfway. Water the newly transplanted pup when the top of the soil is almost dry.

The sago pup should produce a set of leaves after a few months, and roots may appear. Once the roots are visible, transplant the pup to a slightly larger pot. When the roots start growing and begin to poke out of the bottom of the plant pot, it's time to water more frequently. The slow-growing sago palm will continue to produce leaves and may eventually bloom after around 13 years.