Landscaping With Ancient Plants - Cycads

With the disappearance of the mango tree by the edge of the media studio and the expanded area created by pruning back the banyan tree on the east of Kadavul, we had a lot of exposed ground. Paramacharya Sadasivanathswami acquired some cycads to dress up the area, provide some shade and wind break for the flowering plants. Cycads may look like, but should not be confused with, palms or ferns. They are a unique plant. Fossil remains of cycads have been discovered that indicate they were present on earth 280 million years ago. Some think even longer. A cycad plant is known to live 1000 years. Highly prized in the world of tropical horticulture, they are a zero maintenance and very slow growing plant. In a tropical jungle environment where things grow so fast you have to spend a lot of time trimming and pruning back your flora, hauling away fallen fronds and leaves.... cycads will just "sit there" year after year, looking beautiful.

Full grown plants arrive on our trailer.

Watch out! spiny thorns will pierce your gloves!

Several were planted next to the newly renovated media studio.

These will help provide shade for the nearby anthuriums which were suddenly exposed when the big tree came down (they don\

t like direct sun)'

Several others were planted in the new \"Nandi Gardens\" next to Kadavul

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