Hello everyone, I have a "bonsai" cardboard palm that was givin to me about 7 months ago. It had 3 stems of foliage each about 8-10 inches long when i first got it. Apparantly it likes my living room because it has recently grown to more stems however they are 3 times the size of the originals. I would like the stems to stay the same size as the others but it seems to be a bit late for that. Is there a way to prune the new growth back or am i barking up the wrong tree? (lol) thank you for you input. tim
As the plant gets older its leaves will get larger. Another possible cause of the large leaves is inadequate lighting, which can cause them to be quite leggy and elongated. Do the leaves look normal and larger with more leaflets or are the stems much longer?
Dylan- the leaves are small however the stems are very long-approx. 24 inches or better. will i damage the plant if I cut the new groth off? I dont want to but I have another in my office and its big and unrully to say the least. tim
It would not be good to cut the new growth off. It mostly likely would cause some harm to the plant but to what extent I do not know. If you do decide to cut it off keep this keep in mind that they grow slowly and do not send new growth out very frequently.
Cycads generally put out one flush a year, and none make particularly good bonsai... I think you're barking up the wrong tree in general. That being said, you're as likely as not dealing with inadequate lighting. Zamia furfuracea grows in wet Mexican sand, in full sun. As you can imagine, a Jersey living room is a bit of a far stretch from what it's native to. ;-)
