A musella lasiocarpa in a container 1. if you bring it indoors, should it just be watered in winter? And WHEN to bring indoors (to the kitchen) in London, as it's usually quite mild. 2. If left outside, I know the roots need to be kept frost free, so apart from putting a fleece bag over the stalk, should I pack stuff around the soil (it already has mini bark mulch) and do you need to wrap the container with anything as well? Ditto for Cycas Revoluta - it says hardy to -5C, but when should I wrap and is it just tying the fronds up and putting a fleece bag over, or protecting the container too? Any advice greatly appreciated.
Hello MAJ. I have to admit. I have never had any dealings with Musella lasiocarpa or any of it's relatives. Cycas revoluta has so often attracted my attention, when visiting stately gardens. You mention bringing the container grown subjects indoors. I will do my best to provide you with some, shall we say, basic tips. Bringing in or taking out can often cause alarm. The often sudden change of enviroment can be noticed by changes to the foliage, for a while until the plant once again becomes acclimatised. Containerised plants indoors need careful watering. Best if possible to submerge the pot/container in water, wait until the bubble stop, stand aside to drain and forget about watering until the compost is bone dry and perhaps the foliage attracts your attention. Question of feeding. Plants of whatever genera slow down in the winter,natural light levels such as sunlight is lowered causing in the plants ability to take advantage and grab all it can, is at a low. So feeding is basically a waste of time and money. Your Cycas . Being an admirer of botanical dvd's, and seeing this practiced. However on plants planted in display beds/borders. At the onset of winter, it is the practice to protect the trunk with bracken or fleece and in extreme exposed areas, fleece etc can be usse to protect the fronds. Generally speaking. Much depending on the gardener and the location. Affording against frost protection around pots and containers is worthwhile. MAJ. There is a lot of info on the internet that may help you. Best wishes.
Ive got musella planted out in the garden, I don't protect it and it dies to the ground each winter. To be honest it needs to be grown frost free in order to get a nice sized plant. As to the cycas, leaving out all winter never worked for me. Any frost damage will take years to be covered and replaced, it's pretty slow as you probably know. Both IMO need to be frost free over winter to do well . I'm not a fan of wet soggy frozen fleece
Lasiocarpa is hardy down to -10. I bring it in for winter but in London you should be ok outside. I would wrap it in straw and keep it drier. I have a cycas revolouta in the ground and cover the crown when the weather drops below 0. If you are moving the Cycas inside, make sure that you keep the plant in the same orientation if theres any new growth forming. The leaves will twist if the plant is rotated when it is flushing.
I have a large Cycas rev. grown from seed in the late 80's. Due to it's size and weight, it can be difficult to keep moving it around. For the last 2 years, it has remained outside over winter ( due to lack of GH ) - the crown is protected by straw, the fronds are loosely tied, the pot and stem have a roll of insulation material ( of the type you would put behind a radiator ) wrapped around up to the crown - both to protect the plant and also the young plants growing from the base. Fleece and/or plastic compost bag over the whole. Sheltered spot and seems to work well for me. As with any tender stuff, how you best deal with it in the colder months depends on your location and facilities available.
