How to Water Sago Palm (Cycad) Once Each Week in the Winter

Q. Now that our irrigation is only allowed for 1 day, I was wondering if once a week is sufficient watering for my small sago palm. Should I hand water it on other days?

Not the readers sago palm (cycad) but it is small! It is in a container so it is more difficult to water than one planted in the ground. The soil in the container is more limited in size than one planted in the ground.

A. Hard to say. Depends on how much water your soil around the sago palm holds, where the drip emitters for it are located and the side of the house it’s on.

Hard to believe this cycad, or sago palm, is growing in Las Vegas. It was situated in the right location with the right care.

           Ideally the drip emitters are located between 12 to 18 inches from the trunk. For large sago palms I would suggest three emitters spaced in a triangle. Run the irrigation system long enough to water 12 to 18 inches deep. you can measure that with something long skinny and hard like a piece of rebar. If the sago palm is smaller, it may need only two emitters to wet the soil to the same depth. Smaller plants don't use as much water, but the system needs to run just as long.

Hard to accept this is the same plant as the one above. But this one is located in the heat of the sun and growing in poor soils.

           Plants on the south and west sides of the house or wall use more water faster than those on the east and north sides. A deep watering once a week should be all that is necessary for them in most soils and locations except the hottest.