Botanical Name: Dioon spinulosum
Common Name: Spiny dioon, Giant dioon
Type of Plant: cycad: perennial
Character

Habit of Growth:
Overall Shape single trunk rosette of gray-green arching fronds which carry spiny leaf margins; this cycad can reach tree-like size when mature
Height to 40 ft.
Spread to 8 ft.
Growth Rate moderate
 
Environment:
Exposure outdoors: full sun to partial shade
Soil prefers a soil with good drainage
Hardiness tender (zones 21-24)
 
Morphology:
Leaves to 5' long, pinnately compound with 80 to 100 pairs of narrow 6" long leaflets which are armed with 5-8 short spines; leaflets gray-green
Flowers dioecious; female flower ovoid, to 18" long, 10" across and drooping when mature; male flower cylindrical, upright, to 18" tall
Fruit large fleshy drupes with a single 2" long seed
 
Propagation:
seed
 
Usage:
very choice accent plant for containers or in beds; used for its dramatic form and color; can be used in tropical, subtropical or oriental theme landscapes; can reach 50 feet in nature, listed as the world’s biggest cycad
 
Landscape Care:
Watering prefers regular, deep watering; somewhat drought tolerant when well established
Fertilizing slow-release in spring
Pruning remove dead fronds at the bottom of the plant; little needed
Pests/Diseases mealybug and scale
Special Conditions/Other thrives in hotter, drier conditions than Cycas revoluta
 
Origin: Southern Mexico
Family: Zamiaceae
 
Notes:
 
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