Hi everyone. Wife bought a Sago Palm about 2 months ago. From What I read on the internet, these are supposed to be slow growers. Right. So far, I have 2 stalks growing out the center about 12" long, and a third one just starting. My question is...I have "spikes" growing vertical from the outside of the bulb. Any idea what these are? Don't ask for pictures. I do not have a digital camera or cell phone. I'd have to ask someone to borrow theirs.
Thanks for any help.

Hi & welcome! If you can't bring pics to us, we can bring them to you. Pics from the plant database on this site:

The new growth comes from the center and as the center grows, they shift to the edge of the nub in the center. Does your plant look like a younger version of this?


More pics:
Sago Palm (Cycas revoluta)

Your sago palm may have pups right at the very base of the plant. So it is also sending out new leaves.

Picture's not right. Give me a couple of days. I'll see if I can get my son to come over with his cell phone.

No problem. We'll be here. : )

Got some. My son got some great pics.

Welcome to the forum!

Those are new leaves growing up from the center. The spikes at the base are normal. They are dried up remnants of old leaves. You can trim the sharp points if you like. In the wild they serve as protection for the stem of the plant.

Only problem...those dried up old leaves have been slowly growing. They were very tiny when my wife bought the plant. Now they are about an inch high.

Question...What does a "PUP" look like, and where does it come from?

Pups are new growths that form from the roots or at the base. I'm not sure your plant is old enough to make any yet, and some just don't for a very long time, or unless damaged by frost at the tip.


Do you have a spot closer to a window? The new growth looks stretched from being in low light (etiolated.)

Milford69 said: Got some. My son got some great pics.

Aww..what a cute pair of new leaves. So it is just new leaves growing a bit too etiolated, can you raise your container higher and closer to a window, ideally a south or west facing window?

Pups are the babies/clones of the mother plant. Anyhow, for your plant, not pups..I misunderstood your description earlier.

Sometimes, since this plant is such a very, very slow growing plant, it may be starting new pups way below the soil line..so just observe as it goes, it does take awhile.

Overall your plant looks great seeing it is forming new leaves..but do try to give it much more light. So those new leaves will grow even better.

To give you an idea later how your plant may show it has pups,
here is my Sago palm. I grow this outdoors year round, and there were two years it lost all the leaves. So I was left with just the mother caudex. Eventually, as I moved it to stronger light and been watering it, finally a year after new leaves growing at the base..so it decided to grow several pups. I have decided to just leave them as is. Not going to disturb them.
Typically if one wants to separate and repot the babies, wait till the babies are about half the size of mommy plant.



Cannot see the caudex of the baby sago, it is below soil line, so all I see are the new leaves forming around the base of the plant.

Actually all the existing leaves you see on my plant are from the several pups at the base of mommy caudex.

I am not sure if mother caudex will try to send new leaves later, but the tip portion sure looks alive, so it maybe just so slow or giving all its energy to the existing pups.

to garden.org!

The 2 "stalks" that you see growing from the center of your Sago Palm (Cycas revoluta) are new leaves. Here's a member photo from our database that shows a plant with new leaves forming:


Eventually new plants (some refer to them as "pups" and "offsets") will form at the base of the mother plant. The photos below are a Sago that we had at our old house. The first photo shows the entire plant that had lower leaves trimmed off and in the second photo you can see the new plants that have sprouted near the base:

Hi. I posted a comment earlier, but I don't see it. Regarding light, best I can do is a WEST facing window. There is an awning covering part of the window. So it can only get direct light from 1 P.M. to Sunset.

That's not terrible for a plant inside for winter. The sideways winter rays penetrate pretty well when the days are shorter. It's a decent arrangement, and the best we tropical wannabes can do. ; )

Milford69 said: Hi. I posted a comment earlier, but I don't see it. Regarding light, best I can do is a WEST facing window. There is an awning covering part of the window. So it can only get direct light from 1 P.M. to Sunset.

West facing is good👍
If it is safe for you and your family, position it by the window, so it can 'see' the light better. Those leaves are pokey..so be careful.

Also do quarter turns maybe once every few weeks to even out light distribution.