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Cardboard plant care. You can fertilize twice a year early spring and fall if you like. Once the seedling has emerged it will look nothing like your adult plant. Cardboard plants make excellent beach plants as they tolerate salt and can grow in almost pure sand if necessary. Use bark or leaf mold to mulch cardboard plant.
It provides a year round display of striking foliage and once established requires little water or maintenance helping explain why it was named a 2007 florida plant of the year by the florida nursery growers landscape association fngla. Put the seeds in a plastic baggie to keep them fresh. Young cardboard palm care includes moderate light until the second set of true leaves appears. Soak the seeds in a bowl of water for 4 hours then carefully rub off the red coating from the seeds between your thumb and forefinger.
In zones cooler than 9 grow cardboard plant indoors as a houseplant. Cardboard palm plant is one of those ancient plants with a lot of character. The easy care plant grows well indoors in regular potting mix and will need repotting after a few years if the roots outgrow the container. Collect the small red seeds of the cardboard palm from an open cone on a female plant.
Maintenance is minimal when growing cardboard palms. Keep the sand moderately moist and transplant when the root base is robust. Find information on caring for cardboard palms in this article. Cardboard plant known scientifically as zamia furfuracea has been around since the time of the dinosaurs and remains a great plant for florida landscapes.