Cardboard Plant

Cardboard Plant (Zamia furfuracea) is a cycad, not a palm: a low squat trunk pushing out stiff arching fronds of thick felted leaflets that really do feel like cardboard. It settles at around 1m tall and 1.5m across, a broad sculptural feature rather than a tall one. Slow, tough and salt tolerant, it is a first choice for a poolside bed or a large pot. Every part of it is highly toxic, so read the caution below.

Why you'll love it

• Architecture that holds all year. Symmetrical whorls of rigid fronds give a strong shape in every season, without the constant leaf drop of most tropical plants.
• Built for poolside. Salt and chlorine splash do not trouble it, the leaflets stay put, and the low broad shape suits a paved surround.
• Coastal and heat proof. Salt, heat and drought tolerant once established, so beachfront positions and hot courtyards both work.
• Very slow and very low maintenance. One flush of fronds a year, nothing to prune or stake.

Where it works best

Pots and containers. Its strongest use. A pot 500mm or wider gives it room for a decade, and lets you shift it under cover at the cool end of its range.

Poolside, courtyards, rockeries and coastal beds. Plant it at least 1.5m back from paving so the mature spread does not push fronds over the edge. A single specimen among boulders or gravel is the way to use it, since repeating it weakens the effect.

Growing Cardboard Plant in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun to part shade, with full sun giving the most compact plant. It suits tropical, subtropical and warm temperate gardens only. It is frost tender, so colder gardens need it potted and movable.

Soil. Sharp drainage is not optional. Sandy and gravelly soils are ideal; on clay, mound the position 200mm or use a free draining cactus and palm mix. Wet winter soil is the most common way this plant is lost.

Water and feed. Water weekly through the first summer, then only in extended dry weather; mature plants dislike constant moisture. Feed once in early spring with a slow release palm and cycad fertiliser.

Pruning. Only to remove old fronds once they yellow, cut close to the trunk. Do not cut healthy green fronds; the plant produces so few that removing them sets it back a year.

Important caution. All parts are highly toxic to pets and people if eaten, and the seeds are the most dangerous. Poisoning in dogs can be lethal. Keep it away from animals that chew plants and from young children.

What to expect when it arrives

It is grown in sizes from 200mm plants in packs of six and 250mm in packs of three, through single 300mm and 400mm plants, to advanced 110L and 160L specimens. The smaller pots hold young plants, usually a rosette of two or three fronds, that take several years to gain presence. The 110L and 160L plants are mature, with a formed trunk.

Cycads travel well because the fronds are rigid and leathery. Expect no visible growth for the first few months, then one flush of fronds in the warm season. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95 and a minimum order of $300 before delivery. Advanced and large stock is freighted at cost, and every plant has our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Low maintenance poolside planting ideas
• Browse poolside plants
• Compare tropical plants
• Choosing the right pot size

Common questions

Is it safe around pets and children?

No. Every part is highly toxic if swallowed, the seeds most of all, with serious and sometimes fatal poisoning recorded in dogs. Avoid it if you have a pet that chews plants.

Is it a palm?

No, it is a cycad, an older and unrelated group. It grows far more slowly than any palm and produces cones rather than flowers, so palm care advice does not transfer.

Will it survive frost?

It is frost tender and damaged by even light frost. In cold gardens grow it potted and move it under cover over winter.