Sago palm
Sources last read 14 September 2026.
Forgiving Among the more tolerant plants here.
Also called cycad, Fern Palm, Japanese Sago Palm and King Sago Palm.
Sago palm is toxic
- Toxic to cats. Toxic principle: Cycasin. Clinical signs: Vomiting, melena, icterus, increased thirst, hemorrhagic gastroenteritis, bruising, coagulopathy, liver damage, liver failure, death. ASPCA
- Toxic to dogs. Toxic principle: Cycasin. Clinical signs: Vomiting, melena, icterus, increased thirst, hemorrhagic gastroenteritis, bruising, coagulopathy, liver damage, liver failure, death. ASPCA
- Toxic to people. Harmful when eaten; irritates skin. Use gloves and protective gear when handling it. RHS
What the sources say about its care
Sources file this plant under other names: Cycas revoluta, zamia species (ASPCA). Citations below point at the name its source uses.
- Light
- Partial shadeRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Water
- Moist but well-drainedRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Humidity
No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.
ASHRAE recommends indoor relative humidity between 30% and 60% 30–60%Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026- Temperature
How cold this tolerates, not what it prefers. No source read for this site publishes a preferred range for a plant indoors.
H3 — -5 to 1°C -5 to 1 °CRHS · read 13 September 2026- Soil
- Loam; pH Acid or NeutralRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Toxic to cats
- ToxicASPCA, filed as Cycas revoluta, zamia species · read 13 September 2026
- Toxic to dogs
- ToxicASPCA, filed as Cycas revoluta, zamia species · read 13 September 2026
- Harmful to people
- Harmful when eaten; irritates skin. Use gloves and protective gear when handling it.RHS · read 13 September 2026
How it usually goes wrong
- Dry, curled edges on fronds near a heater
A yellow halo sits just inside the brown edge on the sago palm, and new fronds often come in already tipped with brown during the heating season.
The edges fail first because they are the end of the plumbing. Penn State Extension cites 30% to 60% as the recommended indoor range, and winter heating regularly takes a room under it. That applies while it is grown indoors; its RHS rating of H3 describes a plant that also grows outside, where the air is seldom that dry.
Telling it apart: Whether the soil is dry too. Crisp edges with damp soil point at the air; with dry soil, at the watering.
Penn State ExtensionSago palm brown leaf tips and edges: causes- New fronds are smaller than the old and further apart
The sago palm looks sparse rather than sick: fewer fronds, spaced further apart, all angled toward the window.
Its source puts it in partial shade. Under that, each new frond costs more than it returns, so the plant builds fewer and thinner ones.
Telling it apart: Whether old growth is affected. Light shows in what arrives next; feeding shows in what is already there.
RHSDiagnose leggy growth on this Sago palm- Split, browned fronds on the side of the plant facing the wind
After a windy night the sago palm shows fresh brown edges and a few torn fronds, all facing the same way.
Its source lists a sheltered position. Wind strips moisture from the fronds and knocks them together, and a plant that is not suited to exposure shows both kinds of damage.
Telling it apart: The pattern of the damage. Tears and bruises point at wind; soft, spreading patches point at rot or disease.
RHSSago palm brown leaf tips and edges: causes- Yellowing that begins at the lowest fronds
Colour goes before shape on a sago palm. The lowest fronds yellow evenly, stay soft to the touch, and the compost two inches down is still wet from the last watering.
Its source describes soil that is moist but well-drained. Roots held below that are short of air, and roots short of air stop moving water, so the plant wilts in a wet pot.
Telling it apart: Whether new growth is affected too. Root damage shows up everywhere at once; ordinary leaf loss shows only in the oldest leaves.
RHSDiagnose yellowing leaves on this Sago palm
Not sure which it is? Ask the diagnosis questions for Sago palm.
Routine care
- Watering
- In the growing season water moderately; at other times water sparingly.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Propagation
- Seeds or suckers can be used for propagation.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Increase from seed or suckers.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Pruning
- Dead fronds can be cut away.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Pruning is not needed.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Pests and diseases
- Usually free of pests outdoors; under glass, glasshouse red spider mite can occur. Diseases: usually none.RHS · read 13 September 2026
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Photographs
About the plant
Cycas revoluta is a species of gymnosperm in the family Cycadaceae, native to southern Japan including the Ryukyu Islands. It is one of several species used for the production of sago, as well as an ornamental plant. The sago cycad can be distinguished by a thick coat of fibers on its trunk. The sago cycad is sometimes mistakenly thought to be a palm, although the only similarity between the two is that they look similar and both produce seeds.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026
- Native range
- China (Fujian), Japan (S. Shikoku, Kyushu) to E. TaiwanWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026Japan (Kyushu) to Nansei-ShotoNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Far EastRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Climate
- subtropicalWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
- Growth form
- Perennial, Shrub, Tree; habit erectNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Tufted (evergreen)RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Size
- Height 36–120 in; width 36–120 inNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Height 1-1.5 metres; spread 1-1.5 metres after 20–50 yearsRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Flowering
- Does not flower. Plants are either male or female, and seed needs both: males bear oval, yellowish pollen cones, females bear rounded cones that set seed once pollinated. Grown indoors as a houseplant, it seldom forms cones.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Flowers brown in summer; yellow in summerRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Uses
What sources record people using this plant for. A traditional or medicinal use listed here is a record of use, not advice to eat it or treat anything with it.
The pith holds edible starch that can be made into sago, but it needs careful washing to remove the pith's toxins.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Common problems with Sago palm
Plants with similar care
Sources
- ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
- NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Wikipedia · read 13 September 2026
What this does not cover
The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.
Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.
If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.