no propaganda please Loc: moon orbiting the third rock from the sun

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2016/08/26/toxic-and-poisonous-plants-to-pets.aspx?utm_source=petsnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art1&utm_campaign=20160826Z1&et_cid=DM114575&et_rid=1635436282

I would add PENCIL CACTUS to that list, even getting the sap on your hand is dangerous. when I found out about that I put gloves on, double bagged the plant and put it in the garbage. If it was poisonous to the rats in the garbage dump that is fine with me.

Boo_Boo Loc: Jellystone

Thank you for this reminder.... and I will add, all the plants on this list is also harmful to children. Here is another good link: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/24-common-plants-poisonous-to-pets.html#14722180601172&action=expand_widget&id=0&data= In the west, the Sago palm can cause problems with dogs... cats, not so much. I do animal rescue and I have most of these plants, but I spray them down with pepper spray to teach the animals not to eat them. Funny thing, dogs and cats do not have many taste buds (about 700--so when your pet stops eating his kibbles it is not because he is tired of the food, but it is lacking in some value his body needs), their sense of smell is heightened, they smell the pepper and give the plants a quick mark and continue on their way. The pepper spray can not be smelled by humans....so don't worry about your home smelling like a taco stand. Because the animals do not eat the plant, they are not harmed by the spray.... it is very humane.

no propaganda please Loc: moon orbiting the third rock from the sun

Thanks for the information about those things being toxic to children to, and the pepper spray. The only one of those plants we have is a Sago which is where the dogs can't get to it. If we get another cat, the plant will go away.

Boo_Boo Loc: Jellystone

You are most welcome; your post is very timely because it is almost time to plan next years plants for outside.... Cats will not ordinarily eat the seed of the Sago.... and the frowns are too stiff to make into a play toy! So, I would not get rid of the plant.... as long as your dogs can't get to the seeds.

no propaganda please Loc: moon orbiting the third rock from the sun

So far no flowers and no seeds but it is about 8 inches high and in a pot in the computer room. the shelf is about 5 feet off the floor and the mastiffs can't get to it from there. However, the Welsh terrier may figure out how to use a ladder. He is that clever, sneaky and conniving. We named him Chaos for a reason!!!

Boo_Boo Loc: Jellystone

These palms are very slow growing plants... and only the female produce seeds and it takes them about 20 years to produce flowers... based on this, I think you are pretty safe in keeping your plant. How can you tell if your sago is a male or female, the female produces a clump at the crown when it flowers and the male produces a cone shape... Unless you have two plants, one of each because they are not true palms (which self pollinate), you will not get seeds. They are actually related to pine trees and date back to the time of dinosaur....It is not normally the inside plants, but those used in outside landscape that cause problems because if there is a pair (male and female) in five miles, they will pollinate and produce pups.

Male


Female

Boo_Boo Loc: Jellystone

Sorry... I hit the wrong reply.... should have hit edit.

no propaganda please Loc: moon orbiting the third rock from the sun

Thanks. somehow I can't imagine that we would have them outside where the winter snows can be 2 feet deep, and grounds us for a week or more.

Boo_Boo Loc: Jellystone

I live in Virginia and mine do just fine... I mulch them and cover them, but other than that... I feed them twice a year... they go semi-dormant in the winter, so no water is necessary and if the root is not frozen, they spring right back. They are very hardy... even if the leaves get killed by frost or freeze, I simply cut them off in the early spring....I avoid pruning in the late fall and winter.