Sago Palm Roots

[vonmerpf]

About a year and a half ago I was at the Home Depot and noticed that they were selling the same plants that were on one side of my front walk (they were already there when I bought my house a few years ago). Curious as to what they were, I looked at their labels and saw that they were Sago Palms. I also noticed that they had tags on them warning that they were highly toxic, especially to dogs and cats. Well, that was an unpleasant surprise. I looked up the plant when I got home and found a bunch of very sad stories about people's pets (mostly dogs) that had eaten part of the plant and had died a pretty grizzly death. I also found out that all parts of the plant are toxic, from the seeds down to the roots.

I have a cat who is an indoor kitty so he'll be ok but I didn't like the idea of having a plant on my property that could be dangerous to neighborhood animals or maybe even a small child. I always thought they were strange looking plants to begin with, so they had to go. I found a landscaper who was willing to dig them up and take them away, so away they went.

The only thing I am wondering about now are any roots that may still be left behind in the soil. The landscaper who took them dug up a pretty good sized root ball to go with them, but some of the root system was left behind. Do the toxins break down over time or is that soil permanently tainted? Some grass has been growing on the ground where the Sago Palms had been - do plants that grow on soil that had a toxic plant in it somehow uptake the toxins into them and become toxic themselves? Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

 

[DrCase]

Most pets don’t eat roots .
You gave away some nice plants .

 

[vette-kid]

I'm no expert, but my first reaction is that your overthinking it. We have sago palms all over in this area and I've not heard of anyone pet dying from them. I'm sure it has happened, but probably no more frequently than from ingesting antifreeze or some other fluids left or leaked out. Sago don't have berries or anything really appetizing to anything so most animals leave them alone. Plus they are prickly.

All that said, any roots will die off and decompose quickly and your soil is fine.

 

[Chuck]

Do you really think that if they were that dangerous they would still be for sale at HD and every nursery. There have been some pet deaths but very few and they were mostly dogs which ate the seeds. They grow every where here and never is their any mention of an animal dying from a Sago. On the radio veternarian show they talk about them from time to time and warn folks about the seeds and the limited danger to pets. They also say that the seeds are bitter tasting and doesn't taste good to them. If your removed sago's were good sized I am sure the landscaper laughed all the way to the bank and to this day is still smiling.

 

[Silentrunning]

I hate Sago palms! King and Queen Sagose are a nemesis. In the early 1980s I had 4 beautiful Kings in my front yard. They were monsters and I kept them pruned up perfectly. One day I noticed the branches starting to droop on all 4. I noticed that all the other Sagos in town were doing the same thing. It was some kind of blight or fungus that affect most of the Sagos o the west coast of Florida. By the time I had them removed, new top soil brought in and sod laid down, I was out $2,200.

As for stores not selling toxic plants, you can still buy Oleanders in most nurseries. The history of mishaps caused by Oleander plans is quite gruesome.