Species library › Encephalartos › Encephalartos princeps
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Encephalartos princeps

The Kei cycad, a blue-grey Eastern Cape species that grows on steep rocky slopes and cliffs in the Kei River valleys. It wants full sun, summer water and a cool, dry winter, and is among the more cold-tolerant Encephalartos.

Encephalartos princeps
Photo: Stickpen, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day IntermediateTargets in Plantistry
Night A clear drop at nightTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Dry airBand in Plantistry
Light Full sunDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
Expects a seasonal restGrows on rock (lithophyte)

Where it grows wild

Arborescent cycad of dry valley bushveld, rooted in rock crevices and on dolerite and sandstone outcrops along the Great Kei River system.

The wild records sit near 1000 m; the second site at sea level in Cape Town is almost certainly a garden plant.

Eastern Cape, South Africa

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates
✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it
✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light
✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it
✓ Substrate and airflow
✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

Grow Encephalartos princeps? Add it to a free garden and its full profile opens. Pro opens all 38,374 profiles in the library, plants and fungi.

Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its Public domain licence, unmodified.