Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Meet Sammy

Sammy is a Yucca Rostrada – we think he is about 10 yrs old (so we were told by his previous caretakers, the folks at Cistus Nursery). Sammy came to live with us last summer. The poor guy spent all summer and the harsh winter setting in the same pot he arrived in. I wrapped a bamboo runner around the pot in an attempt to disguise it and added some decorative rocks to cover the soil, but he still had to endure the humiliation of spending months in black plastic while every other plant in the garden was snug in the ground or tucked in a proper planter. I tried, but I never managed, to find a suitable place for Sammy in the ground. There was a scary point during our December ice storm when I went outside to look around and see how things were doing. There was so much snow and ice on each of his leaves that his top was flat, not the nice round dandelion head that you see here. I tried to carefully chip off the ice but only succeeded in cracking a leaf. I thought he was a goner.

Nope – Sammy is one tough trooper. And very spiky.

One of the “benefits” of loosing several large plants last winter, is that now there is a perfect spot for him in the ground, Sammy has inspired a new vision and the entire reworking of the best draining planting area next to the patio. Now I just have to find the time…I promised Sammy to have him out of the plastic and into the ground before the first mojito is consumed on the patio this summer. The clock is ticking…

5 comments:

  1. I envy you that mature yucca. What great structure and form for your patio garden.

    P.S. Thanks for fixing the comment setting.

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  2. Hi there,
    I found you through the comments on GWI. Thanks for blogging---I plan to move to Portland sometime in 2010 and have been looking for a garden-obsessed blogger to get an idea of what I have to look forward to!

    May I say, I am living for the day when I leave my zone 4 garden--darling as it is--and DOUBLE my gardening zone!

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  3. Thank god it survived. It's funny, the first picture looked like a small plant in maybe a 5 gallon pot, but the second one--that's huge!! How do you get it out of the pot to transplant? You're going to need to wear goggles to keep from poking your eyes.
    BTW, thanks for the agave identification!

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  4. Pam - I feel pretty lucky to have Sammy. I don't know what came over us that day to spend what we did on him but he's worth it!

    Judybusy - is that you on 'dig this chick'? So you live in Missoula? My husband and I were just reminiscing about our trips there back when we lived in Spokane. Missoula rocks! But your gardening habit will definitely enjoy the change...from z4 to z8 wow! You are going to have fun.

    Megan - glad I could help! To move Sammy from the driveway to where he sets now we wrapped him in a sheet, used a hand truck and still suffered a few cuts. Getting him out of that pot is going to involve a few naughty words and lots of band-aids...and you're right, I better start shopping for goggles.

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