Last Sunday I had a date with the Outlaw Gardener himself. The plan was to pick up the agaves that he’d rescued for me and then grab a bite to eat before I headed home to Portland. As luck would have it I arrived at his house before he did, so I had a few minutes to wander around the public face of his garden, I only wished I had gotten there sooner so I could have taken more photos…
Hot lips!
Love this Grevillea...
And wish I could have gotten a better photo of the flowers!
So about those agaves, I thought there were 3, or maybe 4, 1-gallon sized plants waiting for me.
Nope! Make that five 1-gallon, three 2-gallon, a 5-gallon and a pristine Agave angustifolia that Peter said he wasn't interested in overwintering (it’s a zone 9 plant), but I think was actually a gift. Because even though he’s an "outlaw" Peter is a very generous person. Car all loaded up I hit the road…
As I drove home, straining to see the road and the cars around me (it was a grey, rainy, miserable drive home) my mind wandered back to my special passengers and I glanced at the one next to me…wait a second! What’s that stick in the middle of the plant?
It looks like the remains of a bloom spike, but this agave is certainly not dead. It might look a little rough around the edges but it's alive. Could it be? A non-monocarpic agave?
Yes indeed. I remember having read something once upon a time about the possibility of a couple agaves that were not monocarpic and sure enough after a little research I confirmed the Agave striata var. striata lives on after blooming to form a clump, how exciting!
Fast forward to last Thursday when the constant downpours stopped and the sun actually came out for a bit. Like a kid with a room full of Christmas presents to explore I went outside to inspect my new agave patients. First up, Agave funkiana…
I cut off a few less than attractive leaves and started to clean the plant up a bit pulling it out of the container to get a look at the roots and, well, the whole thing came off in my hand.
I saw the little roots sticking out of the bottom of the clump and thought about replanting it in a fresh (drier) pot but the leaves kept falling so easily off the plant that it seemed like a lost cause. One down. This was not a good way to start.
Moving on to Agave americana, or possibly A. americana “something” but we’ll never know as this is all there was for a tag...
This one looks pretty good. A little scaring on the leaves but the base is solid. Yay!
The smaller of these two is labeled Agave americana var. protoamericana (at least I’m assuming what the missing letters are), the larger has no tag.
They do look quite similar so I thought maybe that's what they both are. However the teeth are a bit different.
And yikes, look at those roots!
Next up is this little guy, suffering from “failure to separate” disorder. Yes I just made that up…sometimes an unfurling agave leaf gets stuck and the one inside starts to push out and it creates an unhappy distortion, like this…
Not looking so good eh? When I first read its tag I assumed it had accidently ended up with this plant. After all this looks nothing like the ‘striata’ above right?
Well thank goodness I looked it up because what I discovered was this plant is indeed (hopefully) an Agave americana ‘striata’…which is much much different that the Agave striata var. striata above. In fact it’s a plant I've been wanting since I first saw it at San Marcos back in 2009. I just didn't recognize it as such because the colors are so washed out (lack of sun?) if you look closely you can see some of the striping. How exciting!
Next up…this one had no label at all, but it looks good! I think it might be Agave ‘Cornelius’ or maybe just Agave americana variegata. Any other guesses?
Here’s the beauty queen of the group, Agave angustifolia…I think one looks a lot like Agave desmettiana in its graceful form, and the fact that it’s not hardy here in zone 8. Into the basement it went for the winter.
Finally this pair…
Only one of them had a label but they look so similar I’m going to assume they are both Agave neomexicana. Which is very very good news as I’ve had luck with this agave in the past…
They both look fabulous and with all those pups they are obviously pretty happy.
Such graceful spikes!
Speaking of happy here’s the Agave striata after I removed the dead and broken spikes.
And look it’s starting to form a clump!
Here’s the whole group all cleaned up and ready for their class photo…
I wish they had a long hot summer ahead of them instead of a cold dark winter, but I’ll do my best to help them along to a full recovery. Thank you Peter (and Sally) for this agave windfall! I just hope I’m not becoming some crazy agave hoarder.
Hey…I HEARD THAT!
I would hate to fall down the stairs and land in your basement. The effect would be something akin to in iron maiden.
ReplyDeleteSeriously great haul...guess it pays to hang out with outlaws.
Actually (for now at least) the spikes are all against the west wall, you'd have plenty of empty cement floor to crack your bones on. In fact you might end up wishing you had some plants as cushion, even a spiky cushion.
DeleteI love a story with a happy ending! Glad that they're happily at home with you! Agave angustifolia looks much better at your place than it did at mine! Why fight it, you are a crazy agave hoarder and we all love you for it!
ReplyDeleteAndrew hasn't even commented on this last round, I think he's getting used to my ways.
DeleteI read the part one before on outlawgardeners blog. So nice of you to take on those agaves, they look so much better now after the tidy up and will get even better in time, especially after more tlc.
ReplyDeleteIs this just the start of an agave nursery and rescue centre? :)
Never say never...wouldn't that be fun? I'd need more space though...
DeleteAmaaaazing. I'm glad you made if back safely to Portland in those downpours. At one point in time I was bundled up in the fetal position on the verge of complete mental melt down! Bug hooray the sun is back! Those are such happy agaves
ReplyDeleteSo here in Portland I dream of being wealthy and wintering at my house in either Palm Springs, LA area, Phoenix or Tucson. Where do Canadians dream of wintering? I'm guessing Vancouver? So where you're already at is as good as it gets there? (sorry this is turning into a downer reply and I didn't mean it to be). I know you've talked of Florida...can you live there for a few months out of the year? (I have no idea what the "rules" are for Canadians....
DeleteCrazy but true. We are about as good as it gets. The Southern gulf islands are like the Hawaii of Canada. zone 9a (even verging on 9b in spots) is not to bad for this far north! So they are often a warm winter retreat. Victoria BC for that matter is another great place - Solid zone 8b with large pockets of 9a. West Coast Canadians typically winter in Palm Springs or Phoenix and East Coasters anywhere in Florida. The official rule is 5 months and 29 days I think. I'm so far off from that economic reality so I will just dream for now :)
DeleteThose agaves cleaned up pretty nicely!
ReplyDeleteSo you're starting a one-woman agave rescue group, right? Pretty soon you'll need to do fund-raisers and I can see the call go out for transport on the ones that only have a few days in their current location... (just kidding, because rescue groups play an amazing and important part in rehoming pets, and I support them completely.)
In some parts of the country I think this really happens! For example I think of the SoCal Guerilla Gardeners (http://socalguerrillagardening.org/). And I agree about the pet rescue groups. Without Pacific Pug Rescue we would have never found Lila!
DeleteMost rotten agaves will re root if you let them really dry out and pot into damp sand.....
ReplyDeleteAnd I was willing to try doing that until the leaves just started falling off in my hand. I'll do just about anything to try and save an agave but when it's only got one leaf left I'm prepared to throw in the towel.
DeleteI'll remember the damp sand for future rescues though, thank you!
Good to see the next chapter in the agave rescue story. I don't think hoarding plants is a problem, but I might not be the best source on that! They have found a good home and that's what matters.
ReplyDeleteAre you carefully hiding some hoarding tendencies Shirley?
DeleteExcellent haul! I love Agave angustifolia 'Marginata' (now officially called Agave vivipara 'Marginata') but be careful if you plant it in the ground--it's one of the most invasive agaves and takes over quickly. May not be an issue in Portland though.
ReplyDeleteI think the variegated agave you surmise might be 'Cornelius' is just A. americana 'Marginata'. 'Cornelius' has wavier leaves.
Agave funkiana is underappreciated, I think. I have the cultivar 'Blue Haze' and it's turned into a very nice-looking smaller agave.
Can't wait to see how your new babies develop.
No worries for the Agave angustifolia 'Marginata'/Agave vivipara 'Marginata' going in the ground, it's not cold hardy here and I wouldn't want to loose such a graceful agave.
DeleteI do have 2 'Cornelius' and you're right...lots of waves there!
What a great score for you! They're looking a little worn out now, but I know in no time you will have them looking good. Peter is a peach for passing them along to you for rehab. I had to laugh at the cultivation directions -- short and sweet.
ReplyDeleteI kind of felt like those directions were mocking me..."Sun Dry"...as in NOT Portland weather...
DeleteI think we are going to have to do an intervention on you with this whole Agave thing. You'll start taking all these stray Agaves in (see its already happening) and just wearing your bathrobe, Lila will not get fed, you husband will not be able to remember the last time you came out of the basement. Really think about what you are doing.............
ReplyDeleteYou obviously have no idea what you're talking about because I don't even own a bathrobe, so there!
DeleteActually there have been a few occasions the husband has mentioned when he left the house I had pj's on and when he came home from work I had pj's on...perhaps I wore them all day? Never! But the idea is interesting...
Where will you put all those new agaves?? Looks like a great haul, and I'm sure you'll find a place for them, somehow. Maybe on the roof?
ReplyDeleteThe roof isn't a half bad idea, the water could run off and they'd get whatever limited sun was available...
DeleteGreen roof on the shade pavilion! You could be insufferable at Portland dinner parties. ;)
DeleteIf the funkiana has white roots it can probably be saved. Just plant the root and any part that doesn't smell of artichoke or tequila (sign of rot) and wait. I've had roots produce plants years after the parent plant turned to mush.
ReplyDeleteI have agaves in the upstairs bedroom, on the window sill in the downstairs study, and in the laundry room, so you're not alone.
Too late to rescue the Funkiana, it's in the yard waste bin under about 50 lbs of wet leaves...
DeleteCan't believe I missed this post - what a nice gift and potential. Also, never seen A. neomexicana develop like that...long leaves, even some curve...very cool (ours' all shorter, straight and flat leaves).
ReplyDelete