Thursday, May 4, 2017

Mangave Madness!

I shared this delicious photo on Facebook weeks ago and promised to do a follow up post with details. Where does time go? I did unpack, and pot them all up, right away. I just have been lax in writing about them...

So what are they? Mangaves! A Mangave is a cross between an Agave and a Manfreda. For those opposed to the spikes on an Agave (what?!) they're a kinder, gentler plant. According to the info I've read they also grow faster than your standard Agave, and their Manfreda lineage lends all sorts of interesting patterns to the leaves. These beauties all came from Hans Hansen at Walters Gardens in Michigan. Let's have a closer look...

Mangave 'Bad Hair Day'

The description from Walters Gardens..."If only your bad hair days looked this good! Like a head of hair, this plant produces narrow, flat lime green leaves that form an arching habit. Each leaf blade has light blush red spotting with a distinct blush toward the tips of the leaves. This is very easy to handle due to its soft, flexible leaves. This plant looks amazing in decorative containers, especially face planters. Our hardiest Mangave to date. One of our favorites!"
Photo of Mangave 'Bad Hair Day' from Walters Gardens 
 
Mangave 'Carnival'

Another angle...

And another...

"This sport of 'Jaguar' has the opposite variegation of the equally beautiful 'Kaleidoscope'. Long, lance-shaped leaves are dark green with wide, creamy yellow centers. Newer leaves have chartreuse centers. A smattering of subtle, light red spots dot the leaves, giving a blush tone to the leaves. Its brilliant coloration makes a great specimen in a container."
Photo of Mangave 'Carnival' from Walters Gardens
 
Mangave 'Catch a Wave' — a cross between Agave gypsophila, Agave colorata, and Manfreda maculosa.

"Surf's up with the unique looking, wild and wavy leaves of this succulent! 'Catch a Wave' is a second generation Mangave with more Agave parentage, which shows in its characteristics. Very thick, silvery blue-green leaves are generously covered with restrained dark spotting. The margins curl upward to show off its marginal teeth. Its upright habit makes it look equally cool from a side view as it does from the top."
Photo of Mangave 'Catch a Wave' from Walters Gardens 
 
Mangave 'Inkblot'

"This attractive succulent has a low, wide habit with large, attractive spotting from its Manfreda blood, and thick, wide leaves from its Agave blood. Dark green leaves with blood red spotting arch downward, perfect for framing decorative containers. Although striking white spines line the curled up margins, these aren’t deadly like you would expect from Agave, but softer to the touch. More exposure to UV light will brighten the dark coloration and the spotting."
Photo of Mangave 'Inkblot' from Walters Gardens 
 
Mangave 'Lavender Lady'

Isn't this one especially lovely? I bet you can guess one of the parents...

Yep, Agave attenuata and xMangave 'Bloodspot'

"‘Lavender Lady’ is a unique, feminine beauty whose solitary rosette habit and smoky purple coloration make it look very similar to an Echeveria. In direct sunlight, smoky purple leaves are formed at the top of the rosette and have subdued burgundy purple dots. As the rosette ages, the ovate leaves lighten to green, forming a two-tone effect. Each 1½in wide leaf has a cinnamon brown terminal spine. The margins are lined with tiny white spines; running your fingers along them feels like a comb, as they are fairly benign. Its broad leaves combine well with Mangave with narrower leaves, like ‘Man of Steel’."
Photo of Mangave 'Lavender Lady' from Walters Gardens 
 
And speaking of, here's Mangave 'Man of Steel'...

Which owes its good looks to Agave striata and xMangave 'Bloodspot'.

"This Mangave produces a medium-sized rosette of narrow, sword-like leaves. Attractive silvery green leaves get their light color due to a waxy coating. The 7in long, lightly colored leaves form tidy, refined, circular rosette. Each ½in wide leaf is thinly lined with a cinnamon orange margin that is slightly rough to the touch. Long, terminal spines are matching in color to its margin. The leaves are not quite as thick as you would expect from an Agave, so this Mangave is easy to handle and work with. This is a great counterpart to ‘Lavender Lady’ due to their similar size and complementing colors and form."
Photo of Mangave 'Man of Steel' from Walters Gardens 
 
Mangave 'Moonglow'

It's the offspring of xMangave 'Bloodspot' and Manfreda undulata 'Chocolate Chips'

"This succulent has the surreal look of a moonlit night. 1in wide, silvery blue-green leaves practically glow with huge, contrasting dark purple spots to complete the effect. The spots will be more dramatic when exposed to more UV light levels from the sun. The 8-9in long, flat leaves are held rigidly straight from the base, forming a low, wide, and spiky habit. Tiny spines line the margins and terminal spines are relatively soft to the touch—much less lethal than Agave varieties."
Photo of Mangave 'Moonglow' from Walters Gardens 
 
Mangave 'Purple People Eater'

"xMangave 'Purple People Eater' is the latest creation from the Mangave capitol of the world, Walters Gardens in Michigan. Named after the Sheb Wooley character, xMangave 'Purple People Eater' is a 2012 seedling that combines the architectural Agave gypsophila, the smaller Agave macroacantha, and purple freckling from the manfreda side of the family. The result is a lovely 14" tall x 2' wide specimen with silver-grey recurved leaves, bathed in a blush of purple. The small red teeth are the crowning touch on what is a splendid summer container specimen where it isn't winter hardy."
Photo and description of Mangave 'Purple People Eater' from Plant Delights Nursery 
 
Mangave 'Silver Fox' — a combination of Agave gypsophila, Agave macroacantha, and a nameless Manfreda.

"A stunning and exceptional variety in a color that you wouldn't expect to see in a Mangave! Just like the white fur of a silver fox, this succulent glows nearly white when you first glance at it. In reality, it's more of a light green covered with a thick waxy coating to give it that glowing color. Light blue-purple spotting appears underneath the coating, but is mostly unnoticeable from a distance. In addition to its wonderful color, 'Silver Fox' has a magnificent habit, with thick, arching leaves and defined marginal teeth."
Photo of Mangave 'Silver Fox' from Walters Gardens
 
Since we're talking about hybrids here's another, Lila's a cross between and Chihuahua (grandparent) and a Pug. She was very interested in what I was doing, as I worked through this box of plants. Probably because it was getting near her dinner time, she also seemed confused about why I wasn't taking a photo of her, just the plants...

Some of the bounty all potted up. I think I will be using most of these in containers, since they'd skate through a mild winter here, but a couple of cold nights would mean they turn to mush.

Are you experiencing intense plant lust? Unfortunately I can't tell you to order from the Walters Gardens website, because they're only wholesale. Plant Delights Nursery has quite a few of them available (here) and since Proven Winners is excited about them (here), hopefully you'll be seeing them at a nursery near you soon.

I can't wait to start playing with these, thanks Hans!

Weather Diary, May 3: Hi 82, Low 55/ Precip 0 — our first 70 and 80 degree days of the year! It's been 206 days since Portland has hit 70 degrees. Here's to many more of both ahead...

All material © 2009-2017 by Loree Bohl for danger garden, except images of full size Mangaves which are the property of Walters Gardens. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

38 comments:

  1. Lucky, lucky you! I hope they all thrive and eventually reach the mature potential shown in the photos. Do you have a favorite (other than Lila, of course?)

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    1. 'Man of Steel' and 'Lavender Lady' are my current favs, we'll see if that changes as they mature.

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  2. Wow, that's a lot of terrific hybrids & they're in great hands! My favorite, of course, is that cute furry one with the adorable brown eyes.

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    1. Ya, I'm pretty partial to that one too.

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  3. I haven't been checking FB much so missed that post but so glad you followed up here. What a great breeding program WG has going. Some of these are starting to show up at the local sales, and now I know who to thank. Can we have designer mangaves? What do you get when you cross a manfreda with the whale tongue agave? Intriguing possibilities. Happy planting!

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    1. Oh yes! That would be very interesting. Although Mangave leaves are so brittle you'd have to be very very careful with them if they were the size of 'ovatifolia' leaves.

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  4. AnonymousMay 04, 2017

    Beautiful plants! I'll have to keep my eye out for some of those. They would really suit me as I really don't like spikes.

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  5. I was going to say 'Lavender Lady' was my favorite, since I adore Agave attenuata, but then I saw 'Purple People Eater'. It's pretty fabulous just as a plant, but if I'm honest I mostly just like the name.

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    1. I didn't know you appreciated Agave attenuata, do you have one?

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    2. I have a small 'Kara's Stripes'

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  6. Wow! I guess I shouldn't be surprised that there are so many varieties of Mangave but I certainly haven't seen the evidence in any of my local nurseries. I have only 2, both 'Bloodspot', one of which has been swamped by Santa Barbara daisies. I love 'Bad Hair Day' and 'Purple People Eater'.

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    1. I bet they'll start showing up soon, seems like the program is really ramping up.

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  7. Thanks for sharing. You'll be thrilled with how quickly these grow. I love my Kaleidoscope and am looking forward to my Moonglow bulking up. Walter's was saying that xMangave aren't monocarpic like Agave. I was discussing with a friend and I wonder about that being universally true. My understanding is that Bloodspot *is* monocarpic. My gut feeling is that when crossing a monocarpic plant (Agave) with a polycarpic plant (Manfreda), one is bound to get a mix depending on which genetic tendency is dominant. Any thoughts or info?

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    1. No info, just a personal opinion that it would seem a mix is likely. Personally I've experienced two Manfreda dying after blooming, but of course they were growing in containers and thus not in ideal conditions.

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    2. Hmm. Manfreda dying after blooming. I bought Manfreda 'Spot' two years ago and it died over the winter. My in-ground Chocolate Chips that bloomed last year is coming up strong this year. I also have one called 'Anderson' that was tiny last year and finally looks like it will get some size this year. It is supposed to have bright red spots, but so far has plain green leaves.

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  8. The only Mangave I have grown was 'named' Chocolate Chip, not sure it was accurate. The leaves were at least 2 1/2' long and extremely fragile. I purchased the plant on sale before I had ever heard of a Mangave... I was told it needed very little water. I almost tossed it after 2 yrs. but I decided to see what would happen if I cut it back to about 4" and started giving it more water. It grew like a weed, but continued to be very fragile. It was the last plant left to sell CCSS sale and the woman that bought it thought it was incredibly cool! Such a strange plant, I'm feeling the need for more down the road!

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    1. The leaves of Mangaves are extremely fragile, in my experience. I was amazed these arrived looking so good. I hope your plant's new caretaker enjoys it and that you do indeed get more down the road...

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    2. And Chocolate Chip is a Manfreda; not Manage.
      :)

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  9. Wow, cool. I was looking at them at the PD website, but didn't order any. Trying to give my best effort to what is already in the garden at this time. Enjoy, let us know how they do.

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    1. That's a good practice Hoov, one I should embrace...

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  10. Adorable Lila photo, too.

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  11. Oh my God, these are just beyond fabulous. My only Mangave is 'Bloodspot' and the poor thing was viciously attacked by snails this winter, as was just about anything. They chomped on things they had never shown the least interest in before. Little sob's. Do you suppose I can order from Walters since I am a buyer for a company that has a garden center ?

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    1. Snails/slugs...EVIL! I grabbed one yesterday (a slug) as it was working its way toward this stash. It would have had a field day I'm afraid. As for your ordering...why not? Worth a try at least.

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  12. I always learn something new when I read your blog! Really hoping you get yours to a mature size :)

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  13. john in cranstonMay 05, 2017

    What do we know about their cold and moisture tolerances?

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    1. Most seem to be Zone 8, and what little reading I've done suggest they'd like more water than the usual succulent. I don't imagine the combo of wet and cold would be to their liking however.

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  14. 'Bad Hair Day' and 'Catch a Wave' caught my attention, but then this post evolved into more treasures than I could keep track of. The names are clever without devolving into obnoxious territory...makes them easy to remember.

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  15. I just bought a beautiful 'Bloodspot' specimen at the National Arboretum plant sale here in DC for $10. About a foot across. A great deal!

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  16. I'm so glad you did this post as I've never been a big fan of mangaves... they always seemed too wimpy and without much character. After seeing pictures of 'Silver Fox' and 'Lavender Lady', I'm changing my mind about the latter! Thanks so much for sharing.

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  17. How did I miss thi spost. Such an amazing collection, how have they all done?

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    1. Good. One of the variegated plants that I left outside last winter died, but the Mangave 'Inkblot' which were outside all winter in a container lived and look great. I keep meaning to do an update post, thanks for the push!

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  18. Hello! I have a Mangave ‘Moonglow’ that I just purchased from the local garden center a week ago. Much to my chagrin, it’s begun flowering! Does anyone have experience with this variety? Will it offset or die after flowering? I’ve heard a mixed bag when it comes to Mangaves with some saying they die like Agaves and some saying they live past the bloom. Please weigh in!

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  19. I have over a dozen types of mangaves here in Tucson, Arizona. They are incredibly tough and drought tolerant. Some need partial shade and some will tolerate full sun. All are heat tolerant. Our winter temps don't usually go below 28 degrees, and all the mangaves can tolerate those temps.

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  20. Hi, I am wanting to get into the Mangave game over here in Beaverton. Which of the Mangaves in your garden are hardy to this area? I think I've heard Bad Hair and Kaleidoscope are hardy in Zone 8b. Also heard Moonglow, Pineapple Express and Macho Mocha may be. Thanks alot!
    James

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  21. I've found a great site for mangaves, bought at end of season for $9.99 and these were at least a 14" dia. Arrived in great shape, well packed and fast shipping. https://www.greatgardenplants.com/search?q=mangave

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