Friday, November 8, 2019

My ×Mangave report...

Inspired by Gerhard's ×Mangave roundup and the cold temperatures in our forecast (they didn't materialize to the frigid depths that were predicted) I walked around the garden and snapped photos of my ×Mangaves, a surprising amount have made it into the ground. Will they live through the winter? Well, that's why they call it "trialing", I was sent these plants from Hans Hansen at Walter's Garden and I'm trialing them to see how they do...

This cutey is ×Mangave 'Bad Hair Day', it had more spots when the weather was hot and the sun was shining every day.

One of the more cold hardy ×Mangaves I was sent is this ×Mangave 'Navajo Princess', theoretically hardy to Zone 7. What, you don't see her?

There she is! When I planted her the yuccas had recently been hacked back, I'll have to be careful to not let her rot this winter. She's planted on a steep, well-draining, bit of land—but air circulation could be an issue with the yucca leaves crowding her.

Here's  ×Mangave 'Whale Tale', I figured it would like being right next to the sidewalk, a bit of reflected heat and dry too if it can get it's roots under there. What I wasn't thinking about, in May, when I planted it...if we get snow and Andrew shovels the sidewalk it's probably doing to be buried.

This guy, ×Mangave 'Moonglow', wasn't looking very good in a container so I stuck him in the ground. He's better now, but I'm not sure how the winter drainage will be in this spot.

This trio of ×Mangave 'Inkblot' were moved here when I wanted to put my Agave 'Mateo' in the container they were in.

They've already braved a few winters outdoors, but I'm not sure how they'll like being crowded like this.

We shall see...

Moving to the back garden now (ugh, things are a mess!)...

I think this one is ×Mangave 'Blazing Saddles'.

There's a pair of in this shot, along with a piece of an aloe that broke off a containerized plant, and I stuck in the ground (the light green plant under the very yellow agave). I pulled on it (the aloe) the other day but it's so well rooted now it won't be easy to get out. I might just leave it (more trailing).

Anyway, here's ×Mangave "Femme Fatale'.

And ×Mangave 'Frosted Elegance'.

Moving a little to the north...

When I planted this I called it ×Mangave 'Iron Man' but now I believe it's actually ×Mangave 'Falling Waters'. I think 'Iron Man' kicked the bucket before it even made it out of the gate.

×Mangave 'Snow Leopard' has great spots...

My ×Mangave 'Tooth Fairy' was in a decorative metal cachepot all summer, now it's hanging out in the Shade Pavilion Greenhouse.

This one just might be my favorite, and in case you're wondering I think my second fav is 'Bad Hair Day' (despite its ridiculous name).

Now we're in the basement. I made up this trio of dish planters back in 2016, I really intended to freshen them up this spring, taking out some of the cramped plants and giving their roots room to spread. Sadly I never had the time. Oh well, they're doing okay.

×Mangave 'Man of Steel' (another fav, and it's not blurry in real life).

Under the variegated Agave angustifolia 'Marginata' pup is ×Mangave 'Catch a Wave'.

Another ×Mangave 'Bad Hair Day'.

And another ×Magave 'Catch a Wave'

Stuffed in this container is a trio of ×Mangave 'Lavender Lady' (yes, I also planned to break them up, but never had the time).

And ditto for this pair of ×Mangave 'Purple People Eater' and singular ×Mangave 'Silver Fox'. If (when?) the ones I've been brave and planted out in the ground die, maybe it's time to give these a chance to stretch their roots and see how they do.

Finally, ×Mangave 'Carnival'. And that's a wrap on my ×Mangave report!

Weather Diary, Nov 7: Hi 62, Low 37/ Precip 0

All material © 2009-2019 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

20 comments:

  1. Nice collection and a good inventory post. I hope they come through successfully.

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  2. I like the look of 'Blazing Saddles' and 'Snow Leopard,' I hope they survive the winter in the ground. I've been slowly digging up things that have survived years of neglect and crowding with weeds in my gravel garden, and it's interesting to see what is still living there.

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    1. I hope there's a blog post in the works?

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  3. 'Bad Hair Day' was my favorite but, as we reach what I hope is the end of our extended dry period (no rain in sight yet for November!), it's looking a little sad. I'm going to have to give it a deep soak soon. By my rough count we share 9 cultivars. You have many I don't and I've got 5 I didn't see in your inventory. I'll do a recap of my own after this remodel is over - we're living in a period of maximum chaos right now.

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    1. I gave away a few of mine last spring, I just received too many to care for! I look forward to your recap.

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  4. Stunning variety you have, Loree. Hope the outdoor ones have a good winter! (Heck, I hope we ALL do!)

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    1. Ya, I'm hearing scary things about our winter...

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  5. Trialing plants from Hans Hansen at Walter's Garden is a real boon. Very exciting to me as they are so often the names behind things that interest me.

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    1. Ya, receiving a box (or two) full of plants in the mail is a nice surprise!

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  6. I've been moving some of mine into the ground-hardiness does not seem to be an issue here, but wet conditions and the damn snails are the challenge. I bought Navajo Princess at the Cistus booth on Study Weekend. She gets to live in a pot this winter -hopefully the rot/snails will be at bay.

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    1. Ya, the winter wet and cold (here) could be a problem. What is the coldest you get Kathy?

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  7. You have a lot more mangaves than I thought! Some cultivars are doing better in your garden than mine - like 'Carnival'. Your 'Tooth Fairy' is also much bigger than mine. It's great being able to compare!

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  8. I agree with you about which ones are favorites... "Tooth Fairy" and "Bad Hair Day". Looks like "Tooth Fairy" favors it's Agave heritage. I also like "Carnival" but is it true that it's no longer in production? or maybe I'm mixing that up with another Mangave.

    I have a few of the "Lavender Lady" Mangave planted outside - tho they have smaller leaves with more of a lavender hue and a bit more freckled then the ones you show above. I'm guessing because of a difference in sun exposure.

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    1. I don't know about Carnival's future, if that's true I wonder why? Sadly 'Lavender Lady' is one I'll never be able to put in the ground, it's Agave attenuata parentage is just too wimpy!

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  9. I don't see any tags on these plants, either in the ground or still in pots. What's your secret to remembering all of their names?

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    1. I don't put tags with my plants, in the ground or in pots, I do not care for the look. It's fine in a botanical garden but otherwise it looks like a tag sale. I remember some of them, otherwise I look back at prior blog posts. Blogs are handy for that ;). I also have a basket full of tags from "new" plants that I need to go through and record on my "my plants" page. That's usually a winter project but I didn't do it last year since I'd started working on the book. I have TWO YEARS (!) worth to record now...

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  10. What an amazing collection! I'll look forward to updates in the months ahead--I hope they'll all do very well for you.

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    1. I'm afraid it all depends on what winter is like...we shall see!

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