Friday, June 2, 2023

Whale's tongue agaves that didn't even know winter was a thing, and a couple on their glorious way out...

I learned of this Agave ovatifolia planting via Instagram and photographed it back at the end of March. I don't know what took me so long to post it...

Reports of mushy agaves all around Portland were still rolling in hot and heavy back then, so to learn of agaves that weren't bothered by winter at all was quite remarkable.

Even more so was the fact I hadn't a clue these even existed, in a location I used to drive by every few months. Covid severely adjusted my lifestyle and I haven't managed to reset normal even now.

I didn't notice the blooms on the Phormium in the background in person, only when looking at these photos.

Perfection!

Ha! Nor did I notice the second (third?) agave tucked in behind the first, not until I turned to take this photo.

Twins!

Left...

Right.

Nice work you who planted this spiky trio! 
In other Agave ovatifolia news; thanks to Darcy at eGardenGo who posted on Instagram, I learned of a nearby Agave ovatifolia that's going to bloom...

I've shared images from this garden a few times, although I can't seem to find a post to link to now, darn it! I'll definitely be doing periodic drive-bys to see how this bloom-spike develops...

The man who allowed me to share in his agave pup give-away last June, sent a photo of his second Agave ovatifolia to bloom, the first (a "twin" just across the walkway) sent up it's death-spike in 2021. He didn't get any pups off that first one, I wonder if this plant will produce? 

Just yesterday I received an email from John Kuzma, whose garden I have written about for years. Yes, he also has an Agave ovatifolia, a 'Frosty Blue' that's decided its time is now... 

Has our weather encouraged this behavior? Or is it just the natural cycle of things? I do still plan to do a recap of my agaves that made it thru the remarkably bad winter in my garden... just as soon as I get some photos taken.

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12 comments:

  1. Great looking Agaves.

    It's hard to tell if the weather has prompted the flowering or if they would have flowered anyway. They do look to be big enough to flower.

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    1. Indeed. I'm glad mine aren't quite there yet!

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  2. I still live in fear that my Agave ovatifolia is going to follow the other 3 blooming agaves in my garden. I'm convinced that all the rain we had this winter and spring prompted the blooms - I've seen agaves in bloom all over the neighborhood this year, which is unusual.

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    1. Interesting, about the quantity of blooms. How old is your ovatifolia?

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  3. Connecting our recent weather with the bloom cycle of these agaves seems logical, but who knows? It's a beautiful thing to see an agave in all its beauty, especially A. ovativolia.

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    1. So hard to tell what causes blooms with these plants—Preston commented on my Instagram post about the possibility of them all being the same 'Frosty Blue' cultivar.

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  4. I cannot believe how flawless these agaves look! My variegated ovatifolia rotted!

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  5. That first trio is particularly lovely. 'Vanzie' version maybe? They look like they are grown slightly tilted--would that have helped preserve them? (drainage). A friend in the neighborhood here actually took a drill and made holes in the leaves where water tended to sit and sit, to drain the water.

    One of the most beautiful species.

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    1. I try to plant my agaves slightly tilted, but they seem to always right themselves. Maybe the fence is keeping these tilted, as well as the fact they're facing the sun. Re: the holes—that's a great idea in a dry climate, but would be a great way to introduce rot here.

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  6. Nice! Wonder what’s going into the large round container in front of the yucca? And, that juniper appears to have outgrown its pot!

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    1. The shadows make it hard to tell, but the juniper is in a similar round "container" which is actually open at the bottom, just a ring. So I'm sure it's sunk its roots into the ground.

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