Saturday, June 20, 2009

Octopus Agave

One of my favorite plants in our yard, an octopus agave, bloomed a few months ago. The bloom stalk is now taller than our house and is covered by baby plants. If any of my Tucson friends would like to have some, please let me know, and I'll give you a bag of them. This type of agave is great to have in your yard because it does not have serrated or sharp edges, and once the roots are established it does not need watering.



  • Before blooming - you can see where the javelina munched on the bottom arms of the agave.


  • February 22nd, beginning to bloom:


  • April 3rd, flowering stage:


  • The mother plant is withered and dying. June 20th, baby plants on stalk:



  • I am soaking the little plants, pups, in water to encourage root development, and then planting them out of reach of the desert animals until they grow larger. My nursery of little plants:


3 comments:

Michael said...

Hi Lina
Looks like an interesting garden you have. I have a special passion for drought tolerant plants mainly Australian Natives but just recently I've started growing some from North America such as Agaves and Yuccas. They are now really popular here in Australia especially in modern gardens. I think I might have to write about a few of them soon in my blog. I recently took some pups from a Agave potatorum but it's winter here at the moment so they probably won't be ready for the garden until spring. Happy gardening.
Cheers Michael

Lina said...

Thanks Michael! I hope you do post about your agaves. About a year ago I planted some of that species, and they're slow growers. I'd like to see how yours are doing.

Michael said...

Hi Lina

Just added some posts yesterday about my Agaves.