agave desmettiana marginata in flower

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redsquirrel
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agave desmettiana marginata in flower

Post by redsquirrel »

thought id run a bit of a blog to track the growth of Debs flowering agave.first pic was thursday night and the second friday night.third pic is this evening.this is growing at an alarming rate and will be going outside early next week
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bev

Re: agave desmettiana marginata in flower

Post by bev »

Nice looking agave red, i take it it's not monocarpic?

Cheers

Lee
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redsquirrel
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Re: agave desmettiana marginata in flower

Post by redsquirrel »

yes it is Lee,we have to find a way of overwintering it for a year or 2 now so the bulbils it produces can mature into new plants
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Ian Cooke

Re: agave desmettiana marginata in flower

Post by Ian Cooke »

Congratulations getting this to the flowering stage and when in full bloom it will be quite impressive. Yours is not A. desmettiana which has curved leaves. Following pics show both the plain green species in flower and the variegated A. desmettiana. Both are beautiful plants.
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Agave desmettiana variegata & squid agave.JPG
Don't know what yours is - there are many species and all quite similar. When the flowering spike expands it will probably reach 3-5m so it needs to be outside for the summer! Sadly they are monocarpic so the main shoot will die after flowering. However they usually produce good strong sideshoots and also small plantlets amongst the flowers on the flower spike.
kata

Re: agave desmettiana marginata in flower

Post by kata »

Woweeeeeeeeeeee!!

Well done Debs and RedS.

I never knew Agaves flowered except the attentuas.

Nice curtain color :lol: :lol: :lol:
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Re: agave desmettiana marginata in flower

Post by redsquirrel »

todays pic,might give a better description to the shape for you Ian.
the plant has been indoors for too long,it had a much stronger variegation before we brought it in. if it does produce bulbils,will certainly help narrow any doubts to its id

if you take into account the fact that its been grown indoors, has produced a flowering head and are naturally variable anyway,i think it could still well be a desmettiana.the terminal and marginal spines fit the bill. as i said earlier,bulbils will narrow this right down as not that many sp do this,

(its only in the p.tunnel for a few days to break it in gently to the change in light conditions.will go outside proper at the weekend, have been advised to throw a fleece shelter over it during any strong sun spells for the first few weeks icon_thumleft )
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Ian Cooke

Re: agave desmettiana marginata in flower

Post by Ian Cooke »

Yes - your full picture does show a clearer plant form and the leaves do exhibit a curve. As you rightly say there is often some variability. I'm not an Agave expert by any means but A. desmettiana is one of my favorites and I have one in my garden in California. the picture was taken about 18 months ago and its now huge.
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Agaves are common landscape plants out there and they grow like crazy making enormous specimens
kata

Re: agave desmettiana marginata in flower

Post by kata »

The garden looks really nice Ian

I like the dark floor.

icon_cheers icon_cheers
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redsquirrel
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Re: agave desmettiana marginata in flower

Post by redsquirrel »

would love some of that climate Ian,agaves are my other halfs passion,shes the one who finds them etc,i just do the dangerous stuff like moving or sheltering them. learning a lot though, and have to admit enjoying it too. how old is your plant? apparently these flower quite young for agaves,around the ten year mark
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Ian Cooke

Re: agave desmettiana marginata in flower

Post by Ian Cooke »

The plant in the pic was 2 years old when I took it. Its a year further on now so I'll try and get my partner to take a pic. They get year round sun and warmth there - it just over 100F out there at the moment.
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redsquirrel
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Re: agave desmettiana marginata in flower

Post by redsquirrel »

if you take those growing conditions into consideration,do you think an agaves life is extended here by our much poorer conditions?
that is a great size plant for 2 years,no chance of achieving that here
seems to have slowed down now its outside
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Ian Cooke

Re: agave desmettiana marginata in flower

Post by Ian Cooke »

I am sure that where growing conditions are ideal for most of the year, inevitably almost any plants which achieve greater growth. It a combination of not only temperature and moisture but particularly light levels which are so often inadequate here.
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Re: agave desmettiana marginata in flower

Post by redsquirrel »

quick update,some buds are forming nicely now and after stalling for a few days,its started going up again icon_thumright
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Re: agave desmettiana marginata in flower

Post by DiCasS »

That flower stalk seems to be motoring away. Don't forget to take pics and show it in full bloom. Great and well done both. I know one or two are a bit envious of your plant :D icon_cheers

Di
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Re: agave desmettiana marginata in flower

Post by redsquirrel »

it slowed down since going out Di but this warm spell has got it moving again icon_thumright will have to move it out soon as the flower is likely to hit anything up to and beyond 12ft
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