exotics in southampton,no 4. agave americana.

billdango

exotics in southampton,no 4. agave americana.

Post by billdango »

this is not a commonly seen plant in southampton,most large specimens that i have seen around the city are mostly in large urns or big wooden tubs.
as i am only interested in specimens planted in the ground and only interested in those that came through the last winter undamaged that leaves very few indeed.
another problem is photographing plants in other peoples gardens?
so because of that problem i am placing a picture of my own agave on this forum.
although there are bigger agaves in a few other gardens in the city center mine will have to do for now.
now this agave is about 4 foot tall and 4 foot wide and is about 4 years old,and it has stood every cold snap outside with minimal protection and none at all last december.
the lowest temperature it has endured was last deceber was -7c on two nights only. so because of this it is a plant worthy of southern gardens and its a pity there are not more growing in southampton.
this photo which was taken last week shows the agave in my front garden surounded by lampranthas spectabilis.
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bev

Re: exotics in southampton,no 4. agave americana.

Post by bev »

Looks very healthy bill


Cheers

Lee
dk

Re: exotics in southampton,no 4. agave americana.

Post by dk »

Are you saying that plant is only 4 years old, or that it was planted out 4 years ago? Didn't think they were that fast growing. Now I really need to get me one!

Looks great with the lampranthus ground cover icon_thumleft
billdango

Re: exotics in southampton,no 4. agave americana.

Post by billdango »

dk wrote:Are you saying that plant is only 4 years old, or that it was planted out 4 years ago? Didn't think they were that fast growing. Now I really need to get me one!

Looks great with the lampranthus ground cover icon_thumleft
the agave shown was bought as a 3 year old specimen from a local garden center about 4 years ago so now its about 7 years old.
they do grow quite fast once you get them into the ground.
i find that here in southampton they seem to produce between 6 and 8 leaves a year depending on how good the summer is .
so far this year it has produced 3 new leaves.
the lampranthus plant is perfectly hardy here on the south coast.
rgds billdango. icon_thumleft icon_thumleft icon_thumleft icon_thumleft
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redsquirrel
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Re: exotics in southampton,no 4. agave americana.

Post by redsquirrel »

it looks great Bill, we are going to do a similar thing here this year
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billdango

Re: exotics in southampton,no 4. agave americana.

Post by billdango »

redsquirrel wrote:it looks great Bill, we are going to do a similar thing here this year
good luck redsquirrel its well worth any effort to grow this plant,get the biggest that you can afford so that it will be hardier.
rgds billdango. icon_thumright icon_thumright icon_thumright icon_thumright
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redsquirrel
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Re: exotics in southampton,no 4. agave americana.

Post by redsquirrel »

dont need to worry about buying one Bill,Debs already got some good sized plants. she cant resist them when they look like they will hurt me carrying them :lol: :lol:
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sanatic1234

Re: exotics in southampton,no 4. agave americana.

Post by sanatic1234 »

don't they call this agave the century plant? As this is the one i am after. :) Dave browns got me watering at the mouth when i see his. :)
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Re: exotics in southampton,no 4. agave americana.

Post by Las Palmas Norte »

As a xeriscape specimen, it seems rather out of place with a floral undercover (lobelia?) and green grass beyond that.
Aside from that observation ... not a bad Agave.

Cheers, Barrie.
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Re: exotics in southampton,no 4. agave americana.

Post by redsquirrel »

sanatic1234 wrote:don't they call this agave the century plant? As this is the one i am after. :) Dave browns got me watering at the mouth when i see his. :)
thats the one San,its going in the post today mate icon_thumright
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smurnan

Re: exotics in southampton,no 4. agave americana.

Post by smurnan »

Good to see a survivor after last Winter :mrgreen:
shanks

Re: exotics in southampton,no 4. agave americana.

Post by shanks »

loveely plant, i've just ordered a varigated one in 15lt pot, looks quite big, i'm undecided if to put in pot so ican bring into shed in winter or plant in my large raised bed and build a cover for it, adding plenty of grit, john innies etc, should be here in couple days so will add photo then
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JoelR
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Re: exotics in southampton,no 4. agave americana.

Post by JoelR »

The americana variegates are only hardy to -5C and would certainly not take kindly to snow and ice lying in the crown. The trouble with variagated forms of Agave americana is that they do eventually get quite big and are not very hardy. The green forms can take -9C but need to be on the dry side.

There are smaller variagated agaves around which are happy outdoors in summer. This Agave "Cream Spike" has come down in price a lot lately (check ebay). It has been beleived it is a form of Agave parryi Patonii for many years but there's currently a lot of confusion over it's true identity because older plants with plenty of growing room are growing out of the juvenile state and becoming what the experts now believe is Agave applanata.
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billdango

Re: exotics in southampton,no 4. agave americana.

Post by billdango »

Agave Americana Varigata seems to be fairly hardy down here on the South Coast but still need a protected situation.

There used to be a 4 foot specimen in St Denys,Southampton but it gave up the ghost after 3 hard winters.

Most of the others that I know about seem to have managed okay on the extreme South Coast.

This includes the I O Wight, Eastbourne, Torquay,e t c .

The green form is perfectly hardy in Southampton and should be more widely grown.

rgds billdango. icon_thumleft
GREVILLE

Re: exotics in southampton,no 4. agave americana.

Post by GREVILLE »

I wish my 24 year old specimen would shape up like yours, Bill.

Mine is against a sunny house wall and the leading spear always stoops at a 45 degree angle towards the light. With my insatiable greed of growing every known exotic in the universe, my permanent overcrowding problem means the poor Agave can't spread open its leaves properly. Plus it's practically crossed the path to the border the other side so easing past it is a perilous business. Still, it needs no looking after nor any winter protection.

I got this as a pup from a plant growing outside my holiday apartment on my first trip to the Canary Islands back in 1988 and planted it in its present home in 1991.

I had a variegated one even before this back in 1985. A stall-holder at Covent garden flower market asked me where I got my sun tan from and when I told him I was just back from my honeymoon he gave me one of these as a belated wedding present.

I planted this out at the same time as my green one and although I lost it a few years later, I salvaged pups from this and have a fourth generation small plant underneath my Phoenix canariensis_CIDP.

I don't think your bed of Lampranthus will give your super specimen any overcrowding problems, Bill.
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