Furcraea Longaeva

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GREVILLE

Furcraea Longaeva

Post by GREVILLE »

On a visit to Tresco Abbey twenty years ago, the Furcraea longeava were flowering all over the garden. I have an old colour print of me leaning on the flower spike and young AJ who was five years old trying to avoid some seed pods that were falling from the top of the massive inflorescence.

I took home one of the pods and germinated the seeds. I planted one out a few years later but it got damaged by frost, dug it up and kept it potted thereafter. It eventually was too large and heavy to pot on and for the last ten years it has remained in the same pot. It keeps the same sized crown of leaves with the trunk only gaining height about an inch a year. I've only kept it as a Yucca-lookalike souvenir from Tresco.

Today I didn't recognise it. It's sending up a flower spike from the centre of the rosette. I know they only flower fifteen to twenty years from seed, but I didn't think mine would flower kept it in its pot.
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This is the only pic of it I have filed, taken last Autumn. It's the last plant on the right in the big pot. Now I've got to try to get the current shots of it downloaded.
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DiCasS
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Re: Furcraea Longaeva

Post by DiCasS »

How brilliant is that Greville icon_cheers I'd like to keep one any length of time let alone get it to flower.

Got any photos of it flowering, would love to see.

Di
I'm at an age where my back goes out more than I do.
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GREVILLE

Re: Furcraea Longaeva

Post by GREVILLE »

Been waiting for a new charger for the camera for the past week and haven't been able to take any pics......until this evening. Sand has filed a backlog of pics for me as this laptop won't accept anything from the camera. All this means I have only been able to get the tail end of the flower display, especially as today's gusts have knocked off most of the remaining flowers :

(
Jul 13 Plants & Maria 095.JPG
GREVILLE

Re: Furcraea Longaeva

Post by GREVILLE »

The flower display might be pretty spectacular but the plant itself isn't up to much when this happens......but then it is dying :(

icon_DJ
Jul 13 Plants & Maria 097.JPG
Think I need to save any seed pods to start again and I'll be pretty old to see the next generation of bloom :ahhh!:
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Yorkshire Kris
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Re: Furcraea Longaeva

Post by Yorkshire Kris »

Very nice to see an exotic flowering and this is pretty exotic (albeit the seeds were produced in Blighty)

I always thought these grew into much larger plants?
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DiCasS
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Re: Furcraea Longaeva

Post by DiCasS »

I bet that was spectacular in full bloom Greville, and what a height. I never realised they would even flower in pots so that's a bonus for anyone who can't leave them out icon_cheers

I once tried one of these and left it close to my house wall, it was bone dry throughout the Winter, in fact it was either the cold, complete dryness or both, the leaves closed right up together and survived our Winter and was fine in Spring and opened right up and carried on growing. (only left it out one Winter as I think the next Winter was the first of the harsh ones and killed it)

I think these are great plants, and have a small one on the go. This one I left out in a pot all Winter, it lost its leaves, mushy, but is growing from the middle again. Mild winter here at -5.

It's a shame they have to die after flowering :( Does it give offsets???

What a great reminder of Tresco :D

Di
I'm at an age where my back goes out more than I do.
Supporter of the N.A.S.
call

Re: Furcraea Longaeva

Post by call »

wow I would love to have one flower.
in early june I visited a garden in saint nicholas which belonged to the former head gardener of quex
(http://www.quexpark.co.uk), in his garden among other exotica he had a furcraea that he hoped one day would flower and since that day I have been looking out for one.
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DiCasS
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Re: Furcraea Longaeva

Post by DiCasS »

I bought mine of eBay a couple of years ago Call. There's some here if you are still looking for one and you do eBay.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_trksi ... &_from=R40

Di
I'm at an age where my back goes out more than I do.
Supporter of the N.A.S.
GREVILLE

Re: Furcraea Longaeva

Post by GREVILLE »

Burncoose and Southdown nurseries do them.
call

Re: Furcraea Longaeva

Post by call »

thanks di and greville icon_thumright
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