All about Agaves

[Silas_Sancona]

14 minutes ago, teddytn said:

You obviously bought the whole tray…

Haha, no dice..  Maybe if i had more space.

[teddytn]

2 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Haha, no dice..  Maybe if i had more space.

Calculating the distance to AZ and time before I have to be to work….lol

Those are good size for montanas, I usually only see smaller sizes for sale. 

[Merlyn]

2 hours ago, teddytn said:

That’s what I think will be more of the case here with no protection, going to be some damage for sure on every species for the cold/ wet combo they’ll get. Hoping a few will shine and do a few plantings with those species where some didn’t make it. 
Crazy jaws took damage there?!? Normal gentryi is supposed to tough as nails right? 

Yeah, I was surprised that Jaws took damage.  But some of the Salmiana/Gentryi types don't like the winter rain here.  I took photos before and after cleaning up Jaws this afternoon.  It was definitely a good time to take off the damaged center, since the top chunk just pulled right off.  I put some H2O2 on it to help with the fungal issues.  The center looks structurally okay, hopefully it'll grow out of it soon.

[teddytn]

Saw a few today

Agave augustifoliaagave blue flameagave Victoria reginae very priceyagave lophantha quadricolor This was the coolest one. 
agave attenuata ray of light

[Palmensammler]

5 hours ago, teddytn said:

Saw a few today

Agave augustifoliaagave blue flameagave Victoria reginae very priceyagave lophantha quadricolor This was the coolest one. 
agave attenuata ray of light

I love this A. attenuata "Ray of light". This one and "Kara's stripes" are on my wishlist but it's nearly impossible to get them in Europe.

Did you buy it?

Eckhard

[teddytn]

5 minutes ago, Palmensammler said:

I love this A. attenuata "Ray of light". This one and "Kara's stripes" are on my wishlist but it's nearly impossible to get them in Europe.

Did you buy it?

Eckhard

Everytime I go to that nursery I’m tempted to buy everything lol. No didn’t buy any succulents today, just got 2 white coneflowers, a salvia nemorosa blauhugel, and 3 osteospermums. Had the wife with me so I was being “good” 

[Meangreen94z]

A couple pictures from today

[teddytn]

Some spined goodies at my favorite nursery yesterday.

Agave titanota Great deal on these small sizes, I’m just busting at the seams with plants to bring in next winter, had to pass.Agave applantaAgave celsii novaAgave deserti simplexAgave GuadalajaranaAgave ovatifolia vanzie, another plant I struggled with. Will survive in the ground here I’ve got 2 normal ovatifolia, and I’ve never seen vanzie for sale, always sold out even online. This was a really good size. Ughhhhhh!!! LolAgave desmettiana, a few of these for sale, picture doesn’t do it justice. Agave geminifloraDamn it, looking at these again I want that vanzie in the worst way lol

[Merlyn]

Yikes!  $75 for a Vanzie and a crazy $145 for a fast-offsetting Desmettiana?  I bought my Vanzie from Mountain Crest Gardens about 2 years ago.  It's odd that no one has these in stock, considering that Rancho is tissue culturing them.  Maybe they had a "bad batch" and the supply dried up.  That's happened before on other ones, the Mangave "Praying Hands" had irregular failures in tissue culture so you had to snap them up if they were for sale!

My "Jaws" died, which makes me think it's a hybrid with some Asperrima involved.  Gentryi and Asperrima both seem to do very poorly here in the winter, probably due to moderate cold with rain.  It had crown rot and a bunch of tiny white worms munching away at the center.  I may try another one in a pot, though they get pretty big for pot growing...

[teddytn]

1 hour ago, Merlyn said:

Yikes!  $75 for a Vanzie and a crazy $145 for a fast-offsetting Desmettiana?  I bought my Vanzie from Mountain Crest Gardens about 2 years ago.  It's odd that no one has these in stock, considering that Rancho is tissue culturing them.  Maybe they had a "bad batch" and the supply dried up.  That's happened before on other ones, the Mangave "Praying Hands" had irregular failures in tissue culture so you had to snap them up if they were for sale!

My "Jaws" died, which makes me think it's a hybrid with some Asperrima involved.  Gentryi and Asperrima both seem to do very poorly here in the winter, probably due to moderate cold with rain.  It had crown rot and a bunch of tiny white worms munching away at the center.  I may try another one in a pot, though they get pretty big for pot growing...

Doesn’t get any better for a local buy in TN, but yeah I get it, way cheaper out west I would guess. 10$ per gallon would be more reasonable. 
I remember when you mentioned your jaws before, that was a head scratcher for me. Out of all the agaves I planted last year my jaws took the most damage, but lived. Plastic bin over it from dec-feb. 

I keep looking for a normal gentry, that and montana are 2 of my favorite cold hardy big boys. 

[Merlyn]

Desmettiana grow like weeds down here in Floriduh, they sell them at HD and Lowe's for about $20 for that size.  Vanzie and others are still unobtanium around here, almost everything that I've bought has been mail order.  Even my Montana "Baccarat" was an impulse buy when visiting my parents in Texas.  In a pot it took zero damage at 24F with frost, and still looks perfect today.  A smaller one from Meangreen94z was in the ground in the backyard, and also still looks great.

I need to look through my potted section of agaves, aloes, and cacti.  I know some stuff died over the winter, I've just been busy doing other stuff.

[Meangreen94z]

The Vanzie isn’t terrible given the size. There’s some nice ones around Austin, they took a little bit more damage than standard ovatifolia. 

[teddytn]

Went back today because…plants lol. Glad I did, didn’t buy any agaves but they did put some new ones out. 
Agave isthmensis, whole tray fullagave ellemeetiana…new one to me, looks tropicalAgave tenuifoliaagave schidigera royal flush@Merlyn

mangave praying hands, whole tray full - 1

[teddytn]

Walked into Walmart in bum f*** Ashland City, TN today and Lo and behold Agaves for sale!!! Couldn’t ID by eye, def not echeveria as labeled agave desmettiana perhaps??Good price for the size whatever they are. Did a triple take couldn’t believe these were there.

Edited June 4, 2022 by teddytn

[Merlyn]

@teddytn that collection of Ellemeetiana and "Praying Hands" is remarkably rare to find in a store!  I paid $25 each for Praying Hands last fall, they did great in the ground and took no damage at 24F with frost.  Ellemeetiana probably isn't hardy in your area, and might not even be hardy in my area!

The Walmart ones look like a couple of different species.  There's definitely Desmettiana regular blue-green and variegated in that one pic, that's the same price they sell them for here in Orlando as "Desert Escape" random succulents.  The first picture looks like maybe a few variations of agave Colorata, or something similar.  It's hard to say, that's just the first name that popped into my head.

[GDLWyverex]

I am especially enamored of Agaves and have over 50 different species.

Rather than post them all here I am leaving a link to my online catalog with photos

http://selva.cabal.mx

Where the plants are in alphabetical order by Genus; so scroll down to the beginning of the agaves and enjoy

Thanks

 

Richard

[teddytn]

On 6/4/2022 at 2:29 PM, GDLWyverex said:

I am especially enamored of Agaves and have over 50 different species.

Rather than post them all here I am leaving a link to my online catalog with photos

http://selva.cabal.mx

Where the plants are in alphabetical order by Genus; so scroll down to the beginning of the agaves and enjoy

Thanks

 

Richard

I say this with respect and admiration for your collection…sir you are plant crazy lol!!!

Really incredible 

[khachaturian]

I like agaves, so last year I decided to try an experiment and sow them myself. They are somewhat slow to take off, but I'd say that's part of their beauty. One of my preoccupations is that adult specimens are harvested from the wild and that their - often endangered - ecosystem is disturbed. With seeds that is less of an issue.

I sowed five seeds of Agave colimana (= Agave ortgiesiana) and Agave victoriae-reginae in July 2021. Germination was 5/5 for both, but I screwed up most of the A. victoriae-reginae seedlings. I transplanted them individually to a larger container, which should last for another year or so.

First and second image is A. colimana, third is A. victoriae-reginae, and the last one is a group photograph.

 

 

 

[Silas_Sancona]

Some outstanding A. chrysantha  aglow after a pre-dawn shower.  Yucca baccata in the background of picture #3.













Plenty of fruiting specimens again this year too..

[teddytn]

9 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Some outstanding A. chrysantha  aglow after a pre-dawn shower.  Yucca baccata in the background of picture #3.













Plenty of fruiting specimens again this year too..

Fantastic looking specimens

[miamicuse]

I have a few at two rental properties.  I might have to relocate them soon as tenants are complaining they get poked if they are not careful getting in and out of their cars on the driveway at night.

Not sure what species they are exactly as these were transplants.  One is variegated one is not.

This one is going to flower.  Last year it shot up to 8 feet in the air.

[Merlyn]

8 hours ago, miamicuse said:

I have a few at two rental properties.  I might have to relocate them soon as tenants are complaining they get poked if they are not careful getting in and out of their cars on the driveway at night.  Not sure what species they are exactly as these were transplants.  One is variegated one is not.

They are Desmettiana, and are relatively easy to transplant.  In sandy soil a couple of shovel slices underneath and it'll lift right out.  The two biggest ones look like about mature diameter, so if you wanted to move them back a couple of feet from the edge that would help with the stabbiness.

The flowering one will put out a 10-20 foot stalk and produce hundreds of bulbils = baby plants.  Unless you want hundreds of them, you might as well cut it down and remove it now.  The stalk is impressive, though...   

[Will]

Few Agave at our hotel in sardinia. Owner gave me some small ones, don't know their variety though...

[Silas_Sancona]

13 minutes ago, Will said:

Few Agave at our hotel in sardinia. Owner gave me some small ones, don't know their variety though...

Tough to say 100%, but, 1st picture may be A weberi... 2nd picture looks A. americana -ish. 1st Agave in the last picture ( light green ) looks like an A. attenuata pup. A. attenuata and weberi are easy enough to maintain.. americana types more of a challenge... ( Spread all over the place via runners where and when happy, ..Like to draw blood when you try and clean 'em up )

Edited August 27, 2022 by Silas_Sancona
edit

[Will]

4 minutes ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Tough to say 100%, but, 1st picture may be A weberi... 2nd picture looks A. americana -ish. 1st Agave in the last picture ( light green ) looks like an A. attenuata pup. A. attenuata and weberi are easy enough to maintain.. americana types more of a challenge ( Spread all over the place where and when happy, ..Like to draw blood when you try and clean 'em up )

Thanks a lot! Maybe its a weberi hybrid or something. Its quite big and the leaves are super straight

[Silas_Sancona]

1 minute ago, Will said:

Thanks a lot! Maybe its a weberi hybrid or something. Its quite big and the leaves are super straight

Possible for sure.. Have a couple pups that look like the specimen in your picture. Some folks had told me in the past it was likely A. weberi / possible hybrid of some sort..  I just like it for the color, Shark's skin- like texture of the leaves, and the fact it isn't trying to get me to donate blood whenever i have to remove dead leaves, haha..

Agave attenuata is a very popular landscape species in California, particularly Southern CA where it is a bit over-used.. Walk through almost any neighborhood near the coast from Santa Barbara to San Diego and you're bound to see clumps of it growing in yards, or hanging off a cliff overlooking the Pacific across the street... Beautiful, but tender to frost, or soil that stays too wet / cold for long periods though.

[Merlyn]

@Willand @Silas_Sanconamy first thought on photo 1 was Sharkskin (aka "nigra" or a natural hybrid of Asperrima and Nickelsiae).  Normally they are smaller, only around 3' tall or so.  And the leaves aren't quite thick enough for the typical Rancho Tissue cultured plants.  But Luc's photo IMG_7701 here looks very similar:

https://www.agaveville.org/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=6275

[Silas_Sancona]

6 minutes ago, Merlyn said:

@Willand @Silas_Sanconamy first thought on photo 1 was Sharkskin (aka "nigra" or a natural hybrid of Asperrima and Nickelsiae).  Normally they are smaller, only around 3' tall or so.  And the leaves aren't quite thick enough for the typical Rancho Tissue cultured plants.  But Luc's photo IMG_7701 here looks very similar:

https://www.agaveville.org/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=6275

 Leaves in the pictured specimen appear too narrow / thin / long / blue-toned compared to any of the Sharkskins i've seen planted / in nurseries here or in Tucson / CA. ( Could all AZ / CA specimens be Rancho tissue cultured plants? 🤔 )  A. nikelsiae  influence is usually easy to see in most sharkies too..

Can see a pup peeking out from under momma at roughly the 6:30 position in Will's picture. Don't recall seeing any Sharkskins w/ offsets.  ..No doubt though i'm sure there are one off specimens out there that offset occasionally. Kind of like A. palmeri  i've seen that buck the " normally solitary " description..  Great Agave regardless..

A question for @Will  The smooth edged-leaved Agave Pup to  the right of the greener " likely Attenuata " in the last picture, did that come off the first pictured specimen/ one like it?  ..Just curious..
 

[Merlyn]

@Silas_Sancona yeah I forgot that Sharkskin are usually solo.  I've seen a few people reporting profusely pupping Sharkskins, but that's definitely not the norm.  I was thinking shade-grown with low rain in Sardinia could mean longer/thinner leaves holding more bluish chalky tone to them.  It's like it has some characteristics of Weberi, but heavily cupped leaves that are extremely straight seems odd for Weberi.  But really it seems like at least 6' / 2m diameter is *way* bigger than any Sharkskin.  Also, European Weberi apparently have some different forms compared to ones in the US and Mexico.  So I guess I'd go with a Weberi hybrid...which, paraphrasing a saying, "You don't have just one Weberi.  You have a dozen Weberi!" 

[Will]

1 hour ago, Silas_Sancona said:

 Leaves in the pictured specimen appear too narrow / thin / long / blue-toned compared to any of the Sharkskins i've seen planted / in nurseries here or in Tucson / CA. ( Could all AZ / CA specimens be Rancho tissue cultured plants? 🤔 )  A. nikelsiae  influence is usually easy to see in most sharkies too..

Can see a pup peeking out from under momma at roughly the 6:30 position in Will's picture. Don't recall seeing any Sharkskins w/ offsets.  ..No doubt though i'm sure there are one off specimens out there that offset occasionally. Kind of like A. palmeri  i've seen that buck the " normally solitary " description..  Great Agave regardless..

A question for @Will  The smooth edged-leaved Agave Pup to  the right of the greener " likely Attenuata " in the last picture, did that come off the first pictured specimen/ one like it?  ..Just curious..
 

Yes its a pup of the smooth edged Agave. It got a few pups beneath it. They planted them literally all around the property with all of them having pups already. 

[Merlyn]

I just received a shipment from Plant Delights Nursery (PDN) of a few neat agaves.  From left to right: Bracteosa "Stingray," Bracteosa "Squidget," Ovatifolia "Kraken," Loferox "A Step Above," and Ovatifolia "Sierra Lampazos."  I really like the "Octopus" agave Vilmoriana, but the Bracteosa are smaller and clustering and remarkably cold hardy.  Sierra Lampazos is supposedly the original habitat of Ovatifolia, and the "Kraken" is an extra-toothy mutation of the "Vanzie" type.  The "Loferox" moniker is a hybrid of Lophantha x "Logan Calhoun" that was done about 10 years ago and sold as "Stairway to Heaven."  The "A Step Above" is apparently now an F3 self-hybrid, with the originals flowering in as little as 6 years!  My "Stairway to Heaven" is one of my favorite agaves, and fortunately produces a few pups for me to distribute around the yard.

[Silas_Sancona]

An Excellent story about the cost of growing Agave for Mezcal production, and the forward thinking people finding responsible solutions..

https://atmos.earth/mezcal-oaxaca-environmental-impact/?utm_source=pocket-newtab

[Rivera]

On 3/5/2023 at 2:12 PM, Merlyn said:

I just received a shipment from Plant Delights Nursery (PDN) of a few neat agaves.  From left to right: Bracteosa "Stingray," Bracteosa "Squidget," Ovatifolia "Kraken," Loferox "A Step Above," and Ovatifolia "Sierra Lampazos."  I really like the "Octopus" agave Vilmoriana, but the Bracteosa are smaller and clustering and remarkably cold hardy.  Sierra Lampazos is supposedly the original habitat of Ovatifolia, and the "Kraken" is an extra-toothy mutation of the "Vanzie" type.  The "Loferox" moniker is a hybrid of Lophantha x "Logan Calhoun" that was done about 10 years ago and sold as "Stairway to Heaven."  The "A Step Above" is apparently now an F3 self-hybrid, with the originals flowering in as little as 6 years!  My "Stairway to Heaven" is one of my favorite agaves, and fortunately produces a few pups for me to distribute around the yard.

Fantastic. Plant Delights has some excellent selections, some quite hard to come by elsewhere. Agave bracteosa, in any form, is a favorite for me. So slow here in SF! Slow for you in Florida?

[Axel Amsterdam]

Are there any experiences/experimentations known where agaves are being prepared for a long rainy winter with other methods than a temporary roof?

What about bio water repellent spray on the leaves or spraying them with sun flower oil? Would that be a problem for a succulent that is not in active growth, so almost no transpiration through the stomata during winter? Any other ideas?

[Merlyn]

On 3/17/2023 at 10:04 AM, Rivera said:

Fantastic. Plant Delights has some excellent selections, some quite hard to come by elsewhere. Agave bracteosa, in any form, is a favorite for me. So slow here in SF! Slow for you in Florida?

I haven't tried Bracteosa yet, I saw them in Zilker Botanical Gardens in Austin, TX.  They had survived the snowpocalypse with temps in the single digits, so I figured they may be okay here.  Vilmoriana here is very quick in the ground, going from a 4" pot to a couple feet diameter in only a couple of years. 

@Axel AmsterdamI haven't read of any leaf treatments for agaves in the winter.  My biggest problem has been root or crown rot, and I don't think a leaf spray would make a difference here.  Keeping some water out of the crown might help.  I routinely lose agaves over the winter, but it's rarely cold enough here (24F is the lowest I've ever recorded) to cause any direct burn except on really tender species.

[Silas_Sancona]

A. chrysantha in early morning light..  Walking stick in Picture #2 is approx. 4.5ft in height..





..by a spring..



...tucked in among some scrappy Sonoran Scrub Oak, Q. turbinella.





Or watching over spring flowers..

Edited April 4, 2023 by Silas_Sancona
edit

[teddytn]

Saw some cool ones at the local Walmart 

Agave Guadalajarana. Color on the spines were neat, yellow and orangeAgave desmettiana agave angustifolia$26 ain’t bad for a 2g

[teddytn]

Saw some cool ones at the local Walmart 

Agave Guadalajarana. Color on the spines were neat, yellow and orangeAgave desmettiana agave angustifolia$26 ain’t bad for a 2g

[Palmensammler]

Hi Teddy,

Wonderful plants, especially the first.  Here you need a lot of luck to find such plants. It's better to grow them from seed. Currently two little ovatifolia (I hope they are) are sending out their third leave.

When big enough they will be planted outside.

Eckhard

[Rivera]

Agave desmettiana is a winner for someone who doesn't mind removing pups or else growing a colony.

I've moved mine a couple times, but this pot is its final home till it blooms. 

No friends or neighbors have been interested in my pups, even grown to 1 gal size and offered for free. Perhaps I've offered them to the wrong folks.