February 23, 2015: The Swansong of an Aged Agave

monster · 02-23-2015, 07:23 PM

This 80-year old Agave plant will be cut down next month. After 80 years of growth at the University of Michigan's Matthaei Botanical Gardens in Ann Arbor, it finally flowered last spring and has now gone into decline. It reached 28 feet tall after a final growth spurt just before it flowered.

Story

Gravdigr · 02-23-2015, 10:26 PM

Oh, American agave...

I was thinking blue agave, and was about to holler "Mas tequila!!!"

Doesn't the blue agave take like 100 years to mature?

xoxoxoBruce · 02-23-2015, 11:02 PM

I want to know how it survived MI winters sticking way the hell out of the greenhouse like that?
Hmm, maybe that rapid growth spurt last Spring, just before it blew it's load, pushed it outside. That picture was taken last July 13th. That ties it all together.

Diaphone Jim · 02-24-2015, 01:24 PM

I like this IOTD!
Almost 40 years ago a Century Plant (Agave sisalana) sent up a stalk like that over the second floor roof of my mother's apartment building in Alhambra, California, bloomed spectacularly and produced hundreds of "pups," little clones that looked like Brussels sprouts.
I brought a shopping bag full of these home to Mendocino County and handed them out to friends, acquaintances and neighbors.
All of them seemed to start to grow and thrive, but everyone left them outside the next winter and they froze and died.
Except mine, which I had indoors. For the next 30 years.
At about five feet tall and six across, it finally outgrew the front room and I had to move it outdoors and replant it in a really big pot.
Then I had to build a cart to move it into the garage every time frost or freezing was expected, i.e. most nights from October to May.
I did that last night and will bring it back out to the sun today. And again tomorrow.
I wonder if it will bloom before I die.
If not, I hope the kids take care of it.
It looks like this:
http://www.serragardens.com/plantsSG...0variegata.jpg

footfootfoot · 02-24-2015, 01:50 PM

An agave THAT special...

glatt · 02-24-2015, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diaphone Jim

I like this IOTD!

I like it too. And I can't really explain why. The picture is simple and intriguing. And century plants are just damn cool.

I like you story too.

monster · 02-24-2015, 09:09 PM

it was the way it stuck out of the top of the greenhouse that amused me

xoxoxoBruce · 02-24-2015, 09:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diaphone Jim

All of them seemed to start to grow and thrive, but everyone left them outside the next winter and they froze and died.

Jim, we have a lot of Italians in the Philly area. Many them came to this country and missed some of the things like Figs they had gown at home, so the planted not orchards but trees as ornamentals in suburban yards. Some of their kids picked up the habit, or quite often the old man was living with them.
The problem is winter, not necessarily the cold but the dry wind and lack of ability to replace the water the cold dry winds rob from the trees. Drive through neighborhoods around here and you'll see all sorts of scary shapes made with chicken wire, burlap, and padding. It they wrap early it adds to the number of trick or treaters pooping their pants.

Diaphone Jim · 02-25-2015, 12:35 PM

There are quite a few varieties of Agave, most with heavy succulent leaves with sharp thorns. These can be huge and produce the massive blooming trunks shown above. They easily survive frost and even mild freezing temperatures and can provide the raw material for the painstaking process of making mescal.
Agave sisalana plants such as mine are smaller and lighter, have smooth leaves and are grown in large fields for their fiber, a source of rope and other products. They can be damaged or killed by even mild frost. They are harvested after five or ten years and rarely reach the blooming stage.

jannatul18 · 03-07-2015, 04:56 AM

Why they want to cut down now? Its 80 who knows it may live another 80 years also.

Mahfuj · 02-04-2019, 06:26 AM

Appreciate.

Diaphone Jim · 02-04-2019, 03:54 PM

A nice surprise to see this thread come around.

The link I posted last time no longer leads to info about A. sislana, so here is a new one:
https://keys.lucidcentral.org/keys/v...na_(Sisal).htm

I moved my ever-growing, never-blooming 40+ year old plant to a 50 gallon planter bucket, so now the whole works weighs somewhere around 300-400 pounds. I had to build a new cart with heavy duty railroad station casters to move it in and out of the cold. In tonight for possible snow.

Gravdigr · 02-04-2019, 05:01 PM

Clipping Path Express?

monster · 02-04-2019, 08:23 PM

Drive-through circumcision?

Not Appreciate.

Gravdigr · 02-05-2019, 12:56 PM

It's a website, clipping path express is. I almost reported the post to the Moderators Most High, but it's not a link.

It's awful close to a link.

02-23-2015, 07:23 PM	#1
monster I hear them call the tide Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Perpetual Chaos Posts: 30,852	February 23, 2015: The Swansong of an Aged Agave This 80-year old Agave plant will be cut down next month. After 80 years of growth at the University of Michigan's Matthaei Botanical Gardens in Ann Arbor, it finally flowered last spring and has now gone into decline. It reached 28 feet tall after a final growth spurt just before it flowered. Story __________________ The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity Amelia Earhart

02-23-2015, 10:26 PM	#2
Gravdigr The Un-Tuckian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: South Central...KY that is Posts: 39,517	Oh, American agave... I was thinking blue agave, and was about to holler "Mas tequila!!!" Doesn't the blue agave take like 100 years to mature? __________________ These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA, EPA, FBI, DEA, CDC, or FDIC. These statements are not intended to diagnose, cause, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. If you feel you have been harmed/offended by, or, disagree with any of the above statements or images, please feel free to fuck right off.

02-23-2015, 11:02 PM	#3
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	I want to know how it survived MI winters sticking way the hell out of the greenhouse like that? Hmm, maybe that rapid growth spurt last Spring, just before it blew it's load, pushed it outside. That picture was taken last July 13th. That ties it all together. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

02-24-2015, 01:50 PM	#5
footfootfoot To shreds, you say? Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: in the house and on the street-how many, many feet we meet! Posts: 18,449	An agave THAT special... __________________ The internet is a hateful stew of vomit you can never take completely seriously. - Her Fobs

02-24-2015, 09:09 PM	#7
monster I hear them call the tide Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Perpetual Chaos Posts: 30,852	it was the way it stuck out of the top of the greenhouse that amused me __________________ The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity Amelia Earhart

02-24-2015, 01:24 PM	#4
Diaphone Jim Junior Master Dwellar Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Northern California Posts: 2,122	I like this IOTD! Almost 40 years ago a Century Plant (Agave sisalana) sent up a stalk like that over the second floor roof of my mother's apartment building in Alhambra, California, bloomed spectacularly and produced hundreds of "pups," little clones that looked like Brussels sprouts. I brought a shopping bag full of these home to Mendocino County and handed them out to friends, acquaintances and neighbors. All of them seemed to start to grow and thrive, but everyone left them outside the next winter and they froze and died. Except mine, which I had indoors. For the next 30 years. At about five feet tall and six across, it finally outgrew the front room and I had to move it outdoors and replant it in a really big pot. Then I had to build a cart to move it into the garage every time frost or freezing was expected, i.e. most nights from October to May. I did that last night and will bring it back out to the sun today. And again tomorrow. I wonder if it will bloom before I die. If not, I hope the kids take care of it. It looks like this: http://www.serragardens.com/plantsSG...0variegata.jpg

02-25-2015, 12:35 PM	#9
Diaphone Jim Junior Master Dwellar Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Northern California Posts: 2,122	There are quite a few varieties of Agave, most with heavy succulent leaves with sharp thorns. These can be huge and produce the massive blooming trunks shown above. They easily survive frost and even mild freezing temperatures and can provide the raw material for the painstaking process of making mescal. Agave sisalana plants such as mine are smaller and lighter, have smooth leaves and are grown in large fields for their fiber, a source of rope and other products. They can be damaged or killed by even mild frost. They are harvested after five or ten years and rarely reach the blooming stage.

03-07-2015, 04:56 AM	#10
jannatul18 Kinda New Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Bangladesh Posts: 1	Why they want to cut down now? Its 80 who knows it may live another 80 years also.

02-04-2019, 06:26 AM	#11
Mahfuj Kinda New Member Join Date: Feb 2019 Posts: 1	Clipping Path Express Appreciate.

02-04-2019, 03:54 PM	#12
Diaphone Jim Junior Master Dwellar Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Northern California Posts: 2,122	A nice surprise to see this thread come around. The link I posted last time no longer leads to info about A. sislana, so here is a new one: https://keys.lucidcentral.org/keys/v...na_(Sisal).htm I moved my ever-growing, never-blooming 40+ year old plant to a 50 gallon planter bucket, so now the whole works weighs somewhere around 300-400 pounds. I had to build a new cart with heavy duty railroad station casters to move it in and out of the cold. In tonight for possible snow.

02-04-2019, 05:01 PM	#13
Gravdigr The Un-Tuckian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: South Central...KY that is Posts: 39,517	Clipping Path Express? __________________ These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA, EPA, FBI, DEA, CDC, or FDIC. These statements are not intended to diagnose, cause, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. If you feel you have been harmed/offended by, or, disagree with any of the above statements or images, please feel free to fuck right off.

02-04-2019, 08:23 PM	#14
monster I hear them call the tide Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Perpetual Chaos Posts: 30,852	Drive-through circumcision? Not Appreciate. __________________ The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity Amelia Earhart

02-05-2019, 12:56 PM	#15
Gravdigr The Un-Tuckian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: South Central...KY that is Posts: 39,517	It's a website, clipping path express is. I almost reported the post to the Moderators Most High, but it's not a link. It's awful close to a link. __________________ These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA, EPA, FBI, DEA, CDC, or FDIC. These statements are not intended to diagnose, cause, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. If you feel you have been harmed/offended by, or, disagree with any of the above statements or images, please feel free to fuck right off.

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