February 23, 2015: The Swansong of an Aged Agave - Page 2

glatt · 02-05-2019, 12:21 PM

Sounds like a bad Chinese restaurant.

fargon · 02-05-2019, 02:58 PM

What Gravdigr said.
If he runs a clipping service then he must know a lot of things.

Clodfobble · 02-06-2019, 12:55 PM

I don't know how I missed this thread the first time around--but we had a century plant freshly blooming in the front yard of the first house we bought. It was in the little bed by the mailbox at the corner of the driveway, so you could see it sticking above the roofs from anywhere on the street.

And then our neighbor came over and said his brother made didgeridoos and asked if he could cut it down and give the stalk to him. And Mr. Clod said yes, thinking the guy meant eventually, or when it was ready to die, or whatever, and the next day we came home from work and it had been hacked right off at the base.

I'm 99% sure the whole didgeridoo thing was a lie, he just hated the 20-foot stalk for some bizarre reason. It's not like it was close enough to have fallen on his car or anything.

Clodfobble · 02-06-2019, 12:57 PM

Oh! Also!

Turns out the insides of those plants are super toxic to the skin, as bad as poison ivy. Which we learned the hard way when Mr. Clod tried to chainsaw the remaining overgrowth out so we could re-plant the bed.

Diaphone Jim · 02-06-2019, 07:20 PM

I have never heard of any toxicity for agaves, but I hope your neighbor had a special allergy.

Diaphone Jim · 10-03-2020, 11:32 AM

Today is the second day of the final chapter of my Agave (AKA century) plant.
I think it is possible that I have given it something of brief to detailed lookover every day for 45 years.
I look at the central core spike of tightly wrapped future leaves (fronds? swords?) sometimes giving the next one in line a little encouragement and watching it pop free and begin its independent life of spread out ray catching. It will slowly over several years move down until it is on the bottom row, losing it springiness and chlorophyll and eventually needing removal.
Forty-five years.
Yesterday the central always-green leaf factory had been replaced by a red-tinged torpedo shaped bulb almost a foot long and appearing to my eye to be full of the pent up energy it will need to turn in to a 15+ foot stalk.
Boy howdy!
The history of the plant is above in this thread. A few years ago I spoke with a succulent nursery owner who tried to prepare me for the fact that it might lack whatever conditions it needed to ever bloom. I'll call her today.
I don't know how long the blooming and dying phase takes, but I will update and add photos as it progresses.

Clodfobble · 10-03-2020, 12:47 PM

How exciting!

Gravdigr · 10-03-2020, 02:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diaphone Jim

...I spoke with a succulent nursery owner...

Um, just how succulent was she?[/winkwink,nudgenudge]

Gravdigr · 10-03-2020, 02:29 PM

Congrats on yer agave milestone, btw!

xoxoxoBruce · 10-04-2020, 02:19 AM

Pictures, we need pictures.
A local agave at Longwood Gardens popped this summer.
Are these plants trying to tell us something?

Diaphone Jim · 10-04-2020, 07:01 PM

Agave

Diaphone Jim · 10-04-2020, 07:08 PM

Well, there's a pic somehow after pushing buttons in a just slightly less than random fashion for a half hour.
That is the first sign of the flowering stalk. It's grown about three
more inches in two days.

monster · 10-04-2020, 08:19 PM

sweet thanks.

sorry for your impending loss

Griff · 10-05-2020, 06:16 AM

Wow this is so cool DJ.

Diaphone Jim · 10-05-2020, 04:50 PM

How do I reduce the pic to fit better?

02-05-2019, 02:58 PM	#17
fargon Person who doesn't update the user title Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: La Crosse, WI Posts: 8,924	What Gravdigr said. If he runs a clipping service then he must know a lot of things. __________________ Annoy the ones that ignore you!!! I live a blessed life I Love my Country, I Fear the Government!!! Heavily medicated for the good of mankind.

02-06-2019, 12:55 PM	#18
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	I don't know how I missed this thread the first time around--but we had a century plant freshly blooming in the front yard of the first house we bought. It was in the little bed by the mailbox at the corner of the driveway, so you could see it sticking above the roofs from anywhere on the street. And then our neighbor came over and said his brother made didgeridoos and asked if he could cut it down and give the stalk to him. And Mr. Clod said yes, thinking the guy meant eventually, or when it was ready to die, or whatever, and the next day we came home from work and it had been hacked right off at the base. I'm 99% sure the whole didgeridoo thing was a lie, he just hated the 20-foot stalk for some bizarre reason. It's not like it was close enough to have fallen on his car or anything. __________________ My book My other book My spirit animal

02-06-2019, 12:57 PM	#19
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	Oh! Also! Turns out the insides of those plants are super toxic to the skin, as bad as poison ivy. Which we learned the hard way when Mr. Clod tried to chainsaw the remaining overgrowth out so we could re-plant the bed. __________________ My book My other book My spirit animal

10-03-2020, 12:47 PM	#22
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	How exciting! __________________ My book My other book My spirit animal

10-03-2020, 02:29 PM	#24
Gravdigr The Un-Tuckian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: South Central...KY that is Posts: 39,517	Congrats on yer agave milestone, btw! __________________ 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.

02-05-2019, 12:21 PM	#16
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	Sounds like a bad Chinese restaurant.

02-06-2019, 07:20 PM	#20
Diaphone Jim Junior Master Dwellar Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Northern California Posts: 2,122	I have never heard of any toxicity for agaves, but I hope your neighbor had a special allergy.

10-03-2020, 11:32 AM	#21
Diaphone Jim Junior Master Dwellar Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Northern California Posts: 2,122	Today is the second day of the final chapter of my Agave (AKA century) plant. I think it is possible that I have given it something of brief to detailed lookover every day for 45 years. I look at the central core spike of tightly wrapped future leaves (fronds? swords?) sometimes giving the next one in line a little encouragement and watching it pop free and begin its independent life of spread out ray catching. It will slowly over several years move down until it is on the bottom row, losing it springiness and chlorophyll and eventually needing removal. Forty-five years. Yesterday the central always-green leaf factory had been replaced by a red-tinged torpedo shaped bulb almost a foot long and appearing to my eye to be full of the pent up energy it will need to turn in to a 15+ foot stalk. Boy howdy! The history of the plant is above in this thread. A few years ago I spoke with a succulent nursery owner who tried to prepare me for the fact that it might lack whatever conditions it needed to ever bloom. I'll call her today. I don't know how long the blooming and dying phase takes, but I will update and add photos as it progresses.

10-04-2020, 02:19 AM	#25
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	Pictures, we need pictures. A local agave at Longwood Gardens popped this summer. Are these plants trying to tell us something? __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

10-04-2020, 07:01 PM	#26
Diaphone Jim Junior Master Dwellar Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Northern California Posts: 2,122	Agave Attached Images

10-04-2020, 07:08 PM	#27
Diaphone Jim Junior Master Dwellar Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Northern California Posts: 2,122	Well, there's a pic somehow after pushing buttons in a just slightly less than random fashion for a half hour. That is the first sign of the flowering stalk. It's grown about three more inches in two days.

10-04-2020, 08:19 PM	#28
monster I hear them call the tide Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Perpetual Chaos Posts: 30,852	sweet thanks. sorry for your impending loss __________________ The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity Amelia Earhart

10-05-2020, 06:16 AM	#29
Griff still says videotape Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 26,813	Wow this is so cool DJ. __________________ If you would only recognize that life is hard, things would be so much easier for you. - Louis D. Brandeis

10-05-2020, 04:50 PM	#30
Diaphone Jim Junior Master Dwellar Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Northern California Posts: 2,122	How do I reduce the pic to fit better?

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