Agave stalk cuttings and Mesquite bean trash Today my husband sawed off the 15 foot, drying stalk of the Agave Lophantha I chronicled in previous Bloomin' Tuesday posts in March and April. (Post 1) (Post 2) (Post 3) (Post 4) It had shrunk in diameter by about two-thirds as it dried, but had it not been cut, it would have stayed partially green for five or six more months. It was leaning badly, as you can see with the position of the stub in the photo below. It was time for it to go.
The dying process of this Agave has been going on for four months now, and it will be be late fall before it's dried completely. Before then, I'll have it removed.
And, a surprise that I didn't notice until today. A new pup has come up as a replacement, just as nature intended, close to the mother plant. It had remained partially hidden by the drying Agave leaves. I'll have a new Agave without having to move the irrigation emitter. It will take years to reach the size of the mother plant.
How great that the Agave put our pups at the last minute... I had read in one of the previous posts that it hadn't before. Only the 1?
ReplyDeleteI take it that there were no seeds. Which seems an awful waste... to go to all that trouble and die blooming and not even produce seeds.
I am such a baby...I cry at dying plants! Sorry for your loss...but happy about new baby!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI love the little pup that appeared for you- what a perfect end to a very cool series of posts!
ReplyDeleteLove the surprise pup!
ReplyDeleteI like Julie crying at dying plants, I feel sad too just like when I try to rescue the bees and grasshoppers out of my pool! Glad to see a "little pup" was left behind.
ReplyDeleteSue
Thanks for posting the older posts. I enjoyed going back and seeing the pictures and reading the info. I'm glad you have a pup growing so you won't have a blank space in your garden. Jean
ReplyDeleteNice to meet you! I'm new to Phoenix gardening. Glad to have found your blog. Hope all is well.
ReplyDeleteI'd been wondering about the Agave stalk and plant. I had noidea it would last this long. But you are probably tired of looking at it. How nice of Mother Nature to provide you a replacement!
ReplyDeleteAiyana, I enjoyed your series of photos chronicling the demise of your agave. So glad to see you have a replacement! ~~Rhonda :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice surprise to find the pup! I get very sentimental about plants dying too.
ReplyDeleteHi Phoenix C, I have to tell you that we visited friends in Phoenix April 1-7. We had a wonderful time! We took several great hikes, visited desert museums, (in both Phoenix and Tucson) and enjoyed the desert flowers that were blooming at that time. :-)
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