Agave lophantha 'Quadricolor'

One of those beautiful, smaller-growing agaves, this one takes on a nice red edge in the summer.

Alien Creatures from Another Dimension?

Actually, these are offsets of Agave lophantha 'Quadricolor'. Lynn-Marie's been cleaning out the agave section and taking a few new pictures along the way.

However, one of our readers thinks the blog titles are too boring; things like "Oregon Cactus & Succulent Society Meeting" put people to sleep. So, in keeping with his criticism, I'm proposing a new title: "Strange People with Weird plants to gather in Rare location. Other succulent people invited."

Agave montana 'Baccarat'

Finally, I'm back, computer problems behind me.  Tonight the featured photo is of Agave montana 'Baccarat', with its distinctive leaf imprints and showy spines.

We have always been drawn to agaves (not too close!) and even though we don't have enough room, our collection keeps growing. About half of them are on our unheated enclosed porch because there's no room in the greenhouses. It hasn't gotten extremely cold yet this winter, but we've had several hard freezes, and they're all doing fine.

Enjoy your plants!

Agave lophantha 'Quadricolor'

We didn't start out growing Agaves, but but we just couldn't help ourselves. Many were so striking we just had to add them to our greenhouses and this is one of them: Agave lophantha 'Quadricolor'. One of the nice things about this one is that it stays relatively small, a foot to two feet across and about a foot tall. Unfortunately, it's not reliably hardy for our area, tolerating - if dry - somewhere between 20 and 25 degrees F. Even if we have a mild winter and don't get into the low 20s, our cold is almost always wet. ... Oh well, it also makes a great potted specimen plant for the patio or deck!

Caught the Agave Bug Yet?

Carl Schoenfeld of Yucca Do Nursery has an excellent article in the latest issue of the online edition of Horticulture Magazine.

The hottest trend in container gardening has its roots in a group of plants that for over 7,000 years delineated the agricultural and cultural progression of Mexico. Throughout its history, the genus Agave supplied food, drink, and materials for building and weaving, and held religious significance. Metl was its name to the Aztecs in the valley of Mexico. It was mescal to the other Mesoamericans. The Spanish conquistadors called it maquey; Europeans called it American aloe. Finally, the Americans dubbed it century plant. It is only now that the ornamental attributes of these remarkable plants are getting the attention they deserve.

Hey, we've had the Agave bug for years. They've been grown on back benches, in nooks and crannies of our home and in various sections of our yard for a long time. They just didn't sell very well for us. But now it seems everyone wants an Agave to plant out here in Portland! And several are able to grow here and in other regions thought by most to be very un-Agave type country.