Don't be fooled. Inside this thin coating of sweetness is a fiery core of total insanity.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

My Blood-Soaked Agave Adventure

OK, just kidding about the blood-soaked part.



 I planted my J.C. Raulston Agave today, and it did draw blood. But just a little. Not to mention a few muttered "Ouches!"

And it was an adventure. The plant sat all winter on my kitchen counter, with a pup growing out of one of the drainage holes. It had to be cut out of the pot so as not to damage the pup.



I discovered after cutting her out of the pot, that she had a second offshoot. Both attached to her by these long umbilicals, one of which was wound around and around the pot, much like her roots. In order to disentangle the babies, I soaked the root ball, and then swished it in a dishpan full of water to loosen the roots. There was also a ring of dessicated leaves around the plant, which I pulled off.

"Mother" post pot-surgery with her babies

Even though they were dead, they were just as deadly!


Those two white things at the base of the plant that look like roots are where the offshoots are attached.

Only one of the long umbilicals had roots on it, at the very end where it was attached to the mother. I cut them off and planted both of them. Hopefully they will grow roots.

I planted the mother plant in one of the culvert planters.



I hope the mother and her twins are doing fine.

Agave 'J.C. Raulston' with Stipa tenuissima, Allium 'Globemaster', Sempervivum 'Pluto' and 'Vivaldi', and Sedum ewersii