Best Guess

Tall, taller ...

The final numbers are in: my agave potatorum’s stalk has almost doubled again this past week! Plus, we have a winner in my guess-the-stalk’s-length-by-Sunday contest … it’s Kathy of Garden Book blog who, while off by a few inches, guessed most-closely the final measurement today. Congrats, Kathy; and thanks to all who submitted guesses! To see the final length, and to read some important information about this agave from succulent expert Buck Hemenway, click to the jump …

... tallest!

Posted in comment form, Hemenway tells me I have lots more to look forward to … I can’t wait to see what happens with this agave next:

“I’m inclined to give everyone a botany lesson. Just know that all Agaves live one full life cycle. That is they grow from seed and bloom and die. The life cycle can be anywhere from 7 years to 40 years (much longer in habitat). The term to describe the one time bloom is “monocarpic”. Annuals are by definiton “monocarpic” and perennial plants that bloom every year have different botanic terms to describe their repeating cycles. “Monocarpic” is not exactly proper for Agaves, as the definition assumes it all happens in a single year, but since we don’t have another term, we use it.

The best is yet to come Reuben. The bloom stalk will now begin to branch (panicles) and then the branches will produce flower buds and flower. That bloom stalk will produce more than 1 million seeds, but none will grow natually in our climate. More pictures please!

Those cute little pups on the side of mom will make great replacements in the pot.”

One more thing: I’d like to share two of the pups growing at the base of this agave; if you’re interested leave a comment and I’ll mail it to you. First come, first served — thanks!

Update: The agave pups are spoken for, thanks!