The Agave & the Glass Ceiling

Photo by Nancy J. White, Toronto Star

I remember the first time one of my ‘century plant’ agaves produced a flower stalk; I was surprised, delighted and even a little bit frightened! How big would this enormous asparagus stalk get; what if it never stopped growing; what would I do if it fell over? Well, that was a decade ago and since then I’ve gotten a bit more blasé about succulents and their unexpected flower stalks, although their appearance continues to thrill me. My friend Dave who lives in Canada sent me a story link from the Toronto Star that reminds me of those first surprising days living with agaves. It appears the staff at Toronto’s Allan Gardens Conservatory was just as surprised by their agave’s prodigious stalk and had to resort to drastic measures to accommodate it …

Photo by Bert Dandy

Here’s a closer view from another publication, CityNews Toronto.

To read the Toronto Star piece, click here.