Agave Maximus
By my approximate count I have something like 300 blue agave plants on my 2 1/2 acres. These blue agaves range in size from pups that are only six or 8 inches across to some monstrously large plants that are perhaps 15 feet across and 10 feet or so high. The blue agave is often called Century Plant and one of the reasons that name is that gardening lore has it that these plants last 100 years and then die in a vertical flourish. The truth is that this species of agave does grow very large and does live a long time, but it’s more on the order of 25 years not 100 years and yes, when it dies, or before it dies, it sends up a stalk with seeds that can reach 40 feet into the air if the plant is large enough. Since I’ve lived here full-time, I’ve had about five plants go vertical and there really is no telling exactly which plants will go next and when that will happen. Obviously I tend to watch the largest of these plants, because it seems logical that they are the oldest, and therefore the ones most likely to go vertical in any given year.
The last time this happened was when two of my agave on the back corner of the garage went vertical at the same time and sent to 30 foot stalk straight up in the air on top of our hillside. You could see them as soon as you came into the neighborhood. Up on the very top of that hill, perhaps another 15 feet higher than those two previous stalks, is what must be the largest agave I have on my property. It is amongst the boulders on that hillside, and it really defines the top of that front hill. The only thing taller than that agave is the very large vertical boulder that marks the absolute top front of my property. That’s the boulder that the doves and hawks like to sit on as they survey the landscape because it is indeed the highest ground around. The other day Melisa was visiting, doing some garden club work with Kim, and she noticed that that huge hilltop agave was starting to sprout a seed stalk. Sure enough it seems that the end of life process has begun for this massive agave and the 8 to 10 inch diameter seed stock has about 4 or 5 feet of growth to it at this point. Based on the size of this plant, I am expecting this seed stalk will go at least 40 feet into the air, and because of its positioning, it will be visible by all.
I’ve never put a time clock on this seed stalk, end-of-life agave process, but I believe that the seed stalk will take something like three or four months to grow to its full height and then it will stay in bloom for anywhere from 6 to 9 months, allowing the birds and the bees to have at it. That means that if my calculus is correct, early next spring I will have to deal with the cutting and removal of this massive agave plant. Based on where it’s located, I don’t believe I will be able to just leave the stump after cutting the stalk and the large octopus-like leaves, I believe I will have to have someone come in and specifically remove the stump and then I have the issue of what to put in its place. I don’t want to prejudge what I want to plant in that spot because it is quite a prominent spot and due to its elevation, it will require some thought as to what would work best since one is mostly looking at it from below. I have a feeling it’s a little too high to plant some sort of tree there so I’m guessing I will be trying to figure out some sort of bush or cactus that would create, a point of interest and could grow to fill the breath of the space occupied now by the agave. It would be far too ambitious to try and find something as big as the agave because it truly is a massive plant. I do have a watering system that will take water to that spot, so I think I have a wide range of choices. Whatever I choose to plant, I can set the watering cycle to what the plant will need either as it gets settled in or as it matures.
I have certainly planted lots and lots of succulents around the property. I’ve also planted a lot of flowers or flowering plants to bring color. And I have planted a lot of native varietals because there’s something natural in doing that. As I sit in the backyard and look at all of what I have growing back here on this hillside, in addition to the giant agave and the trees that I’ve planted including three Palo Verde trees, and a couple of oak trees, I have planted a good number of cacti and other succulents, but also some shrubs that have flowered up very nicely. I have been very envious of Mike and Melisa‘s red Bougainvillea vines that they have growing over the front edge of their veranda. We have discussed why those have flourished so well in that spot and decided that it’s largely because they get so much direct sunlight. I have a feeling that this hilltop location where this giant agave now sits might be a very good spot for a large planting of Bougainvillea. I think it would look particularly lovely spilling down the hillside toward the garage. If I was assured that it would be as full and robust as those plants at Mike and Melissa‘s, that would certainly be a top choice for me. I have tried planting Bougainvillea in three different places on the property and have generally failed. I suspect mostly because I did not pick spots that were flooded with all day sun. I actually removed all the Bougainvillea out on the patio and replaced it with plants that do better in the shade. The other spot where I’ve had limited success with Bougainvillea is in the Cecil Garden, which gets sort of a half day of sunlight. I will have to consult with my Bougainvillea expert, Melisa, as to whether or not she thinks the spot on the top of the hill will have a good chance of seeing Bougainvillea prosper.
Alternatively, I may look for something really special in the way of a an exotic succulent or cactus that would lend a trophy look to that spot, basing my choice from the succulent books that I have on my side table in the living room. There are many that would qualify, but the problem is that most of those are very mature and I’m not sure how big one can purchase those succulent plants and have it still be an economically sound investment. Like I said, I have the better part of the year to figure this all out so I will be patient in seeking out alternatives.
My property seems particularly well suited to these giant blue agaves. I say that because I had Joventino take about a dozen of the pups and place them in the downhill valley just north of the Buffalo on the back hillside, and in the two seasons since he planted them, some of them are now as big as 8 feet across already, so they have clearly prospered in that location, and that is without any artificial irrigation. Of course that’s one of the beauties of life in San Diego, especially in North County. The climate is so conducive that you can grow just about anything just by sticking it in the ground and making sure it doesn’t go completely dry. As I look at this back hillside, I see three huge fan aloe plants, the source of many cuttings taken by my neighbors since fan aloes are highly desirable. That would be a lovely plant to put in place of the monstrous agave I’m losing, but I sense that it would take 10 years to take a normal sized plant or even a large cutting from one of these three plants to get close to the large 10’ x 10’ size that I have in the back hillside.
I suppose that before I pick the replacement for the agave, I still need to spend some more time honoring this massive plant that has lived here as long as this house has been here, which is about 25 years. I believe this plant is about as big as any blue agave can possibly grow, I will honor it by giving it the title, Agave Maximus and be sure not to use that for any of the other hundreds of upstarts around the property, no matter how big they get.