Another agave fancier from the UK

Welcome to Agaveville! Please stop in and tell us a little bit about yourself and your gardening interests.
Post Reply
agavedave
Offset
Posts: 106
Joined: Tue Jul 11, 2017 12:29 pm
Location: East Anglia UK
Contact:

Another agave fancier from the UK

#1

Post by agavedave »

Been lurking around here for for a while and decided to register and tap into the wealth of expertise on here.

I'm in Cambridgeshire in the UK and have a varied collection of agaves accumulated over several years

All are grown in pots and most spend the winter under glass.

In the early days it was a case of building up a collection and buying just about anything that came my way. Over the years, space has become more of a challenge and I have learned to be a bit more picky around what I take home. Interests are now leaning more towards propagation techniques and last year I was dabbling with pollen storage and crossing. Too early to tell at the moment what I have ended up with though. In our climate agaves in flower are few and for between and a 80 mile round trip to nab some anthers of a friends agave is not unheard of.


Best Regards
Dave
Attachments
DSCF0019.JPG
DSCF0019.JPG (157.05 KiB) Viewed 2384 times
DSCF0014.JPG
DSCF0014.JPG (137.78 KiB) Viewed 2384 times
User avatar
Melt in the Sun
Ready to Bolt
Posts: 2062
Joined: Mon Feb 24, 2014 3:41 pm
Location: Tucson, AZ
USDA Zone: 9b

Re: Another agave fancier from the UK

#2

Post by Melt in the Sun »

Welcome! Looks like you've got a great bunch of plants.
User avatar
Azuleja
Ready to Bolt
Posts: 1776
Joined: Sun Oct 09, 2016 9:23 am
Location: CA | Zone 9a | Chaparral

Re: Another agave fancier from the UK

#3

Post by Azuleja »

Welcome! I hope your crosses turn out and that you'll share what you've tried.
User avatar
mcvansoest
Moderator
Posts: 2985
Joined: Sun Aug 25, 2013 12:22 pm
Location: Tempe, Arizona, USA ie. Low Desert & Urban Heat Island
USDA Zone: 9a/b
Contact:

Re: Another agave fancier from the UK

#4

Post by mcvansoest »

Welcome!

Your plants all look great and really happy, a lot happier than mine at the moment!

Cheers!
It is what it is!
Brooksphilly
Ready to Bolt
Posts: 273
Joined: Fri Jun 30, 2017 12:35 pm
Location: Philadelphia, PA, USA

Re: Another agave fancier from the UK

#5

Post by Brooksphilly »

Wow, beautiful! Greenhouse allows you great control. What are the two n the first pic to the right of each variegated one (I.e., 1st and 3rd plants from the right)
User avatar
Steph115
Ready to Bolt
Posts: 528
Joined: Tue May 02, 2017 10:42 pm
Location: Dallas, Texas | Zone 8a

Re: Another agave fancier from the UK

#6

Post by Steph115 »

Your plants look flawless! Welcome to the group =)
agavedave
Offset
Posts: 106
Joined: Tue Jul 11, 2017 12:29 pm
Location: East Anglia UK
Contact:

Re: Another agave fancier from the UK

#7

Post by agavedave »

In the first pic, big pots, back row left to right

1. Varigated funkyana or difformis?
2. Isthmensis x colima
3. same as #1
4. blue glow

best regards
Dave
User avatar
mickthecactus
Moderator
Posts: 2870
Joined: Fri May 23, 2014 5:36 am
Location: Hertfordshire UK.

Re: Another agave fancier from the UK

#8

Post by mickthecactus »

You aren't too far from me Dave. I'm down at Hertford.
User avatar
Spination
Ready to Bolt
Posts: 5266
Joined: Sun Aug 03, 2014 11:06 am
Location: Sonoma, Ca.

Re: Another agave fancier from the UK

#9

Post by Spination »

Ditto - welcome! You have a very nice set up, and very organized... very inspirational.
Stan
Ready to Bolt
Posts: 5688
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2015 12:58 pm
Location: Hayward ca/SF bay area
USDA Zone: 10a

Re: Another agave fancier from the UK

#10

Post by Stan »

Bienvenidos Dave. You might find yourself branching out to all sorts of dry plants...better plan for second greenhouse!
Hayward Ca. 75-80f summers,60f winters.
agavedave
Offset
Posts: 106
Joined: Tue Jul 11, 2017 12:29 pm
Location: East Anglia UK
Contact:

Re: Another agave fancier from the UK

#11

Post by agavedave »

Stan,

My collection has gone the other way, tried all sorts in the past but settled on agaves.

If a few of the bigger ones flowered I'd have a bit more space!

BTW the blue grey one sitting on the recessed manhole cover in the second picture is bolting at the moment.

.. Dave
Brooksphilly
Ready to Bolt
Posts: 273
Joined: Fri Jun 30, 2017 12:35 pm
Location: Philadelphia, PA, USA

Re: Another agave fancier from the UK

#12

Post by Brooksphilly »

agavedave wrote:In the first pic, big pots, back row left to right

1. Varigated funkyana or difformis?
2. Isthmensis x colima
3. same as #1
4. blue glow

best regards
Dave
Thanks for the id's, Dave. They are, of course, all gorgeous, and the isth x col and blue glow are simply stunning. Will have to look for that cross. I'm in Philadelphia and while the weather is probably a bit more hospitable for agaves than U.K., I can understand the challenges of growing these desert plants. Glad you are here.
User avatar
Paul S
Ready to Bolt
Posts: 1444
Joined: Tue Jan 07, 2014 6:44 am
Location: Southest Essex, England

Re: Another agave fancier from the UK

#13

Post by Paul S »

Nice to see you and your collection here, Dave.

Re pollen - I have Agave striata coming into flower this year - any willing recipients your end?
agavedave
Offset
Posts: 106
Joined: Tue Jul 11, 2017 12:29 pm
Location: East Anglia UK
Contact:

Re: Another agave fancier from the UK

#14

Post by agavedave »

Hi Paul,

The polycantha is flowering at a much smaller size and later in the season than the one from last year, at this point I'm not expecting anything spectacular, based on previous experience with this one, flowers should open mid September if at all.

The Difformis may be thinking about flowering, the newer leaves have no teeth and don't completely wrap round the bud from mid blade to the base. It may however just be a spurt in growth after re-potting last year.

regards
Dave
Post Reply