Use this forum to help with identification issues and to show off your beautiful plants, one species, subspecies, and cultivar at a time.
Forum rules
This section is dedicated toward maintaining one active thread for each Agavaceae species/subspecies/variety/cultivar. Please feel free to add information and/or photos to existing threads or start your own by adding Genus/species as the thread subject. Note that listings are displayed alphabetically. Enjoy!
Agave
"American aloe plant," 1797, from Greek Agaue, proper name in mythology (mother of Pentheus), from agauos "noble," perhaps from agasthai "wonder at".
"Some talk the talk, others walk the walk, but I stalk the stalk"
Agave
"American aloe plant," 1797, from Greek Agaue, proper name in mythology (mother of Pentheus), from agauos "noble," perhaps from agasthai "wonder at".
"Some talk the talk, others walk the walk, but I stalk the stalk"
The plants in the OP are both mine. Pic #1 is about 1.5m across, which is about as large as they come.
Agave
"American aloe plant," 1797, from Greek Agaue, proper name in mythology (mother of Pentheus), from agauos "noble," perhaps from agasthai "wonder at".
"Some talk the talk, others walk the walk, but I stalk the stalk"
Almost 3 years later - bigger. Also pumping out both Medio Picta Alba pups, and just plain blue ones. (I guess it's hard to tell from a photo - but it now measures 4' high, and 5' across)
2018 03 02 A americana Medio Picta Alba a.jpg (130.02 KiB) Viewed 15715 times
This is my first of this type, so I can only answer based on how large this plant eventually gets for me in time. Currently, as of today, it is 45" tall and 70" wide.
Of particular note is my recollection of conversation somewhere on this site some years ago, regarding this cultivar's propensity to rot at the leaf bases, in particular where the blue and white separate on the leaf. Keeping this in mind, I spray my plants prior to the onset of rains with a fungicide (LiquiCop - copper based fungicide), focusing on the leaf bases. Two out of the last three winters have had heavy rains now, and still I haven't had to experience the problem which was described. My conclusion is that knowing of this potential issue and being proactive can eliminate having to deal with it.
Spination wrote: ↑Mon Apr 08, 2019 9:29 am
This is my first of this type, so I can only answer based on how large this plant eventually gets for me in time. Currently, as of today, it is 45" tall and 70" wide.
Of particular note is my recollection of conversation somewhere on this site some years ago, regarding this cultivar's propensity to rot at the leaf bases, in particular where the blue and white separate on the leaf. Keeping this in mind, I spray my plants prior to the onset of rains with a fungicide (LiquiCop - copper based fungicide), focusing on the leaf bases. Two out of the last three winters have had heavy rains now, and still I haven't had to experience the problem which was described. My conclusion is that knowing of this potential issue and being proactive can eliminate having to deal with it.
I was cruising this thread and saw this pearl from Spination. When I first started xeric gardening years ago these beautiful agaves were plentiful in the big box stores. I planted three. I finally gave up on growing them because of this very problem, i.e. the tendency of the leaves to separate at the margins of the color stripes. I never thought about fungal infection as the possible etiology, but it makes sense.
Now I just may plant another one and see if I have any better luck treating with a copper soap fungicide as Spine describes. Thanks!
^ These are prone to rot here in AZ. And rot is very rare here in the desert. It seems to me this agave goes dormant from summer heat at temps other agaves have no issue with. Once dormant, they are susceptible to rot from irrigation they don't need.
Agave
"American aloe plant," 1797, from Greek Agaue, proper name in mythology (mother of Pentheus), from agauos "noble," perhaps from agasthai "wonder at".
"Some talk the talk, others walk the walk, but I stalk the stalk"
Gee.S wrote: ↑Thu Jul 07, 2022 9:43 pm
^ These are prone to rot here in AZ. And rot is very rare here in the desert. It seems to me this agave goes dormant from summer heat at temps other agaves have no issue with. Once dormant, they are susceptible to rot from irrigation they don't need while dormant.
So Gee, you think the leaf-splitting problem seen in this species is more a function of overwatering than fungal infection? Here in the Inland Empire we obviously don't experience the summer temperatures you get in the Valley of the Sun. So presumably our mediopictas would not have this tendency to go dormant in the summer heat.
This is a real favourite and many years ago I was in Spain and saw one with the colours reversed. The white was on the outside edges and the blue in the centre. I pinched a small cutting to bring home but managed to break it on the journey. Divine retribution I guess.
Gee.S wrote: ↑Thu Jul 07, 2022 9:43 pm
^ These are prone to rot here in AZ. And rot is very rare here in the desert. It seems to me this agave goes dormant from summer heat at temps other agaves have no issue with. Once dormant, they are susceptible to rot from irrigation they don't need while dormant.
So Gee, you think the leaf-splitting problem seen in this species is more a function of overwatering than fungal infection? Here in the Inland Empire we obviously don't experience the summer temperatures you get in the Valley of the Sun. So presumably our mediopictas would not have this tendency to go dormant in the summer heat.
Just pointing out that this agave is a REAL oddball in certain ways pertaining to cultivation. I will say that I see little distinction between over-watering and rot. It isn't really over-watering until the rot shows, right?
Agave
"American aloe plant," 1797, from Greek Agaue, proper name in mythology (mother of Pentheus), from agauos "noble," perhaps from agasthai "wonder at".
"Some talk the talk, others walk the walk, but I stalk the stalk"
This one has been growing in a coastal town in the UK. After many years it now perished after a severe frost period in December. Before it never had any problems with winter wetness.
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