The Unknown Agave Thread
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Re: The Unknown Agave Thread
Looked at those last few photos, thought "definitely difformis", but I see Azul already ID'd it correctly (in my opinion). I'm just casting another vote for that ID.
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Re: The Unknown Agave Thread
For pruning dead stringy stuff, get yourself a pair of tinsnips. I bought a pair to cut hardware cloth but I think I have used it far more for agave leaves! They will cut just about anything that you can fit between the blades.
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Re: The Unknown Agave Thread
Thanks for your guess Spiny!
I had ordered a cactus saw and pruner a week before I picked up this plant and they arrived a few days after I got the plant and the tools changed my life. Think of a very sharp blade like a box cutter but longer and on an extended handle for getting under long leaves. It slices through thick leaves like butter and even those stubborn old dried ones were much easier cutting than with anything else I tried. Some of you might already know about these tools and use them but for me, I had no clue and they changed my life. I showed them to my landscapers who fell in love with these and I had to go ask for them back just to take this photo. I use them for everything from cutting old leaves to cutting open big heavy duty plastic containers. I mainly use the pruner (hardly ever use the saw) and the blade is reversible so I just switch it around and use the end that was tucked up inside the holder when it starts to get dull. Once I had this pruner, I was able to remove those stubborn old leaves that I couldn't get off with anything else.
I seriously tried everything I found in the toolbox MITS (I am all about nicknames and abbreviations today), even these two things. I have no clue what they are (or anything else I found in there and used) but when I just Googled tinsnips, some of the photos looked a little like these? The yellow one is pretty old and rusty so perhaps the blades were just not sharp enough to do the job?Melt in the Sun wrote:For pruning dead stringy stuff, get yourself a pair of tinsnips. I bought a pair to cut hardware cloth but I think I have used it far more for agave leaves! They will cut just about anything that you can fit between the blades.
I had ordered a cactus saw and pruner a week before I picked up this plant and they arrived a few days after I got the plant and the tools changed my life. Think of a very sharp blade like a box cutter but longer and on an extended handle for getting under long leaves. It slices through thick leaves like butter and even those stubborn old dried ones were much easier cutting than with anything else I tried. Some of you might already know about these tools and use them but for me, I had no clue and they changed my life. I showed them to my landscapers who fell in love with these and I had to go ask for them back just to take this photo. I use them for everything from cutting old leaves to cutting open big heavy duty plastic containers. I mainly use the pruner (hardly ever use the saw) and the blade is reversible so I just switch it around and use the end that was tucked up inside the holder when it starts to get dull. Once I had this pruner, I was able to remove those stubborn old leaves that I couldn't get off with anything else.
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Re: The Unknown Agave Thread
A new one... thoughts? I will add better pictures tomorrow, but here's what I was able to get this evening:
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Re: The Unknown Agave Thread
Has anyone seen A. moranii in habitat? It seems a stretch but I'm having trouble finding anything that fits better. Given that it was a one-off no-namer and this place has some weird stuff, I guess it isn't impossible, but it doesn't seem particularly probable on its face. Wondering if there's not something far more common that it could be?
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Re: The Unknown Agave Thread
I say that it is not A. moranii which has leaves that are long triangular, being widest at the base and tapering gradually to the tip while your plant has leaves that are widest near or above the middle. Also, A. moranii does not have interstitial teeth as yours does. Could yours be A. inaequidens?
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Re: The Unknown Agave Thread
Definitely not A. moranii. It may be some manner of bovicornuta hybrid or possibly A. inaequidens.
Agave
"American aloe plant," 1797, from Greek Agaue, proper name in mythology (mother of Pentheus), from agauos "noble," perhaps from agasthai "wonder at".
"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"
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Re: The Unknown Agave Thread
Okay, the leaves are not always widest at the base on A. moranii, but still they lack interstitial teeth. Here are a few shots of Agave moranii from Baja California.
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Re: The Unknown Agave Thread
Okay, don't know where the pictures went, so will try again. Agave moranii from Baja California.
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Re: The Unknown Agave Thread
Hi all and thanks for the input (and pics!). Does A. inaequidens ssp. barrancensis sometimes have the continuous white margin? I saw that one while gallery hopping and that threw me off originally. Granted not a lot of pics for that one though.
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Re: The Unknown Agave Thread
A. inaequidens is not unheard of in cultivation, but it is unusual. It gets very large. A. bovicornuta is not only far more common, it seems a favorite of hybridizers everywhere. So more likely a bovi hybrid, but wait and see if growth rate starts pointing to a beast in the making before jumping to any conclusions.
Agave
"American aloe plant," 1797, from Greek Agaue, proper name in mythology (mother of Pentheus), from agauos "noble," perhaps from agasthai "wonder at".
"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"
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Re: The Unknown Agave Thread
Here's another novelty I came across today. A one off, un-tagged and without much info from the nursery. I was digging the subtle striation on the leaves. It is extremely scabrous, but the leaf shape makes me wonder if not asperrima, but instead something else? I was thinking chrysantha or some such, but have not seen any in person before so that's just a guess.
Whatever it is, figured folks here would dig the pics:
Free pup included. Hard tell in this light, but at least one leaf seems to show the striation too: Thoughts?
Whatever it is, figured folks here would dig the pics:
Free pup included. Hard tell in this light, but at least one leaf seems to show the striation too: Thoughts?
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Re: The Unknown Agave Thread
I'm thinkin' A. asperrima in one of its many forms. If not pure A. asperrima, then maybe crossed with A. americana protamericana.
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Re: The Unknown Agave Thread
Entirely possible. They did have more typical, heavily guttered, fewer leaved and very upright asperrima ssp. asperrima, but were also certain that this was "something else," just no idea what, exactly. I just like the weird stuff and thought the striations were cool, as was the leaf shape. Thanks for the insight, will tag this up as A. asperrima-ish for now.agavegreg wrote:I'm thinkin' A. asperrima in one of its many forms. If not pure A. asperrima, then maybe crossed with A. americana protamericana.
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Re: The Unknown Agave Thread
Here's a couple I saw today in a shopping center. Surprising, given that all else was A. weberi, many baked to a golden yellow. These guys did not seem nearly as bothered by the sun.
Exhibit A:
Some of the nicest banding I have seen in a long time. Drool worthy.
Exhibit B:
I saw quite a few of the latter example, but not a one with any hint of offsets.
Thoughts on either one?
Exhibit A:
Some of the nicest banding I have seen in a long time. Drool worthy.
Exhibit B:
I saw quite a few of the latter example, but not a one with any hint of offsets.
Thoughts on either one?
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Re: The Unknown Agave Thread
I don't have one, so may be way off base here, but how about A. colorata × A. bovicornuta?
Agave
"American aloe plant," 1797, from Greek Agaue, proper name in mythology (mother of Pentheus), from agauos "noble," perhaps from agasthai "wonder at".
"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"
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Re: The Unknown Agave Thread
The first one sure looks the part, though far nicer than any I have ever seen. Figures it would not be a prolific pupper, otherwise I'd have plucked a wee one for scientific purposes of course.Gee.S wrote:I don't have one, so may be way off base here, but how about A. colorata × A. bovicornuta?
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Re: The Unknown Agave Thread
How late is the mall open?
Agave
"American aloe plant," 1797, from Greek Agaue, proper name in mythology (mother of Pentheus), from agauos "noble," perhaps from agasthai "wonder at".
"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"
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Re: The Unknown Agave Thread
Decided to revisit this thread and share another oddball that I came across. Folks at the nursery said it was something unusual and slow growing but knew not much else about it. Only one they had on hand, sitting all by its lonesome. I took pity and brought it home, can't argue for 11 bucks, right?
Any thoughts on this? Terminals remind me again of neckelsiae, as do some other features, but that is at best a stab in the dark at what might be half the parentage. Anyone seen one like this before, or what parentage might lean towards?
Keeping it quarantined for now and giving it a good spraying (or two or three) before I mess with re-potting, much less putting it in proximity to anything else. As you can tell, it's hard a bit of a rough life, but seems actively growing and more or less happy now. Methinks it got neglected "out back" for too long at the nursery.
Any thoughts on this? Terminals remind me again of neckelsiae, as do some other features, but that is at best a stab in the dark at what might be half the parentage. Anyone seen one like this before, or what parentage might lean towards?
Keeping it quarantined for now and giving it a good spraying (or two or three) before I mess with re-potting, much less putting it in proximity to anything else. As you can tell, it's hard a bit of a rough life, but seems actively growing and more or less happy now. Methinks it got neglected "out back" for too long at the nursery.
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Re: The Unknown Agave Thread
A. difformis × A. nickelsiae ?
Agave
"American aloe plant," 1797, from Greek Agaue, proper name in mythology (mother of Pentheus), from agauos "noble," perhaps from agasthai "wonder at".
"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"
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Re: The Unknown Agave Thread
Ha. I actually wondered, given the wavy leaves and flecking on the back of the leaves. It would make sense. Hopefully this means it will offset at some point. The nurseryman said he had a larger specimen, I want to say 5 feet across he claimed, so presumably this came from that. I'll try to get some more info out of him the next time I'm there.Gee.S wrote:A. difformis × A. nickelsiae ?
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Re: The Unknown Agave Thread
Interesting. I wonder how it would look with better care, and I guess now that you own it you'll get to find out!