Stalking the Stalk--Agave chiapensis

Use this forum to discuss matters relating to Agave, Beschorneria, Furcraea, Hesperaloe, Hesperoyucca, Manfreda, Polianthes, Yucca and related species. This is where one posts unknown plant photos for ID help.
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bigdaddyscondition
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Stalking the Stalk--Agave chiapensis

#1

Post by bigdaddyscondition »

The one A. chiapensis in my collection spiked nearly a year ago (see photos). Mine is the solitary (not offsetting) variety, and propagation is by either offsetting or seed, according to Irish and Irish. So I fixed my hopes on the possibility of a bulbil eventually forming on the inflorescence. I have posted before my experience with getting lucky this way, a sort of patient propagation, in which by waiting long after the inflorescence had flowered and declined, I had finally seen bulbils appear. This has happened with two of my other agaves described by either Gentry or the Irishes as not forming bulbils, viz. A. bovicornuta and one of the five tropical agaves Gentry places in Group Polycephalae, A. celsii. Gentry places my A. chiapensis in in Group Polycephalae, too.

Anyway, about 8 months after my chiapensis spiked, I began to imagine seeing a lone bulbil at the top of the 13-foot inflorescence. Sure enough, it was real. I waited another 3 months or so to see if others would form, but no--I was getting one and one only. And the spike recently turned black and the flowers dried up totally, so I thought I'd better take the bulbil and run.

Yesterday I got out my 12-foot ladder, confirmed up close that there were no other bulbils, and harvested the one lonely bulbil. Since it was already showing signs of dehydration, I immediately potted it as a replacement for its parent.
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Gee.S
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Re: Stalking the Stalk--Agave chiapensis

#2

Post by Gee.S »

One lonely little bulbil is a lot better than none! Try to keep it warm at night to encourage root growth.

I also have a non-offsetting A. chiapensis and like it a lot. Far more desirable than the likes of A. mitis (celsii), IMHO.
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"
bigdaddyscondition
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Re: Stalking the Stalk--Agave chiapensis

#3

Post by bigdaddyscondition »

Thanks for the advice, gee. We have had a fairly warm winter so far in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. I'll bring it into the garage for cold nights. I don't want this baby to die!

My celsii was sold to me as Agave celsii v. nova 'Great Blue Form'. I rather like the tropical-looking ovate leaf, similar to chiapensis, and the light blue color. It has been prone to leaf burning on hot days, though, and mites seem to like it.
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Re: Stalking the Stalk--Agave chiapensis

#4

Post by Gee.S »

'Nova' is a hybrid (mitis × potatorum?), far more attractive than pure mitis (celsii). 'Nova' takes full sun here, I've had four of 'em bloom, and have plenty of seed. Very short lived Agave, unfortunately. Blooms at about 8 yo.

Best to keep soil temp above 70°F to promote root growth. Once it has a few roots, you can back off and let it go dormant for a spell.
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"
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Re: Stalking the Stalk--Agave chiapensis

#5

Post by Brooksphilly »

In my experience, chiapensis can’t handle even near freezing temps. Lost mine at 36 degrees—and it was dry.
bigdaddyscondition
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Re: Stalking the Stalk--Agave chiapensis

#6

Post by bigdaddyscondition »

That's consistent with the habitat of chiapensis, Philly. I think I've been lucky with keeping mine alive in my location.
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Re: Stalking the Stalk--Agave chiapensis

#7

Post by bigdaddyscondition »

Here's an update on my little orphan bulbil that I harvested with great care using my 12-foot ladder--it failed to root. I've still got it in a pot for nostalgia and in case one of you tells me there's still hope, because it is still green after these months.

But here's Plan B--see photos. Sixteen days ago I planted seeds in this plastic kitchen storage box that I boosted from my wife's kitchen. I've kept it covered with the plastic and kept temps between 75-85 F using a SnuggleSafe (stole one of those from my cats). Now I've got 5 brand new seedlings (the speck of green at about 1 o'clock is a weed), 4 of which you can see in the close-up photo.

Here's my question: do I leave the plastic wrap cover off, now that seedlings have germinated? Any other advice is welcome regarding keeping these alive and into pots.
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Re: Stalking the Stalk--Agave chiapensis

#8

Post by Gee.S »

Yes, leave the wrapper off. You'll need to water more frequently, but the humid environment of a covered container will encourage fungal growth.
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"
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Re: Stalking the Stalk--Agave chiapensis

#9

Post by DesertDweller »

bigdaddyscondition wrote:Here's an update on my little orphan bulbil that I harvested with great care using my 12-foot ladder--it failed to root. I've still got it in a pot for nostalgia and in case one of you tells me there's still hope, because it is still green after these months.

But here's Plan B--see photos. Sixteen days ago I planted seeds in this plastic kitchen storage box that I boosted from my wife's kitchen. I've kept it covered with the plastic and kept temps between 75-85 F using a SnuggleSafe (stole one of those from my cats). Now I've got 5 brand new seedlings (the speck of green at about 1 o'clock is a weed), 4 of which you can see in the close-up photo.

Here's my question: do I leave the plastic wrap cover off, now that seedlings have germinated? Any other advice is welcome regarding keeping these alive and into pots.
I've also had extremely stubborn things that took months to root, even in seemingly ideal temperature conditions. I suppose if it's still green, not all hope is lost. Don't suppose you tried any rooting powder? If not, you could always give it a go. I've done that a few times, not sure it made much of a difference, but figure it unlikely that it hurt. :U
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Re: Stalking the Stalk--Agave chiapensis

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Post by Azuleja »

Keep trying until it's dead, which should take a while. I've had a couple of things take 4 or 5 months to root, for no apparent reason at all. But they eventually did.
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Re: Stalking the Stalk--Agave chiapensis

#11

Post by bigdaddyscondition »

Thanks for the answers; I won't give the bulbil the heave-ho yet. Gee, I did lightly spray copper soap fungicide on the seeds when I planted them in anticipation of fungal growth. Seems fungus-free so far.
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Re: Stalking the Stalk--Agave chiapensis

#12

Post by MJP »

Absolutely apply rooting powder to the base of your bulbil.

I harvested many bulbils from my Agave ovatifolia, and they refused to root until I dusted their bases with rooting powder. They promptly rooted in. I asked Erin Selby what they do at PDN with the bulbils they obtain, and he said that they apply rooting powder.

Here's hoping your lone bulbil finally takes root.
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Re: Stalking the Stalk--Agave chiapensis

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Post by bigdaddyscondition »

Got it, thanks! What means PDN?
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Re: Stalking the Stalk--Agave chiapensis

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Post by Spination »

(PDN = Plants Delights Nursery)

I second the use of rooting powder - I have been using it for years on anything I want to root. For stubborn patients, I'll pull from the medium after some time with still no roots, wet the base, and apply rooting powder again, and re-position the plantlet into the medium. Wetting the base of the subject allows the powder to easily stick, rather than uselessly fall off.
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Re: Stalking the Stalk--Agave chiapensis

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Post by bigdaddyscondition »

Just got some rooting powder today and applied it to the bulbil and replanted it. I'll post updates. Thanks to all.
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Re: Stalking the Stalk--Agave chiapensis

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Post by Gee.S »

Is it indoors or are nighttime lows warmer than 60°F? This whole rooting thing is often about weather...
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"
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Re: Stalking the Stalk--Agave chiapensis

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Post by bigdaddyscondition »

I have moved it indoors at night starting late November up until about a week ago, when I halfway gave up on it. Night temps here have been mostly in upper 50s and day temps 75 to 85 until a week ago, when we started a cold spell with night temps down to the mid-30s. Most days and nights for the last 2 months I've taken care to keep it in an ambient temp of at least 70 F, also trying to maximize its sun exposure outside. I think I'll move it indoors to the sunny spot I've placed the seedlings in.
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Re: Stalking the Stalk--Agave chiapensis

#18

Post by Gee.S »

^ Sounds perfect.
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"
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Re: Stalking the Stalk--Agave chiapensis

#19

Post by bigdaddyscondition »

OK, it's 3 1/2 weeks since I planted the Agave chiapensis seeds, and about a week and a half since they germinated. See the 16 or so seedlings in the photo. When do I transfer them to pots, and what potting medium do I use?

I once had a crop of locally harvested Yucca whipplei seeds sprout nicely, but eventually fail, and I was told by a nurseryman that it was because I had started them in store-bought potting soil. This soil contains peat, which is too acidic. Sure enough, when I germinated another batch in some soil from my backyard (habitat soil for this species), they germinated and grew just fine.
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Feeling So Much Better Now--Agave chiapensis

#20

Post by bigdaddyscondition »

The rooting powder did the trick. This photo is of the same bulbil pictured in the second and third photos at the very top of this post. All I did was moisten the base of the bulbil, dip it in the rooting hormone powder, and reposition it in the same potting soil. The bulbil soon became hydrated, showing the bright green color characteristic of the species. Thanks to all who recommended the rooting powder; it saved the one bulbil I got from the parent plant.
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Re: Stalking the Stalk--Agave chiapensis

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Post by Agave_fan »

I love happy endings! D))
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Re: Stalking the Stalk--Agave chiapensis

#22

Post by bigdaddyscondition »

Here's an update on the lonely bulbil of A. chiapensis, saved with rooting hormone powder and planted successfully in March. Nine months later it's planted in my front yard. The cage is for rabbit protection, something I never needed when my good buddy Winston was still prowling the neighborhood (see photo).

Last week a neighbor stopped by. She is a local reporter for the new Spectrum News channel here in the Los Angeles area, and she just did a video interview of a tour of my yard. The segment should air in the next week or two.
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Re: Stalking the Stalk--Agave chiapensis

#23

Post by Azuleja »

Wonderful! The bulbil looks great and how cool that your efforts were noticed like that.
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