Variation in some kerchovei seedlings

[Azuleja]

Just dropped by to check in and thought you might enjoy a few photos of my A. kerchovei seedlings. I enjoy them anyway. They could be bigger by now, but I'd been growing them pretty hard and only recently shifted them up. Benches are no longer enough here. I need some nice growing tables like KLC's.

[Meangreen94z]

Looking great, continue to post updates

[agavegreg]

What was the seed source for those A. kerchovei?

[Azuleja]

What was the seed source for those A. kerchovei?

I believe it was North Texas Cold Hardy Palms, but not sure what their source was. It was before your paper on the kerchovei complex but I sought them out after seeing photos of what was then considered red kerchovei near Huajuapan. Would they now be called A. convallis?

[Azuleja]

These seedlings came inside over winter and lost their red color. I just put them back out again and they're coloring up quickly. I can see the difference daily and in this photo you can see how the change is a direct response to light.

[Melt in the Sun]

Nice contrast there! I think I remember reading the strong red color was indicative of A. convallis...couldn't find it in a quick search but I'm pretty sure it was on this forum somewhere.

[Azuleja]

I have Greg Starr's paper on the kerchovei complex saved and will reread it again. As I remember locality, color, mid stripe, leaf shape, leaf thickness, marginal spines and number of leaves were all described as indicators. Many of these lack spines on the last third of the leaf and some leaves seem triangulate, which are kerchovei traits. But kerchovei are described as green and as these get bigger almost all of them color up to some degree. I think they all have a mid stripe too. They've been really fun though. Each one is a little different.

[Azuleja]

Some more updated photos of these guys. A few of them lean toward the bluish side

[Azuleja]

A few more

[Jkwinston]

Very nice Azuleja. Jkw

[Melt in the Sun]

Quite a variety there! I see lots of differences in spines and posture and color - are they all growing in the same amount of light? I see some are in shallow pots, some deep, some ceramic and some plastic. Is there a pattern you can see or does the variation seem purely genetic?

[Azuleja]

Pretty sure I've always had these in plastic, but when some were runty I did put them in mismatched sizes. Now they're all in 4". They've always been together in the same light so as far as I know, the differences are genetic. I also have a younger group in 2-3" pots, but at that size it's hard to see their form and I'm sure these will change a lot more too.

[agavegreg]

Most of the plants pictured look more like A. convallis than A. kerchovei.

[Azuleja]

Seasonal update on these. With space being an issue I did thin some out and haven't shifted them all up. The color is very light dependent on these. If moved out of the sun they start greening within a few days. The pot size doesn't seem to matter, but NPK might.

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[Gee.S]

Really nice job Azuleja. These are really coming along!

[agavegreg]

I would call all those Agave convallis as defined by Garcia-Mendoza, although I suspect the plants from the Huahuapan area may not fit Trelease's original concept of A. convallis. Another are to investigate. The Heteracanthae is a section that really needs a comprehensive study.

[Azuleja]

I would call all those Agave convallis as defined by Garcia-Mendoza, although I suspect the plants from the Huahuapan area may not fit Trelease's original concept of A. convallis. Another are to investigate. The Heteracanthae is a section that really needs a comprehensive study.

Thank you for the ID correction

[Azuleja]

I almost forgot I still have one of the green ones. Most of them became more red over time, but not all. This one became more green. Maybe I overfertilized it. I'm waiting to see if it goes red again next year.

[Azuleja]

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[Melt in the Sun]

Good to see you posting again! Red plants are cool

[Kingsnake]

These guys are beautiful, thank you for sharing!

[Azuleja]

Not a proper update but I thought these two were looking especially pretty today. We are having a mild winter so far, which the plants appreciate

A. convallis

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A. convallis

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[Meangreen94z]

Nice, they are getting huge.

[Azuleja]

This is my favorite of the seedlings. It has always had bigger marginals and was unique even when tiny. I hope it keeps its compact upright form since these just can't survive here without serious frost protection.

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I left out 3 of the biggest ones during a cold storm. I moved them where they'd stay dry. They took damage on the outer leaves at only 31f

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So, I'll rehab them until they look better then will be trying to find homes for the ones nearing gallon size. I didn't raise them this long to kill them

ETA: looks like this is the same plant from post #22. They spent a lot of time in the greenhouse during Feb/Mar greened up quite a bit

[Meangreen94z]

31°F is surprising but sometimes a frost after a sudden temperature drop will do quite a bit of damage on an actively growing plant.