Beschoneria yuccoides

Emerging flower stem of Beschoneria yuccoides

Beschoneria yuccoides
 False Red Agave

Driving home yesterday in yet another deluge and wondering whether the car was going to float away, I thought about all the water-wise plants and the dry climate gardening plants which have been the focus of the horticultural industry over the past ten years of drought. One plant which has made an impact as an easy care landscaping specimen during the big dry would have to be the Beschoneria. Much loved by councils for high impact public landscaping projects and home gardeners who like an architectural focal point, these hardy species hail from dry mountain forests of Mexico and have a similar appearance to an Agave rosette. At this time of year they send up a tall 2 metre spike of bright red and green flowers which look quite spectacular. The smaller growing B. septenrionalis has hot pink flower stems and flowers which make a vivid contrast to other bright foliaged plants. The flower stems of this species tend to be a bit top heavy and lurch sideways as they mature unless staked. Both species will grow in sun or light shade and are useful for difficult sites where tree root competition may be a problem . They are also tolerant of frost and quite cold conditions.
2017 update: i have both of these available in limited numbers

Beschoneria septenrionalis with golden Berberis