Agave desmettiana 'El Miradore Gold'
During the recent long years of drought this Agave from Mexico became very popular adding a striking focal point and great form to large and small gardens alike. It is also frost tolerant so has a broader appeal and can be used by gardeners away from the coast. These pants are only a couple of years old and have reached 1 metre across in that time and have started to form "pups" around the base. They were rescued as throw away plants because the owner did not like the fact that the ends of the leaves have quite long thorns on them. Planted under the eaves of the house, they receive no water except when the rain blows in that direction. I imagine the roots of this Agave have gone off in all directions underground in search of water anyway.
I also like to plant Agaves amongst floppy perennial plants or grasses as they help give structure to a soft and light planting scheme.
2017 update: I have stock available.
I also like to plant Agaves amongst floppy perennial plants or grasses as they help give structure to a soft and light planting scheme.
2017 update: I have stock available.
Celia and Chris have inherited a couple of these "very unfriendly" plants on either side of their front entrance steps. At the moment they don't use these steps as they have netted in the entire front verandah for their Norwegian ForestXPersian Cats and so the Agaves continue to flourish unabated. I dislike those thorns and in the bush setting the plants seem quite out of place.
ReplyDeleteMore on agaves........I did mean to say that they look handsome in your photos and I can imagine that they could be an integral part of a garden design. However, I don't think you would appreciate them atop posts on either side of a stairway!
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