Chad,

What a great show you have going on there - it's quite the collection grown how they should be (PIG'd). Aside from Starr Nursery (?), from whom do you shop? I need a few of those (actually, all of them, but I don't wish to sound greedy).

Jeff most of my agaves come from Plants Delight, yuccado and a few select varieties of parryi from High country gardens. Never heard of Starr nursery until I join XW this year. Still waiting to make my first purchase from Greg, but I love his book!

Beautiful collection, looking healthy and well cared for. You have done well!

Thanks hoovb, I am currently expanding one of my gardens so I hope to get more planted. That way I'll have space, I can buy more agaves next week when I go to Plant Delights nursery.

Yeah! Agaves! Very nices ones you are growing there...

Several of those are on my shortlist - parassana, parryi truncata, and 'jaws'...must resist...Starr Nursery...Plant Delights...order form...aaahhh...

;-)

Tom

Chad, you have a wonderful agave collection. I love that A. salmiana. I left some salmiana ferox out one relatively mild winter and they melted, so I guess the seeds were not of a very cold hardy provenance.

How do you protect your agaves in the ground (if you do) and what is your annual precipitation?

Thanks guys, Tom I have a short list too for this week coming on my trip to PDN. I plan on coming home with A. palmeri, reginae victoria, and a aloe aristata.

Linda, Our average rain fall is 40" but last year was above normal with around 60". I don't have to protect most agaves unless I just don't want to see any damage. If I am worried about an agave I will place a pot or tarp over it depending on its size. I used plastic tubes to form a structure and placed tarps over my A americana for a couple years till we had a foot of snow. and that didn't hold up. It melted too. Most in ground agaves do fine because of the soil amendment and raised beds. I definitely have to cover all my cacti with exception to the opuntia and cyclindopuntia. In my zone even my palms require protection. Which is usually large framed houses with plastic attached. Since I have planted another A americana which is not hardy here, I am thinking of buying a tent from Walmart and cutting the bottom out. It has windows for those warm winter days.

i love your agave. i just found this at my local Lowe's.

agave paryii truncata

really nice agave collection !i never really liked agave , but your collection makes me want to start collecting them ! i like those cacti with the agave utahensis kaibabensis :P

jade man , i live in southern california and have never seen that agave in the store! i reaally want that one and no lowes or home depot has it ... i love how soft it looks ...

in a few seasons i should have a pup or two. their already is a very small one there.

Doug

Chad, thanks for the info. I do similar things with the agaves (pots/tarp) that I do protect here and agree that drainage is key. I've also used clear umbrellas and large water bottles before.

Not that the salmiana isn't nice, but I meant to say that I LOVE your A. ovatifolia.

Thanks guys,
jade_man really nice agave. The nice thing for you is it won't get long pointy leaves and that makes for a nice container speciman.

Microthrix- my truncata came from yuccado. But there are cheaper places around you. Check out Starr nursery.

Linda- I love my ovatifolias, they were planted last year and have quadrupled in size. No winter protection, no damage! Next to harvardiana my hardiest agave for our wet and cold winters.

That's really good to know about the ovatifolias, Chad. I really want to try growing one now. It's interesting what you say about havardiana because I know some people have found that they are not that tolerant of winter moisture. I guess provenance is everything. As far as no protection from the rain goes, some parryi forms seem to be okay here. I've read that A. parryi 'J.C. Raulston" is particularly tolerant of winter cold and wet, but have not tried growing it myself. I did see it at a local nursery not too long ago, but thought it was too expensive for its size. I'm still thinking about it, though, and will have to stay away from that nursery for a bit!

This filifera has done well with the protection of an umbrella for several months in the winter.

Oops - I think it's schidigera because it has never produced any pups.

Linda, Have not tried my JC Raulston over winter yet. Last year I ended up digging it up because it was not visible any more. It will get replanted this weekend once my newest bed is enlarged. The hardiest parryi I have are the Flagstaff form from High country gardens. They are better than neomexicanas for my area.

Hopefully, you have good luck with it once it's planted out.A. parryi is a little more tolerant of winter wet here too.

I just noticed that my pic didn't show up before.

Nice collection Chad. Love the bovicornuta.

Linda that's a beautiful filifera.

Thanks Andy, only 2 days away from adding to my collection.

Linda, I believe your id is correct due to the short marginal spines. Its is a very nice agave either way. I had a multifilfilera but one of our worst winters melted it through the protection.

Thanks Andy, only 2 days away from adding to my collection.

Linda, I believe your id is correct due to the short marginal spines. Its is a very nice agave either way. I had a multifilfilera but one of our worst winters melted it through the protection.

Linda,

Was that nursery Valley Succulents up in Comox? I got my A. guadalajarana from him (via mail order) and it's looking good, but of course it's staying in a pot and not enjoying the luxury of in-the-ground growing as yours and Chad's are.

And your plants and Chad's (saying that again, I know, but plants in the ground do soooooooooo much better...) look great.

Thanks, Andy.

Chad, I didn't know that about the spines. Thanks for the info. Too bad about your mutlifilifera. If I really like a plant that is potentially hardy, I usually try it two or three times before giving up. :-)

Thanks, Jeff. Valley Succulents is in Comox and not far from here. I actually haven't visited yet, but I definitely will at some point. Some of his plants are sold at Art Knapps in Courtenay and I've probably bought every hardy succulent of his that they offered (if I didn't have it already)! Valley Succulents wasn't open to the public, except by appointment, until a few weeks or so ago. He had an A. plictalis before, which I would love to get, but unlike most of his plants, it was quite pricey and the last time I checked online it was out of stock.

Linda,

Jamey's a really nice guy, it seems (I've spoken with him only over the phone - he's offered to replace a Pachypodium which was likely shipped too late in the year), so I think you can get an appt. to visit - I was quite surprised to find the Agave of My Dreams (completely based on another's bonsai'd plant) there - I think it's no longer in stock. Anyway, I'm sure your visit would make you happy and lighten your purse.

Linda, one good thing about agave books they help with iding certain agaves. Unfortunately, my unidentified agave believed to be bovicornuta is not. I guess I'll have to learn how to post photos on XW for a id.

Jeff, I cannot believe you haven't tried an agave in the ground. With guys like Jim on the palm forum in zone 5 having tons of agave,cacti and palms its worth the effort to protect one!

Jeff, it's the lightening my purse part that I'm worried about. ;-) I agree with Chad. You need to try some agaves in the ground. With some forms of A. parryi taking -29 C, why not? :-)

Chad, even with my agave book, I still have difficulties identifying some of them. Take your unidentified agave, for example. I can see why you thought bovicornuta, but have no idea what it is.

Chadec, nice agaves I really like the way they look and they add a lot to the landscape.

Here's some of mine.

Greg

Wow Greg, love that medio picta alba! They have those at PDN but I doubt I can protect it in ground. I have so many large agaves in pots already. Just planted 5 pictured agaves that were potted.

Hi Chad,

What a beautiful collection!!

What we do for our C&S here in NC and VA!!

You know how i love our Agaves and Palms...

Nice job..im always a fan !!

Take care,

Laura

Thanks Laura, You know how I love agaves and palms too!!! Just got back from Raleigh and they had 9 agaves in bloom over there. It was crazy to see here in this part of the country.
Heres a small preview.
{{gwi:564824}}
See ya!

Stunning agaves, Chad. Can't really grow them outside here in the UK. Too much frost and snow!

Here is my A Americana that lives outside for the summer but makes a hasty retreat inside during autumn and winter.

{{gwi:564825}}

Nice agave Joe! What's your low temps and average annual rain fall? Several of my agaves are hardy to -24C. For wet conditions I plant in 100% peagravel. The plants can send down roots to get water.

Here are my new agaves neomexicana, victoria reginea and another silver surfer. Not what was on my wish list but, they didnt have everything I wanted. And some I opted against for more cold hardy plants.
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Just another pic from PDN.
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Thanks Chad!

After doing some research the annual mean rainfall in my area is 800-900mm.

Temperature wise the annual mean temp is about 12 degrees centigrade.

Realistically temps get to about 30c tops in summer and about -10c in winter.

My agave has actually opened up quite a bit more since going outside.

{{gwi:564828}}

This came from a huge mother plant belonging to my Mum about 4 years ago. Sadly hers was killed by frost. :( It was about 7ft tall when it was killed so did very well to survive that long. She had to wrap it in winter.

Joe your are basically in our zone 8a. The biggest problem you will have is the rain. You will have to mound the planting beds high with course builders sand and topsoil. Then plant the agave with more gravel mixed in. A few agaves that do well here in our rainy environment are parryi neomexicano, havardiana or ovatifolia. New agave americana hybrids , protoamericanas are more hardy than what you have. those are the large agaves pictured in bloom.

Thanks Chad. I'm not going to plant it outside. Too risky. It seems really happy living outside for summer and then coming in for the winter. Not sure what I'll do when it gets big though!