Those look quite healthy. Unwrapping a new acquisition/s is one of the small things in life I get great pleasure in myself! :)

Wantonamara, Happy Birthday to you... Wow that is a nice birthday gift indeed.one I would enjoy also :)

Lots of nice goodies in that package, enjoy your day.

Greg

Happy Birthday!

What a great present you have there. So much fun to get a box in the mail. Even better when its some lovely plants.

Greg, It is more like, enjoy my month. It is the big 60. I think I will bring it in by getting several yards of xeric soil, rocks and crushed granite dropped off. OR I will have to load up the 16'trailer and haul it in myself because I am a cheapskate. Then a trip to the chiropractor and a at home visit by the Uruguayan massage therapist. Maybe not so cheap after all.

Mara,

Happy early Bday! I'm glad you rewarded yourself with things you and your home will love. Would love to try an A. potrerana, if it pups (and you can mail it to me in the US) and if I may be presumptuous, in the ground here, 'cause you know I'm into that hardiness thing. Those other plants look great, too. 'Bed of Shreds' plant is a bucket of delight.

Jeff, I will keep you in mind and keep an eye out for pups. What I hear is that they don't pup but maybe, just maybe I heard wrong. That is why I bought three of them.

Just beautiful, different from what we have in the yard.
I like your idea of birthday presents.
Happy Birthday to you!
K

Beautiful :D Enjoy your birthday :)

I also believe in celebrating all month! Happy early Birthday, Mara!

Here's another for you...outta z box:

Good timing from Plant Delights! Great plant choices! I like your idea of bringing in your 60th in a big way....ALL those things sound like MY kind of BD gifts! Do it up right!! Celebrate!

I am going to plant them up in 3 Or 5 gallon pots to get some root growth on them before I put them in the ground. Next spring.

Thanks all for your felicitations.

Jeff, I don't think it will do Z 5 or 4. Just maybe 7. But maybe with the snow coverage and a tarp , you will buy a Zone or two.Here is to hoping and stressing the envelope.

This post was edited by wantonamara on Sat, Sep 21, 13 at 12:10

Stressing the envelope is apple pie for breakfast, Mara. Buying a zone is a concept I generally stay away from, but I wonder with a straw and snow cover, I can't do just that.....and that's a great idea with potting them up for now and waiting until prime time.

Happy Birthday! Beautiful plants!

Me to, about stressing the envelope. I do search out micro climates and resort to prayer and mulch for a few. I find that a long root system really helps when summer time comes around here in Texas. Also I need to build up a hill side with some brought in fertile dirt. My dirt sucks. White overgrazed caliche and a hard unbreakable without dynamite limestone shelf right beneath it. Great for foundations (once in) but even the Agave don't like it. I build up every thing with large river rock and 6" of washed DG, gravel, and compost. A little at a time.

This post was edited by wantonamara on Sat, Sep 21, 13 at 11:04

Happy Birthday!! Enjoy your wonderful plants :o)

Beautiful plants. Happy birthday to you Mara.

Happy early b-day, Mara! Mine's coming up soon too. I hope you get as many piles of dirt as your heart desires:)

That 'Frostbite' is lovely! I hope it doesn't live up to its name.

Nice haul! I don't know what to make of 'Frostbite', it reminds me of A. xylonacantha the way Bugs Bunny reminds me of a jackrabbit. In my experience, they're extremely delicate and stay small. My A. potrerana are very slow here, they may object to our heat, or they may just be painfully slow no matter what. That might explain their relative scarcity. I've had mine for two years, and they're still in all likelihood, at least another year from seeing ground. The narrow leaves and modest armaments don't inspire much confidence in regard to fending off rabbits at their current size. They are definitely hardy, no question.

BTW, A. potrerana is notoriously solitary, but there's always that chance...

GS, I do not normally go for the varigated plants. But I thought I would do something different this time. The marginal thorns seem minimized and that is the strong point of the normal one that I love so much. It was said that it was hardy to 15F (8b which is me). I have a varigated Agave murpheyi baby and some A. celsii multicolour and that is about it.

The A. potrerana are a mountain plant from north Central Mexico and they say the area gets severe frosts so That is why I think it would be good for this area. I am confused why they also say it is cold AND moisture tolerant judging the area it comes from. These qualities make it a good plant for my area. I am also getting conflicting to the size. Some say 2-4' and rarepalmseed says 2 meters or 7'. Maybe there are two populations with different sizes.

The rabbits are not as voracious here . There are a lot of softer things to distract them in our fields. water and vegetation is much more plentiful. They would rather go for the winecups and the plentiful forbes around. The deer are voracious and love to mar the agave with their horns. Again they would rather have at the fleshy green things everywhere for eating than attack a agave. Agave are for grooming their fuzzy horns.

My. A. celsii 'Multicolor' was rather severely damaged by cold last winter, by far the worst damage any of my Agaves took. I have several Zone 10 Agaves in the ground that fared much better. It seems far more tender than its reputation suggests. It's coming back, and should look good again in a few months. A. murpheyi is a solid 8b citizen. Oh, and A. potrerana is not a large plant, it may approach a meter across some substantial number of years down the road.

{{gwi:644199}}

That is one stunning plant, GeeS! It would be a cartjumper for me, for sure!! :D

You think? You shoulda seen it before the freeze, it really was something. Kind of an eyesore to me now, but it's coming back.

Why don't you go for the variegated varieties, just not a fan?

For my money, I just lean toward plants as they might be found in nature, though I certainly do have some variegates.

I am with GS on this. I like form and function as seen in nature. . The verigates often remind me of salt water taffy or something not quite agave. I do lust after a natural varigate of a montana. Some varigates of A. americana are just too over the top and taffylike. I want things to receed and be part of the almost wild woods that I have. But I like them in other peoples yards.

Not much soil in these plants. SOLID roots. I had a time trying to loosen them up a bit. I shot them with a hose. I am letting them callus a few days before I plant them.

{{gwi:644200}}

I hope you take a pruning saw to the lower third of those roots for stimulation's sake. That's just an outstanding batch of rootboundedness.