Winter Inflorescence

I spotted this inflorescence in front of our local Subway. This is the first time I've seen a Twin Flowered Agave bloom! I'm going back in a few days to check and see what it will do next. It looks pretty cool. The shopping center's landscape crew will probably cut it off, so maybe it won't be there when I get back. They have a habit of cutting off blooms on Agaves (which are going to die anyway after blooming) so I imagine they'll cut off the bloom and then dig it out later. Since this type of Agave is solitary, it will need to be replaced.

Notice the squared off Texas Sage in the photo. I don't know why they plant bushes that will definitely be too big for the area, and then shear them like this. You never see any flowers because of the constant shearing. Then, they start getting bare and die. Such a waste.

Agave Collapse!

My beautiful Agave Americana collapsed this morning! I was planted 18 years ago, and being the oldest living plant on my property, I am very upset!




This is the center exposed--pretty much hollowed out. It doesn't have any odor or any sort of liquid so far. This damage is caused by the same worm that is found in the bottles of mescal. Sometime the larvae do damage without any outward signs, then suddenly the agave wilts, collapses and dies. It eats on the nerve system of the agave.




The Agave Snout Weevil also eats the roots, and in the process, leaves areas where bacterial infections fester, which then rots the plant. This happens in the summertime when the bug is still a larvae. Text book example--yesterday it looked perfectly healthy! Oh well, I'll try to stay positive. It was planted in the wrong spot anyway! I made the mistake many homeowners make--not taking into account the mature size when deciding where the plant will go. But come to think of it, maybe it was a volunteer pup from my neighbor's plant. At my age trying to remember the origin of this plant after 18 years is a stretch, but again, staying positive, if that's the fact, then it wasn't MY fault for lack of planning!