Agaves and Mangaves

Agave victoriae-reginae PDN018 winter before flowering

We are very excited to see that we have at least 9 agaves so far that will be flowering in 2016.  Above is a recent photo of Agave victoriae-reginae where you can see the bud forming in the center where the leaves have become reduced in size.  While we lose the agaves after flowering, we are able to make crosses and create more new and unqiue agaves.  We also share pollen with plant breeder Hans Hansen, who crosses them with manfredas to create some amazing mangaves as pictured below, which we are pleased to introduce for 2016

x Mangave Kaleidoscope - Jaguar with cream edge WG285-9 at Walters(64484)

Mangave ‘Kaleidoscope’ makes a superb container plant where it isn’t hardy in the ground.  It should be fine outdoors from Zone 7b south.

xMangave Moonglow (M. Bloodspot x M. Choc Chip x )(Walters)(64486)

Mangave ‘Moonglow‘ with its large dark purple spots is the smallest of the three. The foliage of all is incredible pliable unlike most agaves.

xMangave Pineapple Express at Walters4(64487)A third introduction for 2016 is Mangave ‘Pineapple Express’…the fastest growing of these three.  These will fill out a container in no time and are great for summer patio containers.

 

 

 

4 thoughts on “Agaves and Mangaves”

  1. I had to look this up before I ask Where does polyanthus fit on the hybred scene .Are the manfreda/polyanthus hybreds of any interest? I suppose they are tender.

    1. Polianthes (tuberose) are very closely related to both agave and manfreda and were all three successfully crossed together by the late Jon Lindstrom, but never introduced. If I was a betting man, I’d bet you’ll see some trigeneric hybrids in the near future.

  2. I just received my first order of 6 plants from Plant Delight including an Agave ‘Shark Bite’, Agave ovatifolia ‘Vanzie’, and an Agave nickelsiae. Although the pot size was listed as 3.5″, the actual plant size widely varies. The ‘Vanzie’ and nickelsiae were fair sized for the pot size. But the most expensive $35 ‘Shark Bite’ is a tiny pup just 3.5″ across at its widest and has just 4 leaves. These agaves are very slow growing. The A. ‘Shark Bite’ is also much darker than the plant depicted in the photos. Plant Delights publishes pictures of show quality, large mature plants for all of their plant listings. They should really also show a picture of the smaller plants you will actually be receiving as well.

    1. Thanks for the note and the order. You are correct that the Agave ‘Shark Bite’ grows about 60% slower a plant like Agave ‘Vanzie’. Posting immature photos on-line would unfortunately be out of date as soon as they are posted. In many cases, our sales block of a rare plant will consist of 4 different age crops. We could also take an image one week and have someone purchase the entire two oldest crops late that week. We are always glad to take a digital image of the exact plant we will ship just prior to shipment. We are also glad to have the plants returned @ no cost to you and issue a prompt refund if you aren’t satisfied…just let us know. Thanks again.

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