Friday, June 19, 2009

Agave palmeri

Agave palmeri flower stalk June 2009

Agave palmeri November 2008

Agave palmeri in snow December 2008

Agave palmeri with Agave parryi October 2008

Agave palmeri occurs on rocky hillsides, grasslands & oak woodlands in the states of Arizona, Chihuahua, New Mexico & Sonora. Oddly enough, it was the most successful & beautiful Agave in my Seattle garden. It doubled in size each year to 18 inches tall & 2 feet wide in 2008 after 4 years in the ground.  It produced a flower stalk 15 feet tall in 2009, then died, as is their habit. The leaves are blue-gray, gracefully curved outward then upward, lined with small black teeth & tipped with wicked black spines. Keep Agave palmeri out of the way of foot traffic! Plant it in full sun in a rockery, on a dry slope or in a pot in gravelly soil. I got my plant from Yucca Do Nursery. It has also been available from Plant Delights Nursery.