An agave follow-up (whatever happened to?)

Last December I adopted a pair of agaves that had been languishing on a shelf without sunlight, soil, or water for over three years (a pandemic plant abandonment). This is what they looked like when I brought them home and first wrote about them, and yes, that basket is made of their roots.

At first I'd hoped to retain the root basket they'd been living off of, but it became obvious I could either save the plants or the "basket" not both.

Here's a shot of the tiny healthy roots that were pushing out of the base when I trimmed away all of the dead ones, and before I potted them up.

And here's what they looked like as they went to spend winter in the basement. They actually took a turn after this and looked even worse for a while.

But come early May, when they migrated outdoors, they were beginning to look like they were going to make it. The real test came in June when I pulled them out of their plastic pots to plant them in something patio-worthy. look at those new roots!

And fresh green leaves...

Here they are on the patio, pretty amazing recovery don't you think? How many other plants could hunker down and stay barely alive for three years with no inputs, and then make a recovery to look this good?

So you might be wondering, what agave species are they? I know I was. In the original post I mentioned Agave 'Blue Glow' and 'Burnt Burgundy' as possibilities, but it's obvious neither of those are right. After spending a little time looking for the answer on my own I decided to consult the human agave encyclopedia, my friend Gerhard. We back and forthed a few times and came up with, and eliminated several possibilities. In the end it was narrowed down to Agave chazaroi, not because either one of us is certain, but because it's the only one that isn't a sure no. Hopefully they'll soon outgrow the single pot I've got them both in, but for now it's nice to see them thriving again together (oh and yes, there is actually a third, one of them has a small pup).

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All material © 2009-2024 by Loree L Bohl. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

A trio of HPSO Open Gardens

Is there anything better than being invited to wander through someone else's garden? It's open garden season here in Portland and I'm trying to take advantage every chance I get. Today we'll visit three gardens that I've written about before, they all belong to people I know and it's always fun to see their gardens again...

First up is Matthew Hubbard, aka The Lents Farmer. His garden was open mid June.

Curbside: Sedum rupestre 'Angelina', Crambe maritima and Crithmum maritimum (thanks Matthew for the name on that last one).

You never know about the turnout for a HPSO open garden. Sometimes there are crowds, and sometimes you're the only one there. This was a rainy day with sun breaks, while I was there I had the place to myself.

Since my last visit Matthew had removed some lawn and expanded the space for his peony obsession collection.

This beauty was much darker in person.

Like all of us Portland gardeners Matthew lost some plants, or parts of plants due to last winter's storm. This used to be a palm...

Matthew's other plant loves (after peonies) are water lilies and carnivorous plants. He goes to great lengths to protect them from the raccoons.

Did I mention there's a lot less lawn now? Still... I see room for more plants (less lawn).

Genista aetnensis

Love this shady combo, especially the impatiens.

Spikes!

And a nice patch of moss and saxifraga.

Sciadopitys verticillata (umbrella pine)

It started to rain as I took this shot and we sought out cover indoors...

Oh and look! I was sent away with one of those agaves in the "spikes" photo. A nice Agave victoriae-reginae that needed a home, lucky me!

On to Tim Batog's garden and more spikes! The biggy is agave vilmoriniana, one you don't see much around here since it's not hardy and is very brittle—those long arms are easily broken when you move it about (ask me how I know).

That's a dreamy class photo...

Syneilesis aconitifolia

Big-leaf rhododendron.

Dreamy peony (this garden visit was in late May).

The side pathway...

Aruncus dioicus. I was really happy to see this plant in Tim's garden as I had a volunteer pop up in mine and it was good to see just how big it could get.

Gateway to the edibles section of the garden...

What a beauty!

I love everything about this, the carnivorous plants, the pot, the pedestal.

I also stepped into the greenhouse to snap a couple photos.

Next stop, Mary DeNoyer's garden...

This was also a late May visit...

Arisaema some somebody.

Maybe Hosta 'June'?

Polygonatum kingianum

I am thrilled that I've now got a piece of this plant in my garden. Mary divided her plant and shared pieces at a plant swap.

Looking back where I've been.

Lots of drool worthy podophyllum in this garden.

And a collection of pseudopanax in pots...

Mary's most-excellent covered outdoor area.

And a few spikes lined up next to the built-in rock garden.

Sempervivum 'Gold Nugget'

In case you thought the spiky plants were the only dangerous thing in the garden (I'm sure Mary uses these for gardening, right?).

Beautiful raised dish planting along the driveway, perhaps a cracked birdbath that no longer holds water?

And a look across the front garden as this post draws to a close.

(Mary grows eremurus so very well)

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All material © 2009-2024 by Loree L Bohl. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.