AgaveBloomOur Forest Hills neighbor, Jill, who sent us a picture of  her Agave plant a few days ago, says, “The bloom has reached over 18 feet now and is about to spread open.”

If you’re interested in checking it out, Jill says she lives on the 9200 Block of Forest Hills Blvd., just east of Oldgate.

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“I definitely want to share this amazing sight. We can’t believe our eyes each day as we step outside to see how it has progressed,” she says.

In the last post, a commenter said, “There is another Agave plant on the 5400 block of Miller that did the same thing.” I’m not sure if it’s still there or if it has died already, but if you go on an Agave hunt, you might check that out, too.

An Agave plant, also known as the “century plant,” grows a giant stem or “mast” during flowering and bears lots of short, spiky flowers, according to plant experts the interwebs (AKA various blogs and Wikipedia, because I know next to nothing about greenery). After the shoot blooms, the whole plant dies, but then shoots that grow up from the base of the mother plant usually produce a brand new plant. Then, in another 20 years, the process starts all over again.

Also in the last post, a commenter said, “The ‘shoots’ are called pups and the mother plant produces tens to hundreds of pups after dying, depending on the species. Also, some species agaves take 20, 30 or more years to bloom and some take only a few years.  An agave in bloom is certainly a spectacle. The bloom stalks grow so tall, it’s amazing to take in. The flowers also provide nectar that attracts hummingbirds, honeybees and other pollinators.”