The mystery of the Agave Bloom Stalk revealed.
Some of these photos have been posted both here
on the blog and on FB, but they tell
the life-cycle of the Agave Bloom Stalk that began
last November and is nearly over.
The stalk, above, started growing in November and that's when
a decision was required. Do I allow the stalk to grow thereby cutting the
life of the agave short or do I cut the stalk off giving
the agave a longer life?
Actually, it wasn't a difficult decision; the mother-ship has
4 offspring 2 of which are shown in the photo below. Choosing to watch
and document the bloom stalk turned out to captivate me longer than
I expected. I had no idea how many stages the bloom stalk goes through.
Below. While not the best photo it
shows how close to the bedroom window
the agave is. Every morning I've
been greeted with the progress.
When the bloom stalk started
growing the tip looked like
asparagus, at least to me.
As the stalk grew buds started
appearing.
At first they were tight and
then they started unfurling.
It's difficult to isolate the
bloom stalk enough to
photograph it.
Close-up.
One bloom bursting open
and one in waiting.
Both blooms fully open.
Close-up of a bloom.
The bloom stalk grew right through the
top of the pergola.
A finch enjoying
the agave.
The many stages of blooming.
The bottom ones are dying, the middle
ones are in bloom and the top are
about to burst open.
Even while dying the agave is
beautiful.
The resident hummer enjoying
the blooms.
In flight! After a few years of attempting to capture
the hummer in flight I was finally successful!
What a gift the bloom stalk has been; no
regrets about allowing it to go
through its natural life cycle.
Note: I have read that cutting the
stalk off doesn't prevent the
Agave from dying regardless
of what my maintenance
gardener has said.
And one last photo, Digital Art piece that
started with an image of a woodpecker borrowed
from a friend, Christina. I know that I'll use
photos of the Agave Bloom Stalk in my art work
for years to come.
I hope you've enjoyed the photos!
Happy Spring!
5 comments:
This is absolutely beautiful! What a story it tells.
WOW, this is such a great chronology of the Agave and all the wildlife that enjoys it with you! Thank you for all the wonderful photographs!! Love them all!!!!
Lovely to have something to document it's flowering.
I'm stunned...I didn't expect such a spectacular set of blooms on this very tall stalk. The shades of green and the development of blooms...even to the dying of a bloom. Thanks for the best nature show as now I'll look at a plain agave in a very different way.
Wow, what a majestic plant! I didn't know they died off if they flowered, that's some lifecycle. Fascinating photos. xx
Post a Comment