Now THAT'S a late bloomer: Agave plant that will bloom only once before it dies begins to do so - after 80 years
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A flowering process 80 years in the making is finally underway.
An American agave plant housed at the University of Michigan since 1934 has started to bloom.
The blooms so far are 'low-key' with yellow anthers sticking out, Joe Mooney, a spokesman for Matthaei Botanical Gardens, said Wednesday.
Housed at the University of the Michigan since 1934, the plant has grown so rapidly since the spring that at more than 27 feet it is now too tall for the Ann Arbor conservatory, which has had to remove a pane of glass to accommodate it.
THE AMERICAN AGAVE
The variegated American agave (Agave americana) was collected in Mexico by famed ethno-botanist Alfred Whiting, who then was a University of Michigan graduate student.
Known as the century plant because it blooms infrequently, it is native to Mexico and the American Southwest and typically lives 10 to 25 years in the wild before blooming a single time then dying.
American agave foliage is usually 3 to 6 feet tall and 6 to 10 feet wide.
The flower stalk can reach up to 30 feet tall.
The anther is the part of the stamen where pollen is produced.
The agave began sprouting up at a pace of 6 inches a day in the spring and now stands at more than 27 feet — so tall that staff had to remove a panel in the glass roof of the Ann Arbor conservatory.
The variegated American agave (Agave americana) was collected in Mexico by famed ethno-botanist Alfred Whiting, who then was a University of Michigan graduate student.
Known as the century plant because it blooms infrequently, it is native to Mexico and the American Southwest and typically lives 10 to 25 years in the wild before blooming a single time then dying.
Now that the Michigan agave has begun to bloom, Matthaei horticulture manager Mike Palmer said he plans to reach out to his colleagues out West.
The variegated American agave (Agave americana) was collected in Mexico by famed ethno-botanist Alfred Whiting, who then was a University of Michigan graduate student.
'I'm going to call the Desert Botanical Garden (in Phoenix) and ask for a firsthand description of what happens during the flower opening,' Palmer said.
Mooney said it was difficult to predict how the flower will look in full bloom because the plant is so old and has lived its life in a conservatory rather than in a hot desert.
Once the agave completes the flowering process, it will take many months before it dies.
The bad news, especially for anyone who's seen this enormous plant in the conservatory or in nature with its sinuous yellow-streaked leaves bristling with spikes, is that the plant will bloom, set seed and die, says Mike Palmer, horticulture manager at Matthaei Botanical Gardens & Nichols Arboretum.
According to Palmer the American agave usually blooms in nature at 10 to 25 years of age.
The Agave bllom up close, left, and the plant poking through the roof - which had to have a glass panel removed
'Although no one knows for sure what combination of environmental conditions induces flowering,' he said.
'And it's rare for one to bloom indoors. Of course, being in a conservatory helps!'
American agave foliage is usually 3 to 6 feet tall and 6 to 10 feet wide.
The flower stalk can reach up to 30 feet tall.
Thankfully, life will go on for the Botanical Gardens' variegated agave, Palmer points out.
'While it's sad that the parent plant will die, it also grows 'pups' on the flower stalk and offsets at the base that are identical clones of the original plant,' he says.
And it produces hundreds or even thousands of seeds that have the potential to grow.
'In the harsh, low water environment of the desert,' explains Palmer, 'plants must produce many offspring to get a few progeny that will reach adulthood.'
The Great American Agave Bloom from MatthaeiBotanicalGardens on Vimeo.
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