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Although this could very well be a picture of me finding a new treasure at a favorite nursery, it's actually an illustration by David Catrow for a children's book called Plantzilla.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Agaves, Blue Poppies, and other Garden Myths

Are you aware that in the Pacific Northwest part of the United States, we can grow a wider variety of plants than anywhere else on the planet save the tropical rainforests?  It's true!  In this area, we can grow the elusive himalayan blue poppy (meconopsis betonicifolia, grandis,lingholm) without much difficulty,  an extensive array of unusual evergreens, perennials, succulents, hardy bananas and palms, even tree ferns with protection.  Mediterranean plants and rainforest gems all thrive in our mild climate.  I remember gardeners in Alaska growing roses in large pots and sheltering them in cool basements or crawl spaces for the winter.  Here they grow like weeds.  We live in a climate that is basically paradise for gardening, not to hot, not too cold, and yet we still have changes in our seasons.  So what do gardeners in this area of plentiful winter rain want to grow?  A whole variety of tropical and semi tropical plants that must be brought inside for the winter plants that are borderline hardy,  and of course plants that crave an arid and hot climate, the anthesis of what we've got.  Why are gardeners so weird? 

Desert plants do have their charms and while I've  had an agave or two around for a while that simply spend their summers outside, this is the first year that I've tried a few outside.  I feel sort of cruel subjecting these plants to our climate.  We don't even get a lot of the heat that they crave in the summer!  After our recent couple of weeks of below freezing temperatures, I thought it would be a good idea to check on some of the iffy plants that were left outside.  I won't bore you with pictures of the agaves that were brought in as they're all doing fine.  Lost some aeoniums this year to some sort of mold though.

This agave pup was a gift from the Agave Queen and with the exception of that one spot, it seems fine and firm. 
Agave gentryi  'Jaws'  was left outside with no protection from the rain. It  has a couple of mushy leaves but the rest are firm. It is now under the cover of the porch and will get no more water for the rest of the winter.  If it doesn't survive, I'll replace it as it is such a cool plant.
The following few pictures are of agaves that were brought onto the open porch out of the rain in the fall.

Pups from transplanting larger specimens seem to be fine in the dry cold.

These are from the Free Agaves Saga  and are doing well  also on the back porch with no water


This one, like the other one of this variety that went to the Agave Rescue in Portland, wasn't happy about living any longer.
Outside with no protection from the rain - thinking it's a goner.
No protection from the rain - seems to be doing o.k. It came with the brown tips.
Opuntia  santa rita 'Tubac' is  worrying me with that brown pad in the middle.  the rest seems o.k. though.  We'll see what happens.
This fat little cutie from Cistus seems to be happy and healthy!

This Opuntia polycantha of which I was the lucky winner in a drawing  this summer is taking the rain in stride. 

Here comes a heart breaker.  Remember this gorgeous Agave weberi that is in a pot too big to move?  In the fall, it got a plastic cover to protect it from the rain.  After the freeze, I decided to remove the covering to see what was going on.
The soil is bone dry but I don't think the plant is supposed to look like this. 
While the plant may survive, I have my doubts about it recovering its former good looks.  Since this is a big focal point, it may need to be relocated. 

Maybe I'll seek out a hardier large agave to take it's place. 


On the bright side, both this Rhodocoma capensis and the smaller one that I got in a 4" pot last spring and potted up twice are looking green and healthy!
Another piece of happy news is that the freeze didn't even touch the leaves of Abutilon megapotamicum.  There are still buds and a couple of open flowers on all of my plants. (in pots elevated above the ground.)  If  the weather doesn't take a drastic turn and get really cold, this puppy will just keep increasing it's blooming through the spring and all summer long.  Hooray for a relatively mild winter. (So far, knock on wood!) 
Have you begun taking stock of what's still alive and what's not so much in your garden?  I know that it's way too early for many of you!

20 comments:

  1. The fascination of PNW gardeners with desert plants is the reason I began reading blogs from your area. It does help me appreciate the plants that do grow well in south Texas. Even with our 15 inches of rain a year we have to mound the agaves with gravel or risk losing them in a rainy year.

    It's been 75F/23C and I think my abutilon is toast. The hydrangea isn't looking too good either. The gardenia has begun whining and demanding to know why it needs an acid treatment each spring. "Because I planted you in dry alkaline soil, that's why."


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    1. Interesting to know that drainage for agaves is a concern even for you!

      We gardeners are an interesting lot! Tell your gardenia to just deal with it already - Nobody likes a whiner.

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  2. This all looks strangely familiar...but you have a lot more Agaves than I do. I'm thinking before we have another freeze that I'll move my mushy Agave onto the protected front porch.

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    1. At least in Portland they get more of the heat that agaves crave, we're just torturing ours here in our cool summers. Seeing your agave progress inspired me to see what was happening with mine.

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  3. Poor Mr Weberi! And that brown opuntia pad is just bizarre. So many things are looking just wonderful, yay for the happy agaves! And I've been hearing a lot of people tempting the gods by asking if winter is over. I just keep remembering the freak March snowstorm we had last year. Anything is possible! Still I'm ready to start the 2013 gardening season!

    Oh and your introduction is so true...why can't I be happy with all the thousands of things I can grow? Silly. I'm just glad to see I'm not the only one.

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    1. The brown pad looks as if it had been full of water, froze and is now splitting at the top and oozing liquid. The happy agaves are groovy and the A. americana aurea that I love is doing very well inside the house in a sunny spot. I've not watered it since it came in side in early November (was wet then) and the soil is dry. How do you know if it's time to water an agave? I'm a little sad about Mr. Weberi as he was so huge and beautiful! No freak snowstorm this year!!!

      Lots of gardeners like to push the envelope, in AK it was roses, here it's brugmansias, agaves, and tree ferns. We're a strange lot.

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  4. Oh I'm soo sorry for your agave weberi. It was a stunner. I think you should get a choice parryi var parryi for that one. But everything else is breathtaking. And I have to say that I am soo jealous of your abutilon. Stunning!
    !

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    1. Thanks for the suggestion. I've got Parryi in a smaller pot right behind Weberi, it got the same treatment in the fall (plastic over the top) and is looking pristine! A few abutilons would look wonderful in your tropical looking garden!

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  5. We are the masochistic symbols of human nature...no doubt about it. Your zone stretching endeavors are going well. Shame on you for encouraging our basest self-destructive tendencies.

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    1. Oh Ricki, I gave up shame long ago so I'm happy to encourage everyone's basest tendencies! Just doin' my job, ma'am!

      Your pal, Bub

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  6. I like agaves. I realize that I can't grow them here even it would be nice...well, palms neither. I understand if you like to grow them because you live in a mild climate. Unfortunately, Mother Nature is sometimes capricious!

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    1. It's fun to try to grow things that aren't suited to our area. Mother Nature is sometimes capricious but that makes the game all the more fun!

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  7. Wasn't that a movie, Indiana Jones and the Himalayan Blue Poppy?

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  8. That Agave weberi, ouch! We share your pain as we lost a big one before too, many years ago and that was even protected by a rain shelter. Such a shame as it's such a beautiful agave.

    But apart from one or two more, most of your Agaves are doing fine and I'd say you've done well keeping there outdoors. They should recover and look pristine again come the warmer months :)

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    1. Because I had the luck of getting some of these free of charge, and they were ones brought to this area to test their hardiness, I experimented a little. Now I know.

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  9. I love your Opuntia polycantha, I've read your last post how you got it in a big box!I see opuntia liked in your home and seems healthy.

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    1. I've been very lucky with that Opuntia! Now that I know that it will live here, I'll find it a nicer pot!

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  10. When I started gardening, I swore I would never coddle any plants. If it couldn't take my winters, I wouldn't have it. But, I have been coddling some bougainvilleas in my garage all winter long. So, I'm afraid that slippery slope has begun! So sorry to see your large Agave weberi suffering. I hope it recovers - it was such a beautiful focal point!

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    1. The heart wants what the heart wants. Funny what we fall in love with! Weberi may recover but if it looks awful recovering, it may find itself in a different location.

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Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I love to hear your thoughts.