Agave attenuata - Foxtail Agave

Very nice,looks like a lovely walk way.

A weed!!! i would love to be-able to grow these Delonix1, they are gorgeous..

Very interesting weed.

Johnjoe:

Thanks! Yes, this a a walkway through the dry garden here in Balboa Park, San Diego, CA.

Youngdaisydee:

Yes, it can be very weedy. It multiplies like crazy here and grows wild along the freeways and in canyons.

Klahanie:

I'm sure you've seen how wild this plant can grow in Mexico...it does the same thing here. :>) Luckily, it's very ornamental.

best looking weed i have ever seen....but must be very dangerous walking past all those spikes...

Palmate
there wonderful weeds LOL

Sandra:

No, it's not dangerous! lol! This is why it's one of my favorite Agave species because the tips are soft, they feel like rubber, in fact, the whole leaf feels like soft rubber.

I'm guessing you don't have Agave attenuata?

Palmate,

Yes, the one is the perfect Agave weed. The others species which are larger and have the horrible needle-like tips can give a nasty poke and make you bleed. Common practice in a home garden is to cut off the tips of most species.

no i dont Delonix...put it on my list now...i have corks on the ends of mine.

They look lovely.

Sandra:

That's a good idea. I think it's easier for most people just to cut the tips off here, though.

Alexandramou:

Thanks! It should grow very well where you live.

They should and they probably do, I've just never seen one in flower.

It could be too wet during winter for them to bloom. When I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area they were very plentiful; however, didn't bloom very well because it was too wet during winter.

I'm another who wants this weed!!!!

Go for it. lol! Isn't it available for sale there?

It is. I've just bought my first Agave which I'll be concentrating on for the time being - A.americana.

its a great one to start with Meanie..but you will soon be addicted like me..lol

Don't Sandra! I recently got an Aloe aculeata - a nice thorny one like A.ferox, but doesn't grow so big. Also acquired a Stapelia gigantea cutting, and the first seed of the same has germinated. Also have an Aloe striatula outdoors which has come through the winter unscathed.

then i think that officially make u a fellow addict Meanie...im amazed you got your striatula through the winter..i love a survivor...

Not to mention a Haworthia, couple more Aloes, a Kalanchoe and a few Echeveria!

The striatula is hardier than I realised. Also, it's still in a pot!

Meanie:

Agave americana is the most common wild weed plant here in San Diego. It grows wild in almost every canyon and along the sides of the mesas. It grows too big, that's the only problem with it. The flower stalk can grow to almost 50ft (15m) tall.

Check these plants out:

http://www.growsonyou.com/photo/slideshow/169738-agave-americana-century-plants-growing-wild-and-flowering/all

"Agave americana is the most common wild weed plant here in San Diego."

More common than my Datura??!!!!!!

Here's a photo of one growing outdoors in the UK..............

http://bit.ly/158Qt9z

Nice pic! The ones grown here make that one look small, though.

Yes, I think it's definitely more common that Datura. Datura grow wild in field and along the freeways. Agave grows wild in canyons and on the sides of mesas or hills. They both grow wild in many areas...it's just Agave americana is more imposing, because it's so darned large.

Check out this photo:

http://www.growsonyou.com/plant/slideshow/Agave_americana/56007

Nice!

This is the largest that I have access to on a regular basis - the A.ferox at OBG.....................

http://bit.ly/YhJKXV

That's a nice size! Agave ferox with many other species are very commonly grown here....many species grow wild.

I like the smaller species better. Many are starting to bloom now.

I've seen hundreds in the bay area. Only one was in flower. I have them a decade old or more...no flowering.
The only one in flower was part of a large,long clump in the Oakland hills.
Maybe,the nights are too cool in summer?..hence only hills that are in a super microclimate of night time warmth?. Some reason!

I have seen old clumps bloom in the SF Bay...however, they definitely don't bloom as freely as in SoCal. Their bloom season is in late fall or winter through early spring.

Yeah,I have seen photo's of ..almost small ones in Spring Valley down south blooming. I have one with over 4' of thick trunk in ground..never blooms. Another older in a pot with a "S' shaped trunk..same thing,no blooms.
Funny,how they look as if they are at home here...but never flower. Same for Schefflera arboricola. They can get tree sized here...never bloom. In soucal? They can do it in pots!

I've seen Schefflera arboricola bloom in the SF Bay Area; however, never develop the orange fruit they develop here.