I tackled a couple of other projects this week. One is only partially completed but I'll share the progress to date; however, I'll start with the project completed yesterday morning with my husband's help.
The largest Agave 'Blue Glow' in my south-side garden produced a bloom stalk in early January. By July, the stalk was bloomed out but I decided to leave it in place through August as there were signs of nascent bulbils developing near the top of the stalk. This week I concluded it wasn't going to do much more than it had already so I enlisted my husband's help to take down the stalk without damaging the surrounding plants.
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The set up to guide the stalk down is shown on the left and the after photo is shown on the right. As the mother plant isn't showing any signs of decline yet, we left it in place for the time being.
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We cut the stalk as low as we could without slicing into the agave's leaves. The mother plant has at least 2 more pups growing from its sides so, like my neighbor's 'Blue Glow', I suspect my agave is going to produce at least one more bloom stalk before it gives up.
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The stalk wasn't as tall (or as heavy) as that of the Agave vilmoriniana we took down last month but we still had to cut it into pieces to get it into our green bin. The portion of the stalk bearing bulbils (aka plantlets) is shown on the right.
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I didn't try to save the smallest bulbils but I probably potted up more than I needed to
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The incomplete project involves cleaning up and cutting back plants in my north-side garden. I consider this area of my garden relatively mature but of course there's always room for improvement.
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This is a wide shot of the space in early July when the Agave vilmoriniana and it's tall bloom stalk were still in place. We took both the stalk and the plant out in August.
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This shot was taken this week following my initial efforts at cleaning the area up. The changes are relatively subtle.
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I cut back the 2 New Zealand tea trees (Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl') growing against the fence on the west side, as well as a few dead and heavy branches of the 'Fuyu' persimmon tree hanging over the fence (left photo). I also cut all the Centranthus ruber stems to the ground and pulled out some western sword ferns and Erigeron karvinskianus that had spread in the corner area in response to this year's heavier rain (right photo).
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The biggest change was opening up the area in front of the Agave ovatifolia to increase its prominence. The empty space in front of that agave was created by pulling out the large faux birdbath planter I had right next to it.
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I've cut back the Lavandula dentata (upper left) but I still need to thin out some dead interior growth. The Callistemon viridiflorus behind the lavender is being enveloped by a combination of ivy, Dorycnium hirsutum (aka hairy Canary clover), and Erigeron karvinsianus and I've only made a dent at improving its visibility (upper right). An Agave desmettiana 'Variegata' (lower right) is also being strangled by ivy, honeysuckle, and Erigeron. And I think I need to remove or replant the pot and the Aeonium 'Kiwi' edging the gravel path (lower left), especially as both are obscuring 2 nice smaller agaves.
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So where did the birdbath planter go? The surface of the heavy terracotta pot I'd planted with succulents years ago is disintegrating, or at least the decorative exterior surface of the pot is. I haven't tossed it out as it can still hold plants but I haven't decided where, if anywhere, I can put it. On the other hand, the tall pedestal pot I'd used as a pillar to support that pot just needed a minor repair to a crack at the rim.
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I moved the pedestal planter to an area on the west side of the garage across from the succulent bed I hope to revamp later in the fall. I was originally thinking of putting it in succulent bed after its renovation but I think its current spot may be better. As a temporary filler, I plopped in a pot of Rudbeckia 'August Sun' I couldn't stop myself from buying on my last trip to the garden center.
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We've been warned to expect warmer temperatures today through Monday before they drift back down to the pleasant levels we enjoyed this week. Maybe I'll manage to get on with my projects during the morning hours before retreating indoors in the afternoon. Whatever your weather, I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
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material © 2012-2023
by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
