Agaves in my Tropical Paradise in NW Orlando, FL

[Merlyn2220]

And in the front yard I extended the agave area outwards about 6 feet in the middle, and topped it with a mix of our native sandy soil, perlite and paver base (crushed limestone gravel). I didn't dig down in this area because of the oak roots, but grass refused to grow well here due to the very dry and low organics nature of the soil. So this seemed like a good spot for agaves and aloes!

Agaves: Dragon Toes, Nickelsiae, Macroacantha x3 spots, "Ivory Curls" Gypsophila, Chrysoglossa (likely hybrid), Sebastiana, Parryi Truncata, Kerchovei "Huajuapan Red", "Crazy Horse", Lophantha (several randoms), Mangave "Aztec King", Decipiens, Warelliana, Celsii/Mitis "Multicolor", Celsii "Nova", "Stairway to Heaven" offset, "Green Goblet", "Tres Equis", Mangave "Macho Mocha", Americana Mediopicta Alba, Vilmoriniana x2, Salmiana "Crassispina", Ovatifolia "Desert Love", Asperrima v. Zarcensis, Asperrima v Asperrima, Ovatifolia, Ovatifolia "Huasteca Giant", "Mr Ripple", Weberi "Arizona Star", Weberi
"Emerald Giants".

Aloes: Africana, Congolensis/Dorotheae, Elgonica, "Goliath" Barberae x Vaombe, "Hercules" Barberae x Dichotoma, and Marlothii

Cacti: one experimental "Fire Barrel" Ferocactus Gracilis.

P1060707 front bed agaves.JPG (222.28 KiB) Viewed 2585 times

[Merlyn2220]

Over the summer I bought an old whiskey barrel from Home Depot, and it was completely waterproof...as expected. I drilled a few holes in it for drainage and filled it with an equal parts mix of perlite, paver base (crushed limestone), fired clay pebbles, and native sandy soil. I'm sure that I'll have to "edit" out some of the Cereus Repandus/Peruvianus in the back, because it's already grown two offsets. In the pot are left-right:

Echino/Fero/forgot what I planted (maybe Emoryi, Wislizeni or Potsii), Opuntia Consolea Rubescens "Roadkill", Aloe offsets of "Christmas Carol" and "Carmine", Echinocactus Grusonii "Alibispinus" with a couple of pieces of perlite in the spines, a skinny Pachycereus Marginatus, and an Aloe Striata hybrid in the back corner.

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That barrel is on the right side of the entry arch, and on the left side of the path I planted another big clump of Cereus Repandus/Peruvianus. Along the path are two small Gentryi-ish or Montana-ish pups I bought off of eBay, a clustering Titanota, and a pair of Desmettiana in regular green and marginata. The aloe in the center is my largest "Hercules," it was 18" tall and diameter in this photo. I've since pulled the mulch back from the trunk and replaced that with a few of the "river rocks" just like what's in the barrel. I also removed the wide variety of local and imported hardy perennials (weeds) from around the cereus and the pathway...I hate weeds!

P1060543 Hercules.JPG (478.8 KiB) Viewed 2580 times

[Bananaguy]

Looks great and you have a nice collection going in your yard! Cactus fruit look like light bulbs in the sunshine haha. Wish we could grow those here, I have one that kinda looks like it atleast shape wise that I have had in a pot for years. 6ft tall and flowers only at night time big white flowers sometimes twice in one year. Came from Home Depot so no idea what it is.

[Meangreen94z]

Looks great

[tonyaqua]

With the return of warm weather I've been busy planting out my new agave bed area, and have added a whopping 37 new agaves to the bed and 2 more to the front yard. Here's the new layout on the NW corner. I added Mangave "Blue Dart," Titanota "Red Catweazle," a Filifera x Isthmensis, "Snow Glow," Bovicornuta, Shawill and Americana "Marshmallow Creme." My second attempt at buying a "Guiengola Creme Brulee" turned out to be a Macroacantha "Blue Ribbon" in the right lower side. I also have a somewhat unknown Agave that I'll have to post a better photo for ID. I bought it as "Dragon Toes" but it's very different from the others I have. I'm thinking it could be "Confederate Rose" or a hybrid of some sort. It's one of my favorites, so I wish it would throw a few pups out! I moved the Ovatifolia out of the dirt circle area, and will find something small to put in that spot.
20200327_193955 NW agaves named.jpg
To the East I added a "Mad Cow" Bovicornuta x Colorata to go along with "Crazy Horse" and a regular Bovicornuta. I'm going to find a "Crazy Cowlick" Mangave to put in there too, just to fill out the Insane Bovine Posse area. I moved the Ovatifolia "Frosty Blue" over to near the "streambed" and added a Verdensis (or Delamateri?) from Ron, a Parryi Huachucensis next to the Truncata, an Attenuata "Ray of Light" and a Parrasana "Fireball."
20200327_194005 N agaves named.jpg
Moving one more step to the East I moved the big Bluebell Giants to the center of the new bed area. I have no idea how big it'll get, but it appears to be throwing tons of pups and is the fastest agave I own. So I'm leaving some clearance around it...maybe. In this area I added a Parrasana "Meat Claw," an Attenuata "Kara's Stripes," a Mangave "Lavender Lady," and a chunky Salmiana "Tall & Narrow" offset from Ron. In the background on the upper right I planted a Wercklei, Valenciana and Ferocactus Latispinus in the upper bed. Back on the left I added a Marmorata and Franzosinii, and moved a Gentryi "Jaws" (maybe) from the front yard.
20200327_194010 NC agaves named.jpg

Want to take a good look at the Titanota "Red Catweazle"~ How's it growing after 2 years?

[Merlyn2220]

Want to take a good look at the Titanota "Red Catweazle"~ How's it growing after 2 years?

At the moment it's nothing spectacular, but it has survived the past couple of winters and at least one transplant. A lot of the Oteroi/Titanota varieties just die here with the constant daily thunderstorms. Titanota "Sunburst" died after 24-26F with frost, and this one took some damage. "White Ice" and "Black and Blue" do okay, and I've kept a couple like "Green Bull" alive in very loose draining mix. This one suffered a lot, but it's growing some nicer new leaves since it stopped raining about a month ago. Of course tomorrow there's a hurricane coming, so that might change! It is currently about 7" overall diameter.

P1100246 Titanota Red Catweazle.JPG (345.76 KiB) Viewed 1699 times

[Merlyn2220]

Unfortunately the above Titanota died over the summer. Almost every Titanota or Oteroi I've tried here in the ground has died. The only one that's survived (and thrived) is a "White Ice" looking plant from a local Lowes. I had several offsets of it planted in a couple of spots, and the one that seems happy is planted at the edge of a Beaucarnea Recurvata with a 6' diameter base. It's also raised up about 6 inches from everything nearby, so I suspect the ponytail's roots suck up a lot of the excess water...and the 12' height of the fronds provides some frost protection.

Here's a quick update on one of my agave beds. Some plants just didn't recover after a cold winter, and it's clear that they were never going to survive the swamps of Floriduh. I removed a Palmeri "Kutsugen No Mai Ogi," a "Little Shark," an Ocahui, a Miquihuana Silver, a Titanota "White Ice," a "Blue Flame," a Nickelsiae, a "Desert Love," and a random Salmiana. Other random agave deaths are a Gigantensis that got repeatedly stomped by the roofers, a Mangave "Silver Fox" and an Attenuata "Ray of Light" that never resprouted after the extended ~28F last Christmas.

New plantings in the rear agave bed are along the curved section of blocks. At front bottom right is a Lophantha "Miniskirt" that was in too much shade to grow well. Just to the left is a "Kissho Khan" that has been growing really well for a couple of years. Behind it is a Bracteosa "Stingray" variegated, then a Bracteosa "Daddy Longlegs" and a tiny Xylonacantha "Frostbite." In the background is a Montana "Baccarat" that I planted last fall. The "Ripple Effect" sneaking in from the upper left is a real favorite of mine!

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Just to the East of that are a few new plantings too. The center front one is a Lophantha "La Bufa Baby" that has a neat bluish haze on new leaves. In the background right is a "Confederate Rose," and to the left of it is a Filifera x Isthmensis. These have been really great small clustering agaves.

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Further to the left is the "riverbed" in white marble. In the bottom just right of center I added a Mangave "Praying Hands." Just behind it is a Romanii (not the "Shadow Dancer" but just the regular one) and on the centerline of the white "riverbed" behind it is a Bracteosa "Mateo," with an Obscura "Red Skyline" a few feet behind it. Just to the right of the streambed is a Salmiana "Logan Calhoun" in the spot missing a few red lava rocks.

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