Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

The Century Plant Agave americana (American century plant) certainly rewards our patience with a spectacular flower show. Although it doesn't take a century for the flowers to appear, it sometimes seems like it. The flowering stalk, resembling a giant asparagus plant, can grow at the rate of several inches a day and produces a panicle-type inflorescence containing several thousand flowers.

Lets review the general structure of flowers: the vegetative (non-reproductive) parts are the sepals and the petals, and the reproductive parts are the stamens and the pistil (carpel). The pistil consists the stigma, style, and ovary which develops into the fruit after fertilization, and this is the part you are interested in.

In Agave americana, the fruit is a capsule containing 8-10 seeds which turns brown at maturity and splits along its sides thereby releasing the seeds. The fruits may remain on the plant until maturity before being released by the parent plant. The "flowers" you see falling from the plant may be just petals; examine their structure closely.

Agaves may be pollinated by hummingbirds, moths, or bats depending on the species. The humming birds tend to work in the daylight hours, while the bats and moths work at night. It could be that the proper pollinator for your century plant may not live in your area, in which case, you are unlikely to get seeds.

In the event that you are able to obtain seeds, the Local Harvest and Plants for a Future web sites offer hints for propagation.