Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Friday - September 06, 2013
From: Huachuca City, AZ
Region: Southwest
Topic: Propagation, Cacti and Succulents
Title: Do flowers on century plants grow century plants from Huachuca City AZ
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
The flowers on century plants: can they "grow" century plants?ANSWER:
There are 10 plants with the common name "Century" plant native to North America, of which 5 are native to Arizona. Three of those are native to Cochise County, in southeastern Arizona. All are members of the Agave genus and your plant may not only be not native to your area, it may even be a hybrid or native to Mexico, which means it is not in our Native Plant Database at all. However, we will choose one, Agave parryi (Parry's agave), native to Cochise County, as an example to use in answering your question.
Strictly speaking, you are correct. The blooms on the agave are followed by seeds, in big black pods that appear on the bloom stalk. These seeds, if they have been pollinated by the agave moth, can be planted and will produce more agave plants. But there are other ways that the agave reproduces itself. Did you know that the agave only blooms once in its lifetime, when it is anywhere from 8 to 40 years old (not a century)? Once it has bloomed the agave, having used up all its energy making seeds, dies. So, if you want more agaves, it is important that you know how to reproduce your plants. We found an article from SF Gate Home Guide on Propagation, Growing and Planting of Agave, which we feel explains it much better than we could. We hope this answers your question.
From the Image Gallery
More Cacti and Succulents Questions
How to prune Opuntia ellisiana in Decatur, GA.
August 20, 2009 - Hi Mr SP--How do I go about pruning an Opuntia ellisiana? I have saws, newspaper, heavy leather gloves, goggles, etc. But my question is more about what section of the plant to cut. The base has de...
view the full question and answer
Non-blooming of an apparent yucca in Ohio
March 09, 2009 - I have what looks like a yucca plant in my flower bed. but in the 3 years we have lived here it has never bloomed. It did get a little bigger and has always been green. If it is a yucca, is there any ...
view the full question and answer
Lesions on Agave Leaves in Spring Branch, Texas
January 14, 2011 - I have a giant Agave americana that was beautiful until recently. Several of the leaves have lesions, some of them quite drastic, on the last third of the leaf. What is causing this?
view the full question and answer
Non-native hylocereus undatus for Austin
February 24, 2012 - Can we plant Hylocereus (Dragon Fruit) here in Austin, TX? We are going to have a large xeriscape bed and want to know what all we can put in it. We are new to Texas so we have no clue what grows here...
view the full question and answer
Life span of the century plant (Agave spp.)
June 17, 2009 - I have a beautiful century plant that is blooming. what will happen once the bloom is done? What is the life span of the plant?
view the full question and answer
| Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |