Century Plant (Agave americana)
Gardeners from the west coast are used to seeing the Century plant, I've heard of this interesting plant but never seen it in real life. In my recent trip to Arizona, I saw many of them in bloom and it's one of the most interesting plant I've seen. Here are some interesting facts about this plant.
Century plant only blooms once in its lifetime, which is about 30 years. When it blooms, the stalk grows 5-6 inches a day. You can literally stand in front of the plant and watch it grow! Its flower stalk can reach 40 feet up in the air. The century plant uses all its energy to produce this once-in-its-lifetime bloom, and after it finishes blooming it dies. Another interesting fact about this plant is it provides native Americans a source of food, soap, fiber, medicine and weapons.
Close-up of the flowers:
Here's a century plant in Sedona, AZ:
June 9th, 2009 - 03:45
Ok, the first thought in my head was “Is this the plant that’s used to make tequila or is this a relative?” Come to find out it’s the blue agave that I was thinking about.
I guess those tequila shot days are still stored in my memory banks, and probably for good!
June 17th, 2009 - 12:57