Succulent fantasia of form and texture
Flowers have a youthful beauty, but agaves and other succulents are like living sculpture. I find them fascinating and irresistibly touchable, despite those fierce thorns. This is ‘Whale’s Tongue’ agave (A. ovatifolia), a giant, blue-green rose of a plant.
Its serrated leaves are defended by thorns that glow deep-red in afternoon light.
Ghostly imprints of the thorns remain long after a tightly furled new leaf has opened up. You can see imprints on the previous image as well. They add to the majestic beauty of this agave.
For Dr. Seussian interest, spineless prickly pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) can’t be beat. Its leaves are oblong, green paddles.
Accidentally knock a paddle to the ground and it will root where it lies, growing into a new plant. Fascinating, no?
‘Bloodspot’ mangave is a beautiful, freckled hybrid of an agave and a manfreda. Mine likes bright shade and well-drained soil in a container, and it stayed outside all last winter, though covered by a sheet during our hard freezes.
Mother of Thousands (Kalanchoe daigremontiana) is not winter-hardy in Austin, which could be a blessing, as it can be invasive in zone 9 and higher (Florida, parts of California, Australia, etc.). The little plantlets growing along the edge of the leaves will drop off and root, giving you hundreds of new plants or a yard full of weeds, depending on your growing zone and feelings about it.
Mine is a passalong from Diana of Sharing Nature’s Garden, and I think it’s an interesting plant to experiment with. I’m hoping it will bloom for me, but maybe it needs a warmer (i.e., frost-free) climate for that. At any rate, its form and texture, like so many succulents, is fantastical.
Grow a few succulents and you can’t help but have fun.
All material © 2006-2010 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
Eye candy indeed! Thank you for brightening an otherwise grey overcast afternoon!
I like that polka dotted one. Fun stuff.
Hmmm…you may convert me yet! I really love the playful pattern and color of the “bloodspot” mangave. Maybe I’ll start with a container garden of succulents?
That’s probably the easiest way to start, Cat. You can control the drainage more easily, which is key to keeping them happy. Once you get started, I bet you’ll be hooked, and I don’t mean on thorns. 😉 —Pam
I can’t decide if my favorite part of the agave is its overall form, like an exclamation point in the garden, or the subtle patterns on the blades left by others. Then there is also Tequila.
There is also that, Les. You’re thinking outside of the garden-design box. 😉 —Pam
Those are so beautiful.
Lovely, lovely study!
Pam, sometimes I swear that your blog is like succulent porn, with all those gorgeous closeups! LOL
I try to avoid getting censored (ha!), but I’m flattered that you think so, RobinL. —Pam
You are going to convert me yet. And it is not like I need a new group of plants to collect. They are beautiful. I love the architectural quality.
Wow! Thanks for even brightening up an already sunny, perfect afternoon here!
I love seeing things through your camera lens…you help me see things so much more clearly.
i am seriously coveting your sexy whale’s tongue. hmm…that doesn’t sound quite right…
I enjoy seeing your succulents. Your photographs are always awesome, too. I grow the mother of thousands outside in the summer, and inside in the winter. Mine bloomed inside last winter, I’m thinking in March. I hope yours blooms, too.
Mother of Thousands, nay Millions is definitely invasive in the Houston area. I brought home a tiny piece from Choke Canyon State Park where is saw it’s lovely blooms. It grew like made and soon all the pots on my tiny condo deck had uninvited boarders. I gave some to my gardening friend in League City and soon she was fighting it off her plants. She recently moved to Galveston, thinking she had no plants with her but we now have it in one pot.