A silver lining & more agave love
Earlier I posted about the loss of a favorite plant, Manfreda ‘Macho Mocha,’ also called mangave, to the agave snout-nosed weevil. I’d planted the mangave to show it off in a yellow-green glazed pot by the front door, but once the weevils got to it, the effect, I assure you, was rather pitiful. I mourned the loss of the mangave, but as Cindy pointed out in a comment, the silver lining of one plant’s death is the chance to plant something else.
Looking around my garden for a quick fix, I spotted a big Mexican feathergrass (Stipa tenuissima ) that had seeded itself along my fenceline. One quick step on the shovel and the feathergrass was gracing the yellow-green pot in all its feathery spring glory. Hmm, this might be better than the mangave I lost. Plus it was free. See? The silver lining.
At the base of the pot, winecup (Callirhoe involucrata ) and pink skullcap (Scutellaria suffrutescens ) add fine texture and jolts of color.
While I regretted the loss of the mangave, this is the agave I’d really cry over if lost. The cool blue-green of ‘Whale’s Tongue’ agave (Agave ovatifolia ) makes a nice backdrop for the cool red of rock penstemon (Penstemon baccharifolius ).
Rock penstemon is a lovely Texas native that attracts hummingbirds and requires very little besides good drainage.
I love my agaves. They provide architectural contrast to an abundance of fine-textured native perennials. These two share the spotlight in my front garden: Agave americana ‘Variegata’ and Agave ovatifolia.
The variegated agave is a bit of a thug. It grows rapidly, offsets pups like a stray dog, and ultimately gets huge. The upside is you get nearly instant drama thanks to rapid growth and writhing, yellow-striped arms. If the mother plant gets too big, you can dig it up and replace it with a pup. The yellow-flowering plant in the foreground is Jerusalem sage (Phlomis fruticosa ), a combination I copied from Shoal Creek Nursery.
I like pairing yellow flowers, yellow-green foliage, and yellow benches (not pictured here) with this agave’s yellow stripes. Hymenoxys (Tetraneuris scaposa ) and Sedum ‘Angelina’ stay low to the ground but pop with color.
Though I lost the Manfreda ‘Macho Mocha’ in the yellow-green pot, I still have one in my stock-tank planter. Its freckled purple and green leaves pair beautifully with silver ponyfoot (Dichondra argentea ) and ‘Best of Friends’ daylily.
All material © 2006-2008 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
It looks like you’ve made a great choice for the new pot. I hope the critters leave this one alone.
So far as I know, grasses are not on the menu for the agave weevil. —Pam
Your silver lining is as precious as gold. It looks great in that green pot. Your collection of agave is just great. I
will be as upset as you are if they are all infested with that nasty beetle. Just the name of the Whales Tongue agave
is a delight. It definitely lives up to its name.
Thanks, Lisa. You are right—the feathergrass is more of a gold lining, isn’t it? I also agree that that ‘Whale’s Tongue’ name is half the fun. —Pam
That stipa looks great in that pot which I love. Also those penstemons, scutellaria, and callirhoe are all plants that I do not have in my gardens. Does Carol know that callirhoe has the word ‘hoe’ in it? I know she will want some!
Those three you mention are Texas natives, and I suspect the penstemon is the pickiest about soil and cool weather. Can you grow them so far north? I hope so, but maybe only as annuals. Funny comment about the “hoe” plant for Carol! —Pam
The Feather Grass does indeed look like the pot was made for it! I love the way it’s reaching down to tease the winecup…you have a playful group at your house. I love all the agaves you’ve planted…they are spectacular in your garden.
Thanks, Gail. I think the feathergrass was longing for that pot, and it just took the weevil to make me realize it. 🙂 —Pam
Oh that is so sad the agave was attacked. )-: I’m sorry it did not make it. )-:
I am glad you found a solution to help prevent another attack. I do think the stipa looks marvelous in that pot though!!!(-:
On a lighter note…it is scary to think the tequilla making agave could be in trouble too…(-:
Yes, that is a scary thought indeed, especially in the margarita-ville of Austin. I wonder if prices have been going up like gas prices. —Pam
Pam, that’s a beautiful grass you found to replace the lost agave. How cool that it was free.
Those agave are fabulous plants. What striking, dramatic, sculptural plants they are, and wonderful foils for finer-textured plants.
Free is always good! You sound like an agave lover too, Linda. Are you growing any? —Pam
Beautiful. It’s good to look at what you have in down times. I hope you do not lose your other agaves they are beautiful. Yet again wonderful combinations. I’m always looking here to jot down what works for you so I can someday try it here in San Antonio.
Thanks, Priscilla. San Antonio and Austin are close enough to share many of the same planting choices. Being just a little farther south, it seems to have more tropicals too, or is that just my imagination? —Pam
Pam,did you get that pot at Natural Gardener or BSN? I’d love one like that. I much prefer the grass,btw,as I love the drapey effect w/the linear pot. Leave it to your good eye to get it right. Good job
Hilary
I got it at BSN, Hilary. I think the second time was the charm too, though I still begrudge those weevils that mangave. —Pam
Pam,
Wonderful entry as always, Pam. 🙂 I’ve noticed that you (and other folks) put your agaves in containers, the ones I have are in the ground. Why do you do that and is is something I should do?
Thanks, Randy. As for the agaves, there’s no reason to put an agave in a container unless that’s the only way you can attain good drainage. I grow a couple in the ground, but I also like them in containers for two reasons : to show them off better and to fill a container with something that won’t require constant watering in the summer. —Pam
Pam, your wonderful blog was one of the first I discovered (only a few months ago) and now I wish I had a lot more time to explore, read and smile with delight at all the wonderful information and pictures available through the fascinating world of garden blogs. I moved to NE Alabama last August from Portland (OR) and have 3 acres that I am learning about – and smiling with delight as treasures reveal themselves. This is the first comment I’ve left anywhere. Though often tempted, especially by the bad news of the agave homicide, your silver lining picture and news were good enough to draw me past that first time barrier. Congratulations on a great solution to a grim problem. Barbara
Hi, Barbara! I’m so glad you commented for the very first time right here at Digging. I think comments (getting and leaving them) are half the fun of blogging, and you can often find interesting info in the comment section. So thanks for joining in. Moving from Portland to Alabama sounds like a major change for a gardener. I’m glad to hear that you’re finding treasures on your new property. I’m sure many more will reveal themselves. Happy digging! —Pam
The more I see that Whale’s Tongue agave the more I see the appeal. That is a beautifully architectural plant.
Isn’t it? It stands out so well against my fine-textured, blooming plants, and its color goes with everything. Lots of other agaves can do the same. —Pam
Hi Pam, that stipa is one of my very favorite plants, it is used everywhere here, sun, shade, wet, dry, it can take them all and looks great all year. It can be divided like craze and seeds but not too much. I love that container shape and color, and think the stipa looks better than the manfreda, but hate that you lost it. We can grow the skullcap, and callirhoe here, but not those wonderful agaves. Save the whales -tongue!
Isn’t it a remarkable grass? And I love that it blooms in the spring—the opposite of many ornamental grasses. I’m sorry to hear that you cannot grow agaves. Surely it’s not for the cold, because I know there are cold-hardy varieties for up to Zone 5. —Pam
Wow, that Whales Tongue Agave has to be one of the most beautiful plants I’ve seen! The penstemons are the perfect companion to show it off too.
I’m glad you like it, Ross. It’s one of my favorites too. Living in Australia, you must grow many agaves and other desert plants yourself? —Pam
The “new” Mexican feathergrass in that pot looks GREAT! It would never have occurred to me to transplant my ill-placed feathergrass into a colorful pot. Would you mind if I try imitating your idea?
Thanks, Iris. You take that idea and run with it! I first planted feathergrass in a pot about 14 years ago, copying a gorgeous combination I’d seen at Barton Springs Nursery. The feathergrass shared a medium-sized container with rock penstemon, a bluebonnet, and a small manfreda, and it was gorgeous. I still have the manfreda from that container, which long ago got replanted. —Pam
I’m glad you were able to find a great replacement for the Manfreda.
And a free one too! —Pam
I LOVE the look of the feather grass in your pot, with the purple flowers underneath. So sorry though that you lost your agave. It’s always hard to lose a favourite plant 🙁
Thanks for a fellow gardener’s understanding, Amy. My family thought I was crazy to care so much. —Pam
Pam – the Feathergrass is delightful in the pot and the splash of color at the bottom adds the exclamations point to the whole setting. How’s the Whale’s tongue doing?
Glad you like the new combo, Diana. The whale is doing fine so far. Time will tell. —Pam
I like the feathergrass in the yellow pot. Very nice. I might should have done something similar when one of a pair of black bamboos in pots died. Instead, I chopped back and divided the remaining bamboo–a killing chore, and the 2 stunted, rather pitiful specimens that remain are no complement to the handsome pots.
p.s. Hinckley columbine seed is germinating!
Black bamboo is lovely. I hope the divided specimens come roaring back for you. If so, please post about them. And yippee that the columbine seed is germinating! —Pam
Every time I virtually visit you I’m struck by how you’ve inspired me from afar. I’ve been envious of your agaves from day one and have taken a couple of Blithewold’s sad potted orphans home to plant (for the summer season) in my yard – in beds near the fence we built to resemble yours! And of course, Stipa everywhere. I’m working on a Bristin, Tex Island garden I think…
Why, thanks, Kris! I love how that fence design—which I copied from someone else’s yard—is getting around. And I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who likes agaves. Many gardeners are put off by their spiky nature, but they make up for it in stage presence, don’t you think? Your photos are always inspiring to me too, as well as your enthusiastic posts. —Pam
Pam, the feather grass perfectly echoes the color of the chartreuse yellow pot. Great combination. I love the winecups. I bought red rock penstemon today and planted it in my least fertile soil on an incline to give it some drainage. I hope I don’t kill it. I did kill one last year. Thanks for the beauty.~~Dee
Good luck with your penstemon, Dee. It’s a picky plant but worth it for that clear red flower if you have the right spot. —Pam
I love the photo of the whales tongue. I’ve done a fair amount of research on the agave family as a precurser to one of my dreams of planting an agave farm in the US in order to make a premuim tequilla.
What I pleasantly found was that there are a large number of species out there. If you can get past the infrequent poke in the leg by the tips of the leaves there is much to be appreciated. I once visited a property on Palm Beach Island where the owners had the gardeners cut the sharp points off all of the leaves of the agave. I understood but I think I felt sorry for the plants.
Rees
Wow, that’s a cool dream, Rees. Where would you locate to have an agave farm?
I agree that agaves should have their spines left intact unless it creates a dangerous situation (too close to a path, growing at kids’ or pets’ eye level, etc.). I’ve dulled the spines of only one small agave that grows in a pot on my porch. It continually menaced my eyes when I leaned over the table, so I did what was necessary. The key is to plant them where they have plenty of room to do their thing with no danger to visitors. But it’s easy to forget how big they can get. And of course weeds will pop up anywhere, so I’ve taken to wearing eye protection when I weed around the sharp ones. —Pam
Honey, I have long admired that blue-green agave of yours. Don’t you let something get that one!
Brenda
I’m trying not to, Brenda! Fingers crossed. —Pam
If any weevil touches that ‘Whale’s Tongue’ let me know and I’ll come and take care of it personally. Agaves don’t really turn me on but it was love at first sight of that blue monster. What a nice backdrop for the penstemons.
I have your word, Wiseacre, and will be happy for you to come kick some weevil butt if necessary. —Pam
I went to a nursery yesterday – that had many agaves, just beautiful ones – and they reminded me of your garden! Yours are simply beautiful, and I might have to give one a try. The contrast in the garden with other things is just too nice – that Whale’s Tongue is just amazing. (Oh, and the winecup! I think you said it was a Texas native, but I couldn’t help wondering how that might do in the warmer and sandier corners of my garden – they’re beautiful.
Pam, if you can get the Texas mountain laurel to grow in coastal South Carolina, I’m sure you can do wonders with agaves and winecup. Good thing you can find agaves there. It could be tricky to bring one home on the plane (ouch!) as you did the mountain laurel. —Pam