Cactus Sprout!

Discussion in 'Cacti and Succulents' started by azDad, Sep 18, 2009.

  1. azDad

    azDad Member

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    New to the forum but been in AZ most of my life. I recognize the cactus in the front of our new house but don't know the name of it. The issue we are having is the fact that I would like to cut down the "thing" growing out of the middle of it and my significant other thinks it belongs there. Anyone have any thoughts?
     

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  2. Blake09

    Blake09 Active Member

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    I think its a yucka...

    That thing in the middle will flower, then produce seeds.

    :)


    PS.
    Welcome to the fourm!
     
  3. azDad

    azDad Member

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    Thank you for the response and the welcome! So I take it that your recommendation is to leave it?
     
  4. Blake09

    Blake09 Active Member

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    yes, then once you have seeds for it you could trade them or have more of them around the house.

    :)
     
  5. azDad

    azDad Member

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    Thank you for the help...guess I'll let her win this one.
     
  6. mandarin

    mandarin Active Member 10 Years

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    Not my field, but is that really a Yucca? The inflorescence made me think it was an Agave.
    (If it is, you don't need to worry much about the plant's future ... they flower once and then they die)
    Anyway, it is not a cactus.
     
  7. Blake09

    Blake09 Active Member

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  8. mandarin

    mandarin Active Member 10 Years

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    Yes, it resembles some of the plants on those pictures. Just wondered.
     
  9. Eric La Fountaine

    Eric La Fountaine Contributor Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    Looks more like an Agave to me as well, but the two are similar, Yucca is in the Agavaceae. Yuccas generally bloom more than once. Many agaves will die after flowering. (I don't know them that well and am not sure which I am looking at here.)

    As to the original question, many people find the flower spike interesting, even after it is dead and dried. The towering effect can be nice. As Blake says you can potentially harvest seeds (although propagation is much simpler here if you dig up and transplant some of the many pups that are visible at the base of the plant.)
     
  10. azDad

    azDad Member

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    Here's a close up (if it helps) with a quarter on it for perspective.
     

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  11. kinghedes

    kinghedes Active Member

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    it kinda looks like a spanish dagger the leaves are jagged
     
  12. joclyn

    joclyn Rising Contributor

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    the flowers don't look like yucca to me - well, at least they don't look like the flowers my yucca puts up...there are many varieties though, so this could, very well, be yucca. the growth pattern of the leaves definitely looks like yucca rather than agave.

    please post pics when the flowers are in full bloom and also another pic of the leaves the one with the quarter is nice for dimensions - both yucca and agave can have leaves of the same width and basic shape.

    do i correctly see that the leaves are variegated? if so, then it's probably agave. i'm not aware of any yucca that are variegated (which doesn't mean there aren't any).
     
  13. kinghedes

    kinghedes Active Member

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    i see a bunch of them plants down here near the coast i'm not sure exacly wut they are i post a pic of mine i never seen one flower people down here call them Spanish dagger but its not
     
  14. MaQMartok

    MaQMartok Member

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    The plant in your photo is an Agave angustifolia marginata. You might find the website:www.desert-tropicals.com useful for identification of succulents. The plant will die after flowering because it takes so much energy from the plant to produce such a huge spike in such a short time. But don't worry, I see you have many offsets around the base that will fill in the empty space.
     
  15. crmauch

    crmauch Member

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    I'm on the east coast, but here's a general rule of thumb from my reading:

    Agave "ususally" have a spike on the tips of their leaves and often spines down the sides. The spines are not simply tissue projections from the leaf as often seen in Aloe, but seperate tissue structure running along the leave. Almost all agave die after flowering. I don't believe cutting the flower spike off would necessarily stop this process (others would have to varify this).

    Yucca "usually" don't have a true spike at the end of their leaves and do not often have significant spikes but often have filiaments that curl off the sides of their leaves. They can flower without the plant dying. There are varigated Yuccas I have seen, so they do exist.
     
  16. kinghedes

    kinghedes Active Member

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    it is a Agave angustifolia marginata i been asking every body around here what they were and no one knew evry one i know has 2 or 3 in there yard
     
  17. MaQMartok

    MaQMartok Member

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    I'll say it again, there is no doubt, this is an Agave angustifolia marginata. It is definately not a Yucca. The size of the leaves, the spination in the edges and the flower spike all indicate the species.
     
  18. azDad

    azDad Member

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    After looking up the word variegated, yes they are lol.
     
  19. azDad

    azDad Member

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    Thank you. I looked up the Agave Angustifolia Marginata and found a picture of it...exactly the same.

    http://www.cactus-art.biz/schede/AG...ta/Agave_angustifolia_marginata_teeth_810.jpg

    So each one of these I plant will die after spring?
     
  20. MaQMartok

    MaQMartok Member

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    No they don't all die after spring. They only die after they flower. It often takes many years for a plan to mature to the point of flowering. In the mean time your plant will develope many offshoots ( or "pups" as they are called). If and when the mature plant does flower and subsequently die the offshoots will quickly fill in the space. I particularly love this species because of the contrast of the green and creamy white color of the leaves. Once a week watering will make for a happy plant and occasional feeding with a dilute solution of plant food will result in a beautiful specimen.
     
  21. azDad

    azDad Member

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    Thank you for the information. So does my cactus look like it's going to bloom this spring?
     
  22. MaQMartok

    MaQMartok Member

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    The one that's already blooming will die, probably before next spring but the pups will not. You'll have them for awhile before they bloom.

    Have you tried the website www.desert-tropicals.com yet? Unlike many sites that have only pictures this one has detailed information about sun, water, and frost protection needs. It also has lists of synonyms for each species and a description of each Genus. Try it, I'll bet you will be fascinated!
     

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