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?
I think its a yucka... That thing in the middle will flower, then produce seeds. :) PS. Welcome to the fourm!
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.
some pictures of a yucca... and look at all the sites... http://images.google.com/imgres?img...ures&hl=en&rlz=1T4GGLD_enUS318US318&sa=X&um=1 http://www.tandjenterprises.com/images/YuccaPlant.jpg http://tweedyblues.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/yucca-plant2.jpg http://images.google.com/imgres?img...ures&hl=en&rlz=1T4GGLD_enUS318US318&sa=X&um=1 http://images.google.com/imgres?img...n&rlz=1T4GGLD_enUS318US318&sa=N&start=40&um=1 http://images.google.com/imgres?img...n&rlz=1T4GGLD_enUS318US318&sa=N&start=60&um=1 http://www.gregorypropeck.com/images/yucca.jpg
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.)
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).
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
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.
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.
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
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.
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?
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.
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!
