Um.. what is going on here?
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| that's the top of Mr. Ripple |
Earlier this year, I noticed some weird leaves on Mr. Ripple. He seemed to get it figured out... but now...
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| Oh! |
A bloom stalk!
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| Cool! (also, Mr. Ripple is definitely king of the poppies) |
Hm, that's growing pretty fast...
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| a few days later |
For scale, Mr. Ripple is probably about 8 feet in width/height... before the bloom stalk.
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| close up - that's probably at least 10 inches? |
Initially, the bloom stalk was curving sideways, but it seems to have grown out of that.
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| this was a week later |
Another week, and it was higher than the 2nd story balcony:
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| cool cool |
On 5/10, it's probably a good 10-12 feet tall... and shows no signs of branching yet
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| poppies mostly dead... |
Right. This is going to get interesting.
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| watch this space! |
I'm excited that Mr. Ripple is blooming... and also wondering what i'm supposed to do with the giant bloom stalk later? And how he's coming out of that pipe. But those are problems for later! I wonder if i'll get bulblets or seeds?
An update will be coming later for sure!
(also, i deserve a gold star for not making any um... inappropriate jokes about Mr. Ripple, his stalk and his size. I mean, they almost write themselves by accident!)
Having just watched the Space X launch, all I could think of when I saw your Mr Ripple was how the bloom spike seemed emblematic ;) A blooming agave is a bittersweet experience. Your Mr Ripple is moving much faster than my Agave desmettiana did when they bloomed. Fingers crossed you get bulbils.
ReplyDeleteHe is so handsome, no shabby leaves. I had to pull mine before his prime, so it's a treat to see his full lifespan. I still have a pup of mine around here somewhere, as I'm sure you've been pulling pups off too. About the giant bloom stalk, they are spectacular dried. I've still got a mitis bloom stalk at Mitch's house, about 6 feet high, but it's a lighter structure. Mr. Ripp looks massive so it depends...but if you can find an out-of-the-way corner to prop it up and let it dry, it could be amazing. That's what I did with the mitis. How exciting!
ReplyDeleteKudos for not stating the obvious (but of course we were probably all thinking the same thing). Mr Ripple will leave a giant hole when he is done but hopefully he will provide you with lots of offspring.
ReplyDeleteI love Denise's idea of trying to dry the bloomstalk and keep it around, I've seen them on display at nurseries and they're so cool! I think the bigger question is indeed...how will you get his remains out of the pipe? And what a pile of spent leaves you'll have to deal with too. But...not now.
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