I got back from my
Arizona trip on New Year’s Eve, barely an hour before midnight. I was too tired to unpack my suitcase that night, but the next morning I was only too eager to find out how my
agaves from Greg Starr had fared.
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| Agaves from Greg Starr in my hotel room in Tucson |
Quick answer: not too badly.
Although my suitcase must have been tossed around quite a bit because there was a lot of loose soil. Do baggage handlers at airports amuse themselves by dropping suitcases from great heights? Plus, there was a note from the
TSA indicating that they had opened my suitcase—I bet our TomTom navigation system had set off an alarm again. I don’t think the TSA agents paid any attention to my plants though.
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| I stuffed newspaper around each plant before wrapping it in bubble wrap. I then packed the wrapped plants into my suitcase as tightly as possible and shoved clothing in the cracks to form a layer that wouldn't shift. The zip-up divider provided additional stability. |
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| Bubble-wrapped plants in my suitcase after removing all the clothing |
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| Bubble-wrapped plants in the backyard, waiting to be unpacked |
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And here they are, clockwise starting at the bottom left: Agave garciae-mendozae, Agave azurea, Agave albopilosa, Agave chazaroi, and a cross between a Manfreda and Agave colorata
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| Agave albopilosa |
The agaves from Greg are fine except for a broken leaf here and there, especially on
Agave chazaroi. I repotted the two that had been in two-inch pots (
Agave charazoi and
Agave garciae-mendozae) and placed all of them on a heating mat to recover. This should give them a head start on living in Davis where it’s much colder right now than in Tucson. Come spring, most of them will go in the ground;
Agave chazaroi may be too cold-sensitive and will most likely live in a pot.
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| Inside on a heat mat, together with a few other plants |
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Is that a palo verde seedling on the bottom right?
ReplyDeleteIt's actually a sweet acacia (previously Acacia farnesiana, now Vachellia farnesiana). Only one out of maybe a dozen seeds germinated but this one looks like it will make it. The seed is from a tree here in Davis, not Arizona.
DeleteI always wondered how people managed to get their plant acquisitions home in one piece. Now I know!
ReplyDeleteI've done it twice now, and they key is to pack everything as tightly as possible so nothing can shift.
DeleteWell, what I really enjoy is the fact that the plants were the first consideration and the clothes were just packing material, lol. I have friends ho always take one of those Igloo playmate lunch coolers , it will hold 6 4inch pots and fits in the overhead.
ReplyDeleteYou should have seen my "wardrobe:" two pairs of pants, black T-shirts, underwear and socks. I travel lightly.
DeleteThe Igloo cooler is a great idea but it wouldn't work for me because I already carry on my computer backpack and my camera bag. I always toy with the idea of NOT taking a laptop but I do need my tools (like Picasa for collages and Photoshop for tweaking images).
Actually, I could probably put my computer in my suitcase and bring plants on board in a carry-on cooler....
DeleteExcellent! This is your second Agave albopilosa, is it not?
ReplyDeleteWell, let's just say it isn't my first, LOL.
DeleteI'm glad your new plants made it through the ordeal of flying. Great new additions!
ReplyDeleteBetter than me, I think. On the flight home from Phoenix, I sat next to two drunk women returning from vacation in Mexico, and the garbage they spouted for 2 hours made me want to puncture my ear drums.
DeleteVery nice choices, the chazaroi and albopilosa especially. I hand carried an Aloe castanea home from the SF fling, it got a ride through the x-ray machine, then I held it the whole way home on the plane.
ReplyDeleteThe things we do for plants.
I never know what's legally OK to bring into California from out of state. That's why I felt more comfortable "hiding" my purchases in my suitcase.
Delete