A beautiful new agave I'd never seen
I can’t remember the last time I walked into a regular nursery and found an agave I’d never seen or even heard of. But that’s what happened the other day at Green Acres Nursery in Sacramento:
Take a look at this variegated beauty!
The tag said Agave ‘Ivory Star’ – a name I’d never come across. No other information about what it was.
When I got home, I did a Google search, expecting to find what I wanted to know. Not so. Google didn’t yield much information either. I found a few other nurseries that also sell ‘Ivory Star’, but most of them are overseas. That was a big surprise. I mean, how often does it happen that you can’t find what you’re looking for?
Still, I was very (and I mean very) tempted to buy an ‘Ivory Star’, but $50 for a 3-gallon plant was a little too rich for me. I’m hoping that there’ll be 1-gallon plants in the low $20 range someday soon, then I’ll pull the trigger. In the meantime, I’ll drool over these photos – and continue digging for more information.
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I love the wavy leaves. Breeders will keep us on our toes!
ReplyDeleteUsually I have at least a general idea of what's out there. But I love to be surprised!
DeleteWow, that's a beauty Gerhard. I hope it starts to make the rounds-I would buy a 1G in a hot minute !
ReplyDeleteThe UC Davis Arboretum will have a good selection of agaves (and a huge selection of other succulents) in their fall plant sales: https://arboretum.ucdavis.edu/plant-sales
DeleteI'm checking daily for the inventory to go live !
DeleteI dunno -- looks a little like a mangave!
ReplyDeleteI agree it does look like Mangave in there!
DeleteWoah, that’s a pretty one. Love the waves. $50 is too rich for me as well, especially if it’s tender.
ReplyDeleteOops- away from home. It’s Tracy
DeleteIt'll come down in price. They always do. Green Acres had lots of larger Mangave 'Praying Hands' for $35. A year ago, they would have been $100 at that size.
DeleteI wonder if it was bred in Europe or Asia somewhere. Usually, if a new variety is from the U.S., info comes out quickly it seems. Advertising, you know!!!
ReplyDeleteYes I also wonder if there's some Manfreda in that one? If so there will be a million soon--most of those seem to offset like mad. It is very striking
ReplyDeleteHmmm... it's a little too wavy for me. I'll be the odd woman out who says she doesn't like it.
ReplyDeleteBeing the odd (wo)man out should be a position of honor :-)
DeleteLoree: I would have to agree. I am not crazy about the wavy leaves either. Two odd women out! LOL!
DeleteWaiting for the price to come down also gives the market a chance to say whether the plant is worth the hype. Too many new and special cultivars have been wimpy disasters that flamed out early. I remember there was this magical bleeding heart at one time, with gorgeous blue foliage and beautiful red flowers. No one sees it anymore because it was just too delicate.
ReplyDeleteVery good point! There definitely have been cool plants that went nowhere in my garden.
DeleteA bleeding heart with blue foliage? I'd buy that š¤Ŗ