chuckography

Where did THAT come from?

A few days ago I noticed a large cactus plant in my neighbor's yard was looking sickly. The usually bright green leaves - or fronds or whatever they are called - were fading to yellow. It had become a nasty looking color that looked very unhealthy.

Then I looked up. And then, up some more. Like 20-25 feet high. That was not always there! What the heck was going on here?

I guess I already knew it was a Century Plant (Agave Parryi) but it had just been sitting there for about 10 years (that I knew of) and had zoomed up "almost overnight." We're talking about trading the cow for some magic beans and Jack and the Beanstalk.

I chatted with the neighbor who said he thought it was about 25 years old and, once it started to bloom, the stalk jutted up almost fast enough to see it move.

It peaked out in about two weeks and then yellow flowers appeared on the top. Way up high. The bad news is now it will wither and die. All the energy was used up to bloom and make this marvelous display.

An article in The Post and Courier Garden Section June 10 said small "baby" plants will pop up around the base after it dies.

Since I missed seeing something as big as a telephone pole spring up, I probably will not be elected to be the head of our Neighborhood Watch.

[Full disclosure: I used PhotoShop to eliminate telephone, electric and cable lines.]

Labels: Century plant, Neighborhood Watch, PhotoShop

posted by chucker @ 12:24 PM