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Agave Paryii is the Southwest New Mexico variety of plant that grows in many arid parts of the world. The common name, Century Plant, implies that they live for a 100 years before perishing in a magnificent display of colorful blooms on a long stalk. Actually, the blooms occur after 20 to 40 years rather than a century.
Agaves were used for fiber and food by the Apaches and other Indians. The heart is bitter when raw, but can be made palatable by baking. A form of Agave called Maguey is the main ingredient of Tequila. Today the stalks are sometimes used to create didgeridoos.
The property is covered with Agaves, but only a few bloom each year. The first year there were about six blooms on our 21 acres. A few years ago following heavy rains we had hundreds of blooms. What causes the difference? The weather now? The weather 40 years ago? We don't know.
The stalks of blooming plants burst out in May. They grow very rapidly, sometimes a foot a week. They can reach a height of 15 feet or so (some varieties of Agave go much higher). They blossom in the summer, and by late fall the plants are dead. In the process the stalks sometimes go through color transformations including greens, yellows, reds, and oranges. The blossoms fall off and the plants gradually dry out and turn brown. By December they are ready to be cut down and decorated as Southwest Christmas trees. Left to themselves, they usually stand as dark skeletal shapes for several years before rotting and falling over.
The Agave in its normal state. This example is atypical, but not abnormal, because it is growing horizontally rather than perpendicularly. They can grow with very little soil, often in cracks between boulders.
A clump of Agaves next to the back deck.
This plant has just begun to bloom (after forty years or so). The stalk may grow a foot a week at this stage.
A few weeks weeks after sprouting the stalk looks like a giant asparagus shoot. This one is redder than normal. They are generally green with reddish tints.
This stalk has begun to peel back its petals and sprout little knobs that will become blossoms.
A mature stalk with knobs just before full bloom.
A century plant in full bloom.
The blooms up close.
A group of agaves including two in full bloom and several bare ones that bloomed in recent years.
| Phone: 505-313-9843 | Email: reservations@agaveridgeretreat.com |