Tag: desert plants

Baltimore’s Patriotic Agave Blooms on July 4th!

By
Rachel Monroe
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Photo courtesy the Rawlings Conservatory
Photo courtesy the Rawlings Conservatory

We hope you had a wonderful 4th of July, complete with lots of delicious cookout food and exciting fireworks. But fireworks weren’t the only thing bursting with color yesterday — the Rawlings Conservatory‘s giant blue agave finally bloomed! (You may remember it from our earlier Agave Watch 2013 post.) The flower spike is about 25 feet tall (hence the removal of part of the greenhouse’s roof, in order to let it grow). The Conservatory recommends stopping by this weekend to see the plant at its most extravagant.

Agave Watch 2013! Rare Double Century Plant Blooms at the Rawlings Conservatory

By
Rachel Monroe
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2
The Agave Americana on May 8. Photo via the Rawlings Conservatory.
The blue agave on May 8 — ready to flower any day now! Photo via the Rawlings Conservatory.

Agave plants bloom only once in their long lifetimes — hence their “Century Plant” nickname — but when they do, it’s spectacular. So spectacular, in fact, that the staff of the Rawlings Conservatory in Druid Hill Park have to be careful that their agaves’ towering spikes don’t bust through the Desert House’s glass ceiling. And this year, something amazing is happening — two of the conservatory’s giant agaves are preparing to bloom around the same time.

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