hosepipe, watering can or underwatering?

[spinesandrosettes]

I recall you mentioning in a prior post you are on the fence regarding A. lophantha Quadricolor, so I thought I'd provide a couple of fresh photos that might make up your mind one way or the other. In my opinion, it is the most attractive of all the A. lophantha varieties out there.
Here's a nice sized one which sits out in full sun, but provided enough water so that it's not stressed. Looks good but there's a lot of color fade.

Here are two pups grown in bright light, but in a greenhouse kit which provides some UV protection. Lighting is enough that the form is still relatively compact, but not so much as to diminish the striking coloration. It's my favorite coloring achieved through various culture conditions.

Lastly, here is an older pic which shows a somewhat stressed out pup which transitioned from a lower lighting situation (etiolation), to a spot on the top shelf in a greenhouse, right up near the roof, the resulting condition being the inspiration for the name "Quadricolor". The 4th color is the red/pink which adorns the leaf edges when the plant is stressed out (much light, perhaps not enough water).

[IainS]

Tom: Much appreciated. I expect people will have evolved further in a few thousand years' time, but meanwhile I accept the inevitability of misunderstandings. What can be done now, however, is to put in more effort when they occur - and you, sir, have beautifully demonstrated this when you might have alternatively compounded an already poor situation.

What a shame we don't have Star Trek technology because Tina and yourself really should meet and walk around each other's greenhouses. Okay, the technology of the internet is a poor second best and it does bring us together. I haven't met Tina yet, although we have exchanged a couple of plants (and seeds, Tina! ) - but she clearly has a keen appreciation for these wonders of nature.

I'd be really pleased to see a photo of your variegated A. victoriae-reginae plants together. I also completely agree with what you wrote about cultivar names often being created unnecessarily or duplicated. You get a lot of that in the world of hostas, especially in the USA where many of the new superb plants have been bred in the past few decades. As a nurseryman, I see the garden centre trade here in the UK being part of that problem because "new" means yet another opportunity for marketing (which has gone too far).

And, coincidentally, I've also been rearranging greenhouse shelves and staging here - after a recent auction of some really well-grown plants, a few of which we acquired. Plus a forthcoming visit to ELK which I'm sure you'll know about.

Any idea - which I asked earlier in the thread - why we're getting water marks on our staging but not on the Agave leaves? Your trial photo clearly shows that it is a problem for you (and no doubt others).

Again: Much appreciated.

[agavemad]

Great points made by all and no wrong or right it seems just personal choice.

Tina, Spinesandrossettes,
You have some beautiful plants....
When I get to grips with the forum I will post a few pics of my collection, (so far)
Many of the Agave I have collected so far are still quite small or young offsets.
They do appear to take a while to 'recover' after arriving in the post, some more so than others.
Interesting I have found that the better the root system on the agave the longer it takes them to stop 'sulking' when repotted. I have had a few barely rooted offsets arrive and these ones hit the ground running so to speak (in my very limited experience).

[IainS]

Tom: Good photos and the pushing is appreciated. I'm certainly not on the fence, but rather over the "yes" side - albeit not yet landed on the ground! (I hope you can interpret what I'm trying to say.) And I may well have acquired one by this time next week.

If you have any "very best" suggestions of anything I might be missing - as I've asked Tina - please guide me. I think I'm right in saying that growers in the USA are ahead of us here in the UK or Europe when it comes to plant breeding.

[Tina]

Hi Ian,
[quote][/So, knowing you are the Queen of Variegated Agaves, please tell me if I have missed something which should be on our short-list:

Agave 'Kichio Khan' (or Kisshokan')
Agave victoriae-reginae albomarginata
Agave filifera marginataquote].

Really you should have a comprehensive collection of variegated agaves to show diversity of form ( that's my sale pitch )but failing that you need an agave macroacantha Variegate marginata- I find the mediopicta form a nightmare to grow, kichiokan blue/green form- stunners but slow, can't think of the name yet maybe after my coffee.

It also depends on your growing conditions & space available, I have no space so I'm going to have to think about only getting dwarf or small growing forms that are tolerant of growing at 10C, some agaves like A.quiengola & a.celsii prefer it a bit warmer. A good medio picta form 'blue glow' is a stunner but not cheap, a nice striated form there is also the choice of soft or hard leaves so agave 'streaker' is soft leaved, can be a bit moody, hard leaved I have a A.victoria reginae striated not difficult to grow but hard to source, you also have the hard pointy narrow leaved plants like filifera so lots of choice.

There are also some interesting green agaves, gasp yes I still keep a few, agave chazaroi is lovely with very unusual & elegant looking leaves, agave pelona & a decent titanota with the big teeth, plus don't forget the unique looking agave Albopilosa with it's fluffy tips.

It also depends how deep your pockets are, medio picta forms especially the blue/green are normally slower, harder to grow so more expensive, like Tom mentions the agaves do sometimes help to pay for themselves or at least contribute to their upkeep and lots of hobbyists prefer swapping plants

[IainS]

Thanks, Tina. We acquired a few Agave macroacantha from Rene - each plant quite different from one another - and they have come on a treat outside after being repotted and with August's heavy rainfall. It's an eye-catching species beyond any shadow of doubt. So I'll definitely keep the variegated form in mind. And thanks especially for suggesting
A. chazaroi and A. pelona - both of which I have in mind as possibilities, so that is now reinforced. (We already have a nice A. titanota.)

If the aim was a more specialised collection of plants, rather than a wider range, have no doubt that I'd be up there with both Tom and yourself because Agaves have that X-factor.