OH, NO!!!

[Mike]

Interesting that A.parviflora flowers at such a small size. And yes, do keep posting pics, please! I'd be very interested to know which other species can flower at a relatively young age?
Mike

[Diane]

Colin, I can't remember exactly how long I've had it, maybe 7 or 8 years, from a small pup. I know they do flower from an earlier age than other Agaves.

I posted on an Agave form, and got this reply from one of their members:


Re: The beginning of the end?
Post Number:#3 Postby MJP » Mon Apr 27, 2020 1:09 pm

"If it has not already produced an offset/pup, it is, alas, very unlikely to do so from this point forward.

Since it is certainly going to die if you do nothing, you might try cutting off the spike a few inches above the crown of leaves in the hopes that doing so will cause the plant to form bulbils on the remaining stump of the inflorescence. [EDIT : I would wait to cut the inflorescence until you can discern where the flowers will be - then cut it just below that point]."

As it will die anyway, there is probably nothing to lose in following this advice, so I might give it a go, although it seems a shame not to allow it to come to a natural conclusion.

[juster]

That's interesting advice Diane, although it does seem a shame not to see the flower. However, my recollection of once flowering the ordinary form of this is that the flower spike was unimpressive. On balance, I think I'd probably go for it!

[Tina]

Interesting, has anyone had bulbils on an agave spike/inflorescence, I thought they grew from the flower scars but got to be worth a try although I might be tempted to include a few flowers just in case.

[Diane]

Well, it does sometimes happen naturally with Haworthias and Gasterias, so it's not without the realms of possibility that it might work!

[Nick]

What happens if you just cut the flower spike off? Probably wont look great, but might save the plant perhaps?

[Diane]

Afraid not, Nick, most Agaves are monocarpic, once flowering is triggered, it will die (there are a few exceptions, I believe). It's just unfortunate that this plant is one of my favourites, very hard to come by, and extremely expensive when they are rarely available!

[Stuart]

I've had bulbils on a variegated Macroacantha but the green Parviflora I flowered just had a boring 3ft solitary spike.
I only had one variegated Parviflora, from the 'Prada lady' in Thailand about 14 years ago. It never grew beyond a 6.5cm pot, growing 2 or 3 leaves a year in the centre and losing the same number around the base but always seemed to be struggling. The one in the photo is a beauty, cutting the flower spike will result in a few weak flower spikes to replace the main one. When I judged Cornwall Branch show years ago, there was an award for the plant most likely to die in the next year, it could have been a prize winner.
Stuart.

[Tina]

Hi Stuart,
Were the bulbils up with the flowers , from the flowers- grew after the flowers or what please. It would be interesting to know how & where they develope from.
I know Sterling Baker said once about breaking haworthia flower stalks to get bulbils.

Do you mean 'Shih', wonder what happened to her & her handbags etc

[Colin Walker]

Hi Stuart,
Were the bulbils up with the flowers , from the flowers- grew after the flowers or what please. It would be interesting to know how & where they develope from.
I know Sterling Baker said once about breaking haworthia flower stalks to get bulbils.

Do you mean 'Shih', wonder what happened to her & her handbags etc

Agave parviflora belongs to subgenus Littaea, which is defined as having an unbranched inflorescence. As far as I'm aware none of the Littaeas produce bulbils on the flower spike. This is because of the absence of branches (technically termed panicles) there's nowhere for the bulbils to grow.

So if an A. parviflora does produce a bulbil this is not typical behaviour and is some other branching triggered by removal of the growing inflorescence.

Even in subgenus Agave, typified by A. americana, not that many species regularly produce bulbils either, so across the genus as a whole bulbil production is a relatively rare occurrence.

A. macroacantha is reported to be a bulbil-producing species but when mine flowered not a single bulbil developed.