Sunday, February 16, 2014

A Hardy Winter Plant Surprise for Foliage Follow-up February 2014

Sometimes I just accidentally find my way into a pleasant plant surprise.  I do a good bit of research and planning so it's a surprise when a plant outperforms expectations.  That's the case with False Agave 'Flamingo Glow' (Beschorneria yuccoides) which I'm featuring for Foliage Follow-up sponsored by Pam at Digging.



When I spotted a big table of Furcrea at Lowe's last spring I thought they were just the thing for either side of the garage door at the end of the driveway.  Except they were expensive.  Each one would have cost about the same as a nice size Agave ovatifolia.  I have no problem spending money for the right plant but Furcrea isn't that hardy and I also thought the color might look too pale against the white stone on the garage so I decided to wait.  A few days later I went back to get them and they were sold out.  I was disappointed until weeks later I found False Agave 'Flamingo Glow' at my favorite garden center.  These were similar to Furcrea (I actually thought they were the same plant when I bought them) and just a bit more green.  At half the price of the ones at Lowe's I didn't hesitate to buy two even though I was still concerned about winter hardiness.  My plan was to treat them almost as annuals to have interesting foliage in that spot for the year and if we had a mild winter they would be fine.

We didn't have a mild winter.  But that's not the surprise.  

The surprise?  I discovered that not only are these not the same plant as Furcrea but they are also much hardier.  Ten degrees hardier in fact.  So when we dropped to 20 degrees overnight in January the Beschorneria sailed right through because they are hardy to between 10 and 15 degrees and if we have another cold winter they should be just fine.  It's an easy mistake to make because Furcrea are referred to as False Agave, same as Beschorneria.

That's not all.  Look at how nicely they've grown to fill in the containers.

A year ago in March 2013 when first planted


February 2014


There's not a lot of detailed information published about these plants.  Beschorneria are native to semi-arid regions of Mexico and will pup easily when planted in ground.  Other common names are Mexican Lily and Amole.  They will get a pretty bloom similar to yucca so I hope these are mature enough to bloom this spring.  One funny thing I found in my research is a common complaint that the lower leaves turn brown and need to be trimmed off.  Since this seems to happen to every plant I've grown it's not a problem.  When I trim off the lower leaves of the Beschorneria the stem just disappears under the newer leaves.

I'm now looking for these to produce some pups in the container so I can have a few more to brighten up shady spots in the garden.  Or I might find more at the nursery this spring.  Either way I would love to add more to the garden.

Sometimes a surprise turns out much better than a plan.

To find more blog posts featuring foliage in the garden check out the comments section at this post on Digging.  Pam and other bloggers are celebrating a book launch party so be sure to click ahead one post to enter the giveaway for the 20-30 Something Garden Guide.

29 comments:

  1. What a great plant! They've filled in those containers very nicely.

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    1. It's turned out to be a surprisingly good plant for this spot.

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  2. Those are fabulous! I had one, a few years back, but it didn't like life as a prisoner half the year. So glad you found these and gave them a try!

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    1. Prisoner is a good way to describe it and most plants dislike being treated that way.

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  3. Interesting plant and it grows well in shady places, that is important for your climate, Shirley. I've read that like the century plant, false agave grows for about 10 years, blooms and then dies. The branched bloom stalk emerges from the center of the plant and will grow to more than 30 feet in height before the flowers open. Blooms are white inside and greenish white on the outside.
    Have a nice week!

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    1. The Beschorneria blooms each year and does not die as an agave will. In that way it is more like a yucca. Most agave and yucca blooms are white or cream but I have read that this bloom should be pink so we will see. The blooms on this plant should be more like five or six feet.

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  4. Your variegated beschorneria yuccoides looks good Shirley! This plant has also surprised us before on how winter hardy it can be, although we did eventually lose them on winter 2010-11 which was a bad one here. Another one worth keep an eye on is Beschoneria septentrionalis, that one is even hardier :)

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    1. That's a pretty one too. Thanks for the tip. I found it a several sources and it's featured at Peckerwood Gardens. I hope to get over to one of their plant sales soon.

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  5. They're beautiful Shirley! I've admired Beschonerias in gardens here and have lusted after the variegated ones at a couple of nurseries but the hardiness thing made me resist temptation. I'm glad you didn't as they look perfect flanking your garage door!

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    1. "Flanking" that's the word! Thanks, I knew there was a word for that when I was writing this but was a bit too tired to look it up.

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  6. The Beschonerias are lovely--did you cover them when SA was in a deep freeze? Or, did you just leave them and cross your fingers?

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    1. They were covered with an old sheet just the one night when we were the coldest. I did not cover them when we had the ice storm and they did just fine.

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  7. These look really good. I've never heard of them. Maybe need to keep an eye out for them. The list gets longer and longer.
    Good surprises are the best kind. :)

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    1. Reading blogs will often make that list longer. It one of my favorite things about following blogs.

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  8. Thanks for this follow up. I also saw the expensive Furcreas at Lowe's last spring, did the research and concluded it would not be hardy here so was surprised to see what what looked like it in your yard. I hope I can find one of the varigated beschorneria for sale now that you've introduced me to it.

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    1. They seem to be getting more popular so it's possible they will pop up again this spring.

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  9. This post is just full of pleasant surprises...and the plants are dynamite.

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    1. Dynamite is good to spark up the plantings at the end of a long driveway.

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  10. Those are lovely, and they did fill out nicely in a short time. I picked up a Beschorneria septentrionalis at Peckerwood a year or so ago, and it's doing well in dappled shade in the ground. No blooms yet, but I'm hoping maybe this summer.

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    1. I hope to get over to a Peckerwood tour and sale soon.

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  11. Good looking, fast growing and resilient - what's not to love?

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    1. Really nothing to complain about at all on this one.

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  12. Oh yeah, you definitely have a winner there...or should I say winners?! They're perfect for the spot, in those pots, and in a pair. Very, very nice. And it's wonderful that they're hardy enough for your coldest winters. Gotta love plants that survive the extremes!

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    1. We don't get much colder than this past winter so this was a good first test for them.

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  13. One of my favorite plants, I love it!
    My Beschornerias are grey, but this variegated is great.
    They have a very nice effect and very tolerant to drought!

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    1. I'd love to find more of these in different foliage colors and I'll check out your blog to see if I can spot the gray ones.

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  14. Oh, I need to find one of these! I was going to put an Arizona Star agave in a stock tank out back, but its cold hardiness has been horrible this winter, and this fits the bill even more. My goal is to have a focal point I won't have to cover every time we hit freezing.

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    1. These would be great and there are several cold hardy agaves that would work. I've decided to replace anything that died this year with tougher plants and cut back on all the covering and hauling.

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  15. You are me! I am doing a serious edit of my plants this year to reduce maintenance. I cannot wait til my Flamingo Glow pup out-- I have sooo many problem spots where they'll look fantastic.

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