Posted by Paul Spracklin on October 20, 2006, 4:03 am, in reply to "Re: no luck with agave havardiana" The conditions where they come from are interesting. Very temperate, by Mexican standards, also evidently quite moist. They grow in pine, oak and arbutus forest, often as understory in the shade. My patrician in all things Mexican, Rich Travis, tells me that the winters there can be very cold, fairly routinely seeing -10C, but often less. This with damp misty nights, even if there is not that much precipitation (most of this occurs in spring). I'd take a guess here and say this area would see maybe 600-800mm of rain a year, but it could well be more. And the old plants are pristine, meaning that in their lifetimes (30-40yrs?)they would have weathered some of these extreme winters. I reckon they are, of all the agaves, the most ideally suited to growing in the UK and similar comparatively mild and temperate areas. How they cope with a more 'continental' climate is anyone's guess. Not to well, from what I have been able to glean from the 'net.
Jan, guys, there are not many 'big' plants over here. The first ones were made available maybe 4 or 5 years ago - I have one from this vintage (and it is the real thing) that is now maybe 20cm/8" diameter (2 winters outside, incidentally). But it is only since Toby and I collected all that seed in Nov. '04 that it has become more widely grown, via Rare Palm Seeds. These plants could only be 2 yrs old max so a lot smaller. I am sure that some people with some of the original plants, and who have been more attentive to their needs (my plant neglect is almost legendary) must have larger plants than mine, but I haven't seen a larger one in the flesh over here.
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