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Manfreda maculosa |
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| | Four-year-old plant growing in our rock garden zone |
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| | First-year seedlings, in late October |
| Common name |
deciduous agave |
| Family |
agavaceae |
| Life cycle |
perennial (Z7-9) |
| Flowers |
pale pink (summer) |
| Size |
24" |
| Light |
sun-part shade |
| Cultural notes |
well-drained soil |
From seed  |
Germinate at room temperature with exposure to light
detailed seed-starting info below
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Rosettes, to one foot wide, of fleshy purple-spotted leaves. The rosettes stay low, the summer flower spikes rise well above. Sometimes referred to as deciduous agaves, which strikes me as odd because in our garden they remained evergreen even through the fierce freeze of 2021. In any case, manfredas do not feature the fearsome spines of true agaves. Native to southern Texas and Mexico.
Our seedlings didn't show any sign of spots, so I wasn't sure if it was the right thing – but by early March of the following year, some speckling developed. In the few following years, our main plant grew somewhat more robust, but nowhere near the size it might eventually attain. Finally, in April of its fourth year, it sent up a flower spike, and proceeded to bloom starting in mid-May. Flowers open up from the bottom of the spike upwards, each starting a creamy white and maturing to a dusky purple.
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| | Speckling evident early spring of second year |
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| | Three-year-old plant – slow-growing |
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| | Impressive underground base and root cluster |
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| | Four-year-old plant sending up a flower-spike in late April |
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In our garden, this plant grows in the following areas: left fence border, rock garden zone About my plant portraits
PlantLinks to other web pages about Manfreda maculosa
- Seed from NARGS '17/'18 exchange. Baggy 70F with light (95%G, 10-13d)
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