Blooming Agave 2

We are watching this plant give its all in order to propagate itself. The flowering stalk which first  became evident to us on April 11 grew like a giant asparagus spear to it's full height of close to thirty feet and then began branching out from the stalk. Other stalks began appearing from the center of the plant, probably from some of the babies underneath the main plant which have grown out of its roots. Today's shot shows that the once magnificent thick fleshy leaves edged with sharp teeth are slowly sinking as they transfer their energy and the water stored within them to the developing flower buds on the stalk.

It is not clear whether the "pups" growing underneath will survive but the parent plant will continue to shrivel and die until it can no longer support the stalk, which will then topple and spread its flowers all over the place. It's fascinating to watch the drama unfold,  but I suspect it will be less fascinating to try and prevent thousands of new plants from coming up everywhere....

We may cut down the stalk before it falls, but that is easier said than done given its size and weight. Jerry the tree man is coming in a few days to remove the palm trees which were inexplicably planted over the septic tank.  Maybe he will have an idea....