Furcraea foetida Mediopicta

Here is a new addition this summer to my garden that helped fuel my love (or is addiction) for unusal and variegated plants.

It is an agave relative.  Grows pretty large and has amazing layers of white and green.  They also bloom similar to agave, only once in 5-15 years and then die, usually leaving offsets behind.  Yet this one does like Agave vilmoriniana and not just flowers, but also produces hunderds of bulbils on the flower stalk.

Mature size can be 5-8 feet tall and wide, but in a large but not too large container can stay smaller for years.

This one does a great job of layers of green under and over white, each leaf a bit different than the last.

It is harder to zone 9ish, 25-30 degrees F, and has suvived my central coast brief frosts just fine and I see lots of non-variegated ones surviving to maturity around town.

Sansevieria kirkii var. pulchra ‘Coppertone’ -- Take 2

This is a quick follow up on my post a couple weeks ago on Sansevieria kirkii var. pulchra ‘Coppertone' that was just starting to bloom.  I was able to get some follow up shots of the blooms while open.  See original post here.

The best shots all had to be at night as it appears to be a night blooming plant and they only lasted 12-24 hours at most with all new blooms opening at dark.  A fact that seems confirmed by Wikipedia noting that most species are pollenated by moths.

They are also scented, something a bit like baby powder with a subtle fruity or candy hint.  Maybe like 75% baby power and 25% cotton candy.  It was not very strong from any distance but easy to smell close up.

Once a growing rosette/shoot flowers it will not grow any new leaves, but will stay alive for years.

Each night a few more would bloom then fade.   I tried to pollinate it but it was the only one I had blooming of any of my collection and have never had any others pollinate.  But I am still watching hopefully for a seed pod (berry like) to appear under the dead flowers.

Thanks for looking!