Furcraea selloa, alias false agave

If a huge stalk appears, culminating in a spray of flowers, you know it is the end of the plant. For eight years the variegated false agave has been an esteemed ornament at our driveway. Suddenly it performed a spectacular adieu. In a few weeks’ time, an asparagus-like pole reached a height of about 5 meters, where it revealed a mass of dangling yellow blossom.
Although losing a precious plant is sad, this one offers generously comfort: hundreds of plantlets sprout from the pole and its inflorescence. It takes about four months before they drop on the ground ─ some have already grown six leaves. Meanwhile the parent plant withers away.

October 2016, by Karolien Bais