gigantor

This giant agave cactus grows along the path to the studio. It's huge! And this year, for the first time, it is blooming. You can see the stalk stretching up from the middle of the plant.

 I asked Austin to stand next to it to get a sense of how big this thing is and to see how tall it is       growing. Austin is 6 foot tall.  We took these first photos on March twenty first.

                                   This was the first day that I noticed it was sending up a blossom.

                                                        A couple of days later.

                                                      From a different angle.

                                        Four days later it is already taller than he is.

                                                    Three more days of growth.

    And then...just one week later. Yes, these stalks look like giant asparagus. When you drive around and see these massive stalks you just want to look over your shoulder for the Jolly Green Giant because, wouldn't he enjoy these ginormous fit-for-a-giant asparagus?

Time got away from us, with busy days, out of town company and many trips up to Flagstaff to see Leah, that we didn't coordinate a photo together. So, by the time I got Austin out there again 2 1/2 weeks had passed.  A lot can happen in two weeks!

                                       The top started to open which is its "flower".

                                                             My real view looking up!

You can't really appreciate the enormity of this thing in pictures. It is so solid and massive feeling.                        Literally like a tree trunk. It's not a surprise that they usually pull the whole plant out of the ground as they lean and most often topple over.  It is said that the base plant usually dies once it blooms. I've read that that is a bit of a misnomer. It said that they don't necessarily die because they bloom, but rather they die because the weight ends up tipping it over and pulls the plant from the ground, causing it to then die. I know of someone who has their landscape company cut the bloom out before it gets very tall, thus saving the plant.

 Ours was getting so big and overtaking the walk path, that if it does topple we won't be devastated. And the good news, there are many small baby plants underneath that will then have the space to grow. We have harvested many of the offspring and put them in other areas of our yard. I will, however, hope to keep the stalk and let it dry. They make great yard decorations and the birds love to use them as a perch.

Five days later this is the top where the blooms are appearing.

                                                         Just a couple of days ago.

                               More arms with the blossoms are stretching out.

                     And now...just about 6 weeks since I first noticed it sprouting.

The morning light.

                         They are pretty impressive in their grandness. Fittingly named Gigantor.