Free agaves - ID?

[nsp88]

There's a guy near my parents who has some agave on his land, And today I stopped by to ask if you would sell or trade me one. He said he hated them and they were there from the previous owner, so if I dug them up I could have them all.

The trees nearby them have grown up real large and they're completely covered in shade all probably all but the first bit of morning and in winter when the sun is low. They're pretty neglected and rough looking, but they've survived all the winter storms and all the rain we get with zero care.

I probably could have had all of his yuccas and prickly pear too, judging by the way he was talking but I didn't have space or time for those.

From the street I'd always thought maybe they were etiolated havardianas, but seeing them up close I am thinking maybe they are some kind of asperrima? I don't recall them feeling super rough though. I will have to pay closer attention whenever I go plant them.

Does anyone have any guesses? If these photos are too bad, I'll get better ones soon.

Oh, and edited to add: I had to re-home a rough earth snake and do battle with a gnarly looking centipede while digging up the largest one. Wish I had photos of them

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I probably could have had about 20 of these

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[Gee.S]

Pretty sure that last one is Yucca pallida. Far as the agaves go, I'd say pot 'em up, treat 'em well, and post fresh snaps next season.

[Bananaguy]

Look like a asperrima. What is the small group of green plants next to the agave in the first picture? Almost look like a dyckia. I would have grabbed those too!

[nsp88]

Look like a asperrima. What is the small group of green plants next to the agave in the first picture? Almost look like a dyckia. I would have grabbed those too!

These?

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I think it is just the same Yucca as everywhere else. It does look Kind of different here though. There were others there that had died, And then some started growing back through the old dead growth. some of those had a little bit different looking leaves. I did take one of those old ugly ones that had larger dead leaves with tiny new leaves and new growth. I ripped off all the old leaves but you can see the new growth with thinner leaves. I don't know if this is the same or not. If not that, does this type of yucca ever get etiolated leaves? Nothing really stood out to me is different in the moment though but I wasn't paying a ton of attention to those either.

[Bananaguy]

That one you removed is definitely a yucca. I think dyckia grow native in your state and that green plant looked like it.

[abborean]

That looks like Texas asperima to me but meangreen can speak with more authority. Of course both sides of the leaf would need to be rough.
The yuccas look more like a recurvifolia to me but depends on if they're making low trunks. Hope they are pallida and that you get them.

[nsp88]

That looks like Texas asperima to me but meangreen can speak with more authority. Of course both sides of the leaf would need to be rough.

Yeah I finally got them planted this week, and they're rough on both sides. One side was rougher than the other but at the moment I can't recall which

[nsp88]

Scored a bunch of free agaves today. A lady in a local plant group needed them moved, but couldn't do it herself. The largest agave was quite a bit bigger than I expected, but thankfully I was just able to lift it by myself and make it fit in my car. I had to cut some of the lower leaves, and it still took a little bit of damage getting in and out of my car. And there were quite a few more pups than I expected. I counted exactly 40. This thing is a pupping factory. I threw almost all of them out in the Agave field, but I plan on getting rid of most of them by next year since they make so many pups. I already have a few people from the Facebook group that I'm going to give a bunch to.

I think these are Bellville or something close to it?

If you'll notice on the bottom left there was this weird rhizome that came out of the ground looped back around and went back into the ground near the plant

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It BARELY fits after cutting the lower horizontal leaves off.

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The pups. These Honda elements are ugly vehicles but they certainly are great for plant lovers.

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The largest.

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[Gafoto]

You like to live dangerously! Nice haul on those things.

[Meangreen94z]

Time to start a distillery.

That is the basic profile of Agave ‘Bellville’

[nsp88]

You like to live dangerously! Nice haul on those things.

Not sure if you're talking about driving highway speed with massive balls of spikes in my car or taking home a billion pup-makers, but either way I agree!

[nsp88]

Time to start a distillery.

That is the basic profile of Agave ‘Bellville’

Ha. I am already working on several meetups, and will be giving away like 10-15 this week to those who commented on the lady's original post wanting some. Then next year I'll take a bunch to the various swaps. I'll still probably have enough plants and new pups being made to fill that hay field lol. The whole time I was digging and loading them all up I was thinking it was a crazy amount even for me. But the plant had gotten too big and was too close to a car where it was a hazard to someone with some stability issues getting in and out of the car, So she was going to try to burn it all if no one took them, So I figured what the heck.

[Gafoto]

You like to live dangerously! Nice haul on those things.

Not sure if you're talking about driving highway speed with massive balls of spikes in my car or taking home a billion pup-makers, but either way I agree!

I’ve had multiple Agave as my “personal item” on flights before so I know poor judgement when I see it.

[nsp88]

I’ve had multiple Agave as my “personal item” on flights before so I know poor judgement when I see it.

Well, everyone from the original post has reached out and claimed some, and I'll have given 20 of them away by the end of the week. I'm sure by next summer it will be back up to 40.


So does everyone agree with PDN on their guess at Bellville's lineage? Their site says they guess "Agave americana x Agave asperrima x Agave gentryi."

[Paul S]

So does everyone agree with PDN on their guess at Bellville's lineage? Their site says they guess "Agave americana x Agave asperrima x Agave gentryi."

No.

[nsp88]

So does everyone agree with PDN on their guess at Bellville's lineage? Their site says they guess "Agave americana x Agave asperrima x Agave gentryi."

No.

Lol well, shoot.

[nsp88]

Just swapped a lady for some bulbils that she got off her havardiana(?). At least I think it is a havardiana, maybe with some asperrima mixed in. Neither of those make bulbils, though, right? So maybe it has some other genetics mixed in? The stalk wasn't damaged - at least nothing she knew of or that I could see while looking at it at night. Would be cool if there was a simple genetics test that could tell you what all an agave was a mix of. Her grandparents planted these in the late '50s when they built the house.

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[Gafoto]

The 50s? Impressive that they’ve had that patch going for so long. It does look like havardiana, much like the photos that @Meangreen94z just posted from the Chisos Mountains. Are the leaves rough to the touch?

[nsp88]

The 50s? Impressive that they’ve had that patch going for so long. It does look like havardiana, much like the photos that @Meangreen94z just posted from the Chisos Mountains. Are the leaves rough to the touch?

So I have a few different types of havardiana:
My darker green one is super smooth.
The one that I got from my neighbor that I gave you some babies have just a touch of texture, if I recall correctly.
These and another one I got this summer that looks similar to these a little bit more texture. It's definitely not smooth but it's not rough like my straight-asperrima.

I do think asperrima is in the mix. Curious why the bulbils though.

[nsp88]

I’ve had multiple Agave as my “personal item” on flights before so I know poor judgement when I see it.

On this week's episode of poor judgement, I somehow roped my wife into bringing back two large luggages full of plants from California. In-laws are redoing their landscaping and throwing away tons of succulents, and there's enough to fill a truck or two and bring back. I don't have the time do drive out there, but my wife agreed to take some extra luggages and bring some back for me. A large jade bush that had to be cut up to to fit; Thaumatophyllum bipinnatifidum; Cotyledon orbiculata (these are cold hardy so I'll be interested in seeing if they can handle our cold and wet); some kind of trunking aloe; Yucca gigantea (I think); some kind of senecio; a bunch of echeverias; Agave attenuata; ^{and a variegated Agave americana that I know I'm going to catch some crap for.} It all looks rough now, but by next summer should be good. Except that Americana - it is going to take some time lol.

Thaumatophyllum bipinnatifidum "tree philodendron" - my first tropical plant. I have read they can survive here. They die in the winter and grow back each year up to zone 7 supposedly. And don't need much water.

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That Americana is quite a sight lol. The jade was huge and beautiful. It was a shame to cut it, but becoming several smaller plants is better than going in the trash.

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Any guesses on these senecio/curio IDs? The plant was kinda long-armed and scraggly. These cuttings are about 12-16 inches

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Looking rough but will pull through

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Any guesses on this echeveria id?

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This one is 2+feet tall and was one of the smallest stalks

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Any guess on the ID?

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If anyone knows IDs for the aloe, senecio(curio?), or echeverias I would appreciate it.

[edds]

Your Echeveria is an Aeonium; some form of canariense I think. No idea on the Aloe or others, sorry.

[nsp88]

Your Echeveria is an Aeonium; some form of canariense I think. No idea on the Aloe or others, sorry.

Thanks! From the photos my wife sent, Google lens came up with both echeverias and aeoniums. But once I had them in my hand they just seemed more soft, thick, and almost fuzzy than the aeoniums I have seen (admittedly, I have extremely limited experience with aeoniums though), so I assumed echeveria. No problem on the aloe or anything, it's great to at least have one of them narrowed down! Looking at photos, there's a decent bit of variety amongst that species. They look at lot like the ones in this photo.

[edds]

I'd say yours looks closest to A.virgineum (https://www.crassulaceae.ch/de/artikel? ... C&aID=3016) however there is a hybrid form in California that is apparently regularly grown in gardens that has an offsetting, carpeting habit and you might have this.

I have a plant purchased over here as A.canariense 'Californicum' but I am not convinced it is the same plant as I've seen in books and photos online and, currently, it hasn't offsetted yet!

[nsp88]

I'd say yours looks closest to A.virgineum (https://www.crassulaceae.ch/de/artikel? ... C&aID=3016) however there is a hybrid form in California that is apparently regularly grown in gardens that has an offsetting, carpeting habit and you might have this.

I have a plant purchased over here as A.canariense 'Californicum' but I am not convinced it is the same plant as I've seen in books and photos online and, currently, it hasn't offsetted yet!

I'll look into them all more tomorrow, but in the meantime here are some pictures of them before they got cut. They were looking a bit rough in some of the photos and are low quality but it gives a better idea maybe.

[nsp88]

I'd say yours looks closest to A.virgineum (https://www.crassulaceae.ch/de/artikel? ... C&aID=3016) however there is a hybrid form in California that is apparently regularly grown in gardens that has an offsetting, carpeting habit and you might have this.

I have a plant purchased over here as A.canariense 'Californicum' but I am not convinced it is the same plant as I've seen in books and photos online and, currently, it hasn't offsetted yet!

They certainly could be that too. I guess as they open back up and get a little less crispy I might be able to figure it out. And if they ever like it here enough to bloom then that will help too. I will come back here with photos once they look better. Maybe once these look better and I do you can share photos of yours too and see if they're the same