Agave titanota and Agave impressa

[Kelly Griffin]

I thought I would share a couple pics I took at the Nursery.

Agave impressa:





Agave titanota 'Black and Blue'





Another Agave titanota clone:

[Matt Maggio]

Gorgeous!! Keep on sharing!

[thistlesifter]

"And the Hits keep on rolling"

Congrats! Friend.

bob

[prbphys]

Love the agave impressa. Any background info? I have not seen anything on it before.
Phil

[Nick PGP]

Is that the best A. impressa you've raised Kelly, or did it start mediocre and come good? I'm hoping it is the latter and then my one plant has the possibility of turning into one like yours. I only have slight markings on only a small portion of each leaf and fear it is always gonna be like that...

Love the A. titanota too, though I'm guessing the black lightens somewhat on the older leaves, right?

[satigus]

WOW, very beautifull !

[Kelly Griffin]

Well

the good ones are there but so are the not so good ones. They do get better with time but clone to clone this was a great one.

the good news is it was micro propagated and should be available fairly soon

I will keep working on high grading the rest and see what I can do.

Kelly

[digixjairo]

Very impressive work. That Impressa really is amazing, and that Titanota is killer. Thanks for sharing.

[Karen Zimmerman]

Fantastic plants! I love that you were able to plant the impressa vertically. Looks like a habitat shot!

[GermanStar]

Seems some of these A. impressa are out of the oven. With any luck I'll have my hands on at least one within a couple weeks. Any cultivation tips? It seems Gentry considered cultivation of A. impressa problematic.

[Matt Maggio]

Originally Posted by GermanStar

Any cultivation tips? It seems Gentry considered cultivation of A. impressa problematic.

I've raised this species and have observed that it behaves very similarly in cultivation to A. chazaroi. I wouldn't place impressa in the category of 'Full Sun Agaves' if you're in AZ. Nor would I consider it frost hardy... note that it comes from lower elevations in Sinaloa and that I've recorded damage on this plant in the upper 20's. Also, should you come across a clone or two with exceptional imprints, you'll likely spoil the leaves by letting the plant(s) become pot-bound. They get tip necrosis and frayed ends very easily under this condition, especially if they suddenly become cramped following a luxurious stint of water and fertilizer. Also, don't let the roots get bone dry... they die back and the plant can have a tough time growing a new set.

MM

[GermanStar]

Thanks, that's pretty damned discouraging, all things considered. Guess I'll set one in an oversized pot, protect it from afternoon sun, water once or twice per week, and hope for the best.

[GermanStar]

I've already had to mitigate potential damage to the A. impressa. It's in a large pot, which I placed in a spot that gets unfiltered sun until just past noon. Too much, it has already started yellowing, so now the pot is under a tree.

[agavegreg]

Agave impressa is just going to be a tough one to cultivate in the hot, dry desert of Phoenix and even Tucson. First, as Matt mentions, it is not frost tolerant nor sun tolerant where daytime highs leap into the triple digits. Because they relish a bit of shade in the low and mid-elevation desert, the bud printing and form will not be as dramatic as it is for plants grown where the climate is more moderate (i.e. no frost and no 100's). With that said, move to southern California and grow them to your heart's content.

[GermanStar]

Thanks, I have recently formulated a plan to give it the best opportunity I possibly can. Sometime this autumn, a spot should open up in a large raised bed I have off my back patio. The bed presently holds an A. FO-076, a dwarf Mediterranean Palm, and a couple of Sansevierias, among other things. The S. cylindrica in particular, is spectacularly happy there, throwing off more runners than I can keep up with. My thought is that what pleases S. cylindrica may please A. impressa. At least, it's probably the best I can offer. In regard to cold, I did manage to nurse an in-ground A. attenuata through the horror of last winter. Truth is I thought it had died at one point, but it made it, so anything is possible. Hell, if it doesn't make it, it doesn't make it -- at least I tried. Someday, my present fascination with all things Marginatae may pass, in the meantime, I should probably find myself an A. pelona.

[Boo Hollow]

Originally Posted by GermanStar

Seems some of these A. impressa are out of the oven. With any luck I'll have my hands on at least one within a couple weeks. Any cultivation tips? It seems Gentry considered cultivation of A. impressa problematic.

I have one large A. impressa that has survived and thrived on neglect. It started as a rather expensive "prize" 1 gallon that I wanted to take special care to protect from frost and excess sun exposure when I first purchased it (after seeing the person whom sold it to me and shipped bare root, meant that, bare root (he cut off all the roots). Instead of shipping it back, I figured I would let it ride. The first year it sat in the lowly shade of our front porch, receiving good lighting but no direct sun. Time moved on and it ended up being buried amongst the tons of other plants when winter moved in. It remained on the porch throughout the winter with lows in the upper teens. I was really suprised in the spring to discover it was doing fine. By summer it was potted up to a 2 gallon pot. Again, attempts to ensure it was protected from extreme temps meant staying on the porch as the new rootball established. Watering was very infrequent to getting soaked too frequently when the Mrs. decided things on the porch needed watering... she kills more plants with water then anyone I know. Anyways, it did fine and was moved into the greenhouse towards the end of the 3rd summer. The plant needs a bigger pot and has good color and leaf markings. This poor thing has bounced around like an unwanted John Edwards' love child. So, to answer your question, I have had this plant going on year 4, it is now 18" in diameter and about the same tall, have good color, no problems with leaf spotting, in a soil mix that is composted fir bark, peat, perlite, scoria and worm castings and has done very well and put on quite a bit of size considering it started from scratch, having to regrow its roots while it was about 8" in diameter and 6" tall. When it does get sun, it only gets morning and early afternoon sun. This means it really colors up. There was a beautiful specimen shown on the cover of one of the CSSA Journals that is the inspiration for how these plants can look. Agave impressive!

[GermanStar]

Thanks, they really are impressive, aren't they? Even mediocre specimens (like mine) are breathtaking. Lows in the teens, eh? If that's true, I may be home free. My recent acquisition is close to 24" and currently resides in a large pot under a tree on my front patio. It receives less than an hour of direct sun early in the morning, followed by several hours of heavily filtered sun. I'm watering once per week, now that it's largely recovered from the yellowing brought on by full morning sun. But, as Greg alluded to, this plant may just hold its nose no matter what I do, if it won't acquiesce to harsh desert conditions I have no control over. I'll give it my best shot and hope a share a story like yours a little while down the road.