Agave potatorum
Agave potatorum is the first Agave I ever bought, as I remember I was attracted to the bluey coloured leaves. The great thing about this Agave is that it is really easy to propagate from. It grows lots of pups and has been propagated from now about 3 times.
Agave potatorums
In the photo above the original Agave I bought was the larger one at the back. The other 3 were propagated from pups from this plant. Now they are growing pups and today I’m going to remove the pups from them all.
Agave potatorum pups
Now, removing the pups on this Agave is the fun bit as it does have very sharp needles at the ends of the leaves. The way I go about it though is to get some really long scissors, remove some of the stones below the pups and then just position the scissors in as far underneath as possible and cut them away. Sometimes you get some with roots and sometimes without roots but either way it doesn’t matter.
Some have roots and other don't.
Once you have detached the pups I then just treat them with some plant starter and then pot the ones with roots into 5cm tubes and the ones without go into a larger pot until they grow some roots. Pretty easy really.
Agave potatorum pups without roots.
Agave potatorum pups with roots.
Once these pups are ready for the ground I might even plant a few more around the three in the garden and the others I’ll probably just give away.
Agave potatorum is probably one of my favourite Agaves. It’s not as fast growing as Agave attenuata but then again it doesn’t grow as large so it’s probably not meant to be.
So there you have it. If you’ve got the patience just buy one Agave potatorum and then just let it multiply.
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Alyogyne hakeifolia syn Melissa Anne
Alyogyne hakeifolia, Melissa Anne
I’ve grown quite a few Alyogyne hakeifolias over the years. The best feature of this Alyogyne would have to be the deep purple tulip type flowers which occur on mass over summer. There aren’t many plants around that actually flower this well over summer so it may quite possibly be the only plant you may have in your garden that’s flowering at this time of the year.
Alyogyne Huegelii
The other great thing about this Alyogyne is that it is very drought tolerant and actually seems to thrive on a lack of water. It comes from the desert areas of South and Western Australia and has very long needle like leaves which are a little bit succulent like and obviously help with its drought tolerance. The leaves are a deep green colour and actually seem to glisten in the sun on a hot day which adds to its appearance.
Alyogyne Hakeifolia, Elle Marie
This Alyogyne grows to about 2m and it is best if it is pruned quite hard after flowering as it can grow very tall and lean and as the branches can be quite brittle this with help it with its wind tolerance.
The best place to plant Alyogyne Hakeifolia is in full sun in a raised bed or well drained soil in an area sheltered from the wind. Also never fertilize this plant as despite not being a member of the Proteaceae family it still really doesn’t like fertilizers with Phosphorus as this will probably kill the plant.
The other type of Alyogyne that is popular is Alyogyne huegelii but I think I will cover this in a separate article.
Alyogyne Hakeifolia also has a variation called “Elle Marie” that has creamy yellow flowers which look great as a contrast but don’t look quite as good as the purple ones. But that’s just personal choice.
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Banksia Ericifolia
There are several varieties and subspecies of Banksia Ericifolia that are available in nurseries today. Some are more garden worthy than others. In my last garden I grew two different varieties. The first was a variety called “Little Eric”. This was a great little Banksia that only grows to about 1.5 m in height with a spreading habit.
Banksia Little Eric
The best thing about this Banksia is that I grew it is a shady area under a large tree that was growing in the house next door. The roots from this tree ensured that the ground was always bone dry and despite this it always puts on a flowering display every winter and never shows any signs of stress. So if you’re after a plant to put in a dry shady area this might be a very good choice.
The other type of Banksia Ericifolia I grew was the more common subsp Ericifolia which was quite a nice looking plant but the flowers were well hidden inside the foliage and as a consequence they were hard to see. I do believe that there is a variety though where the flowers are longer, more terminal and protrude above the top of the foliage more so they are more visable. So a word of warning, choose wisely at the nursery if you want a plant that will put on a show when in flower.
There are also a few hybrids as well that are worth a mention. Banksia “Giant Candles” is the most well known. A hybrid with B Spinulosa this Banksia gets its name from the long flowers it produces, up to 40 cm long. The shrub itself grows up to 5 or 6m and could nearly be classified as a small tree. I grew this in my last garden. It tends to grow reasonably fast and is covered in long orange flowers over winter.
Banksia Giant Candles
Another Hybrid is called Banksia “Yellow Wing” a hybrid between Giant Candles and B Spinulosa (Canarvon) “Birdwise”. I’m currently growing this one in my garden at the moment but the growth has been slow. I’m not sure if this is due to the phosphorus in my soil or just the dry conditions. I might try giving it some more water and we’ll see if it grows any faster. The other thing is that apart from the slow growth it hasn’t shown any signs of phosphorus toxicity whatsoever so it appears to be resistant to the effects of the phosphorus.
Banksia Yellow Wing, surviving the Phosphorus
Banksia Ericifolia grows naturally on the east coast of Australia and typically has long orange, burgundy or yellow candle like flowers that occur over winter and into spring. It normally grows to 3m but this is variable in the different varieties. Despite coming from an area that gets up to 1000mm of rain per year it is still very drought tolerant, adaptable and easy grow in the home garden.
Banksia Ericifolia “Little Eric” and Banksia “Giant Candles” are the ones that I’ve had the most success with and would recommend them as starters but I’d be very interested to get some feedback on what other people have tried.
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