Jim,
I grow a Manfreda Agave cross that is marketed as Mangave 'Macho Mocha,' a very
tough and handsome plant. It's foliage and flowers have Manfreda
characteristics but unlike Agave spp., it is not monocarpic. Obviously, this
isn't a cold climate but a hot one and these plants thrive here. However, the
Manfreda parentage makes them prime rabbit food and I must use them as
container plants. For a photo and much more info on this plant, see:
http://smgrowers.com/products/plants/…
921&page=

If this doesn't exactly answer your question, at least it's more information,
including an observation from our member Tony Avent who has reported the plants
have survived at 9 degrees F. I would think you could grow it successfully
though you might need mulch and/or frost cloth in some winters.

I'd like to grow Polianthes and would love to see the hybrids that have been
produced from the Southeast - if anyone knows more about sources for them,
please let me know. (I'm familiar with the products at Yucco Do).

Thanks,

Pamela Slate
Carefree AZ

-----Original Message-----
From: pbs-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:pbs-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On
Behalf Of Jim McKenney
Sent: Monday, June 08, 2009 12:49 PM
To: 'Pacific Bulb Society'
Subject: [pbs] Agave virginica

My plants of Agave (Manfreda) virginica have finally put on some size, and I
check them daily for signs of bloom (no signs yet, but it’s early).

These are the oddest plants. Although at first glance they look like some
sort of xerophytic plant, when you touch them there is a surprise: the
foliage looks as if it ought to be turgid, but instead it’s floppy and
rubbery. More than anything else it reminds me of a plant whose root system
has rotted and whose leaves are flagging.

Are any of you growing the Polianthes – Manfreda hybrids or the Polianthes –
Agave hybrids in cold climates?

Jim McKenney

jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com

Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, 39.03871º North, 77.09829º West, USDA zone
7

My Virtual Maryland Garden http://www.jimmckenney.com/

BLOG! http://mcwort.blogspot.com/

Webmaster Potomac Valley Chapter, NARGS

Editor PVC Bulletin http://www.pvcnargs.org/

Webmaster Potomac Lily Society http://www.potomaclilysociety.org/

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