Blooming Century Plant

March 11, 2010

bloom

I’ve got a century plant blooming in my yard! At least I think it is some variety of a century plant. Plant identification is not my best topic. I’m usually better at killing plants than growing them.

Century plants are one of my favorite. They’re these sort of low, spiky plants that stay green year round. In my yard, the lizards tend to hide in the shade of the arms, and scurry away if you walk close by.

They throw off pups – recreating themselves in miniature around the base of the plant. Leave the pups to grow, or transplant them because you’ll need them when the original plant blooms.

It doesn’t take a century to bloom – more like 7-15 years – but when they do, it sends up this huge spike from the center, growing at an incredible rate. They can easily reach 25, even 40 feet tall. This spike in my yard shot up in the past 2 weeks. Eventually, it grows and blooms and is gorgeous.

And then the bloom dies, taking the original plant with it, leaving a handful of pups behind to repeat the cycle.

Posted by Kelley Koehler | Filed Under Tucson in Photos | Leave a Comment

Scenes from Tucson over the Weekend

October 5, 2009

Things that caught my eye over the weekend in the fair city of Tucson. The heat seems to have broken and the evenings are so beautiful. A lovely few days of cooler weather, exploring the city with clients and friends.

Coming down out of the Tucson Mountains, back towards downtown, there are moments when the curve of the road straightens out just enough to give you a look at the whole city. Sort of makes you want to come back at night and admire the lights.

These little guys found a meal out of a tipped over trash can. Okay, so the eating trash – not so cute. But watching these javalina with the tiny little one scooting about made me stop and smile.