Here is a very amazed lady called Mrs Hermione Morrison looking at an enormous flowering Agave which towers 25ft over her home in Helston, Cornwall. Mrs Morrison, 70, planted this in her garden in 1982 after bringing it back as a tiny seedling from a holiday in Gibraltar.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1043993/Pictured-The-rare-plant-towers-owners-house-Britains-barmy-weather-causes-grow-25ft-weeks.htmlAgave,

Large Agave plants like this are normally only found in Mexican deserts or the Mediterranean and normally take up to 70 years before such a spectacular eruption occurs . It seems that our increasingly milder winters have not only allowed the seed to germinate in the ground but have also protected it from frosts.

The Royal Horticultural Society said the plant will have reacted to a series of mild winters:”These plants build up their resources over the years and when strong enough shoot up a great big stem. This uses up all its energy and it dies.The run of mild winters seems to have suited agaves which is consistent with what we’d expect from climate change. Normally they would be happier in hotter climates such as Spain or Portugal but mild winters here are protecting them and allowing them to flourish.’

Agaves only flower once before the original plant dies. During flowering a tall stem or ‘mast’ grows from the centre of the leaf rosette and bears a large number of short tubular flowers. Agaves are used to make tequila in their native Mexico. The flowers, leaves, the stalks and the sap - which is known as ‘honey water’ - are all edible.

Mrs Morrison may think about what she brings back from any future overseas visits. Perhaps she should contact a wonderful seed specialist I have discovered in Liskeard, also in Cornwall, that specialises in providing seeds of palm trees, cycads, bananas and other exotic plants - http://www.trebrown.com/

As well as a wide choice of excellent seeds, Trebrown have a wealth of information about growing these plants that I will be talking about in future blogs.

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