Rare event now underway at the Dallas Arboretum

  • 2015-06-30
The long waited blooming of the Dallas Arboretum’s Agave victoriae-reginae plant is now underway and visitors can enjoy this rare spectacle over a two-to-four-week period.

The Arboretum’s 15 foot tall Agave is about 20 years old, and began to open up around June 10. Agave plants bloom only once in their lifetime; they live between 10-50 years. For those whose summer plans included a trip to the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens, now or in the near future is the best time to go. Once the Agave plant is finished blooming, it will produce seeds and then die.

The Agave favors light shade to full sun, needs very little water, and prefers well drained soil. It is native to Chihuahua, Mexico’s Sierra Madre mountain range, and is endangered due to over-harvesting in its native as well as current habitats. The plant has dark green, rigid leaves and is a single, tall spike with multiple buds along its length. Although colors vary, it appears that this particular plant will have off-white blossoms.

The Agave plant is in the Rory Meyers Children’s Adventure Garden, one of the many gardens families can visit and, thanks to the expertise of a postcard printing service, take home and enjoy at leisure. Admission is free for members; an additional $3 per person above general admission of non-members is charged to enter the Children’s Adventure Garden.