Walking around downtown one day, when I first moved to Savannah, I spotted this monstrously large prehistoric looking Aloe Vera plant. I was a bit curious so, I googled it…and then forgot all about it. Well a few days ago, as I was walking down Drayton St., she decided it was time for me to be reminded of her majesty. Sprouting out from the center of all her glory was a humongous stalk waving me down!
To get one thing straight, she’s not an Aloe Vera plant, she’s an Agave! Americana Agave, or more commonly known as the Century Plant. They live from 10 to 30 years growing and basking in the southern heat waiting and storing nutrients and waiting for the conditions to be perfect. Perfect to die. Or, if you’re a cup-half-full kind of person, she’s waiting for the perfect time to bloom! When the conditions are right and she has been pollinated she shoots up her long stalk of billowy yellow blooms and begins her descent, leaving the suckas behind. She also leaves behind her suckers, her successors, her mini-clones, her babies to continue on the cycle of life.
Visit the corner of 37th and Drayton in Savannah, GA over the next few days to watch the magic… die.