A ten-year-old plant has finally burst into flower for the first time after a decade of care by professional horticulturists—and the stalk was so tall greenhouse had to remove the Roof.
Staff at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens even needed to open the roof after the towering flower spike shot up to more than 18 feet (5.5 meters) in only a few months.
The agave sisalana, which is native to the deserts of Mexico, is now beginning its spectacular final act, known as the 'death bloom', the last stage of its life cycle.
Gardeners installed a 'bloom watch' chalkboard so visitors could anticipate the one and only flowering event will culminate in the plant's death.
The first buds have just opened in the stalk that now pokes through the 19th century greenhouse.
"It will only flower once in its lifetime which is why it's also called the 'death bloom'," said senior horticulturist Alberto Trinco.
"All of the energy goes into the flowering and to produce loads of seeds— and then the plant will die."
"But the legacy lives on with the new seeds which will be growing in our nursery."
The agave had been growing in this British Botanical Garden's glass house for over ten years—the amount of time it takes to get to maturity and flower.
It is native to Mexico so likes a hot, arid environment. Luckily, the summer across the UK has been a scorcher—given the fact that the succulent has breached the building.
"It is bitter sweet to see it blooming—because it is wonderful to see, but we also know we are going to lose this plant.
"It is such a spectacle for us to witness after growing this plant for a decade."
While the hefty bloom marks the end for this green giant, staff are already looking ahead to the next generation—gathering the seeds being cast off as the plant ends its life.
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