On Monday the 23rd, gardeners working in the Greenhouse noticed a stalk beginning to emerge from the tangle of fleshy leaves. By the following morning, it was pressing on the glass roof. David Bulkeley, Manager of the Greenhouse, removed the ceiling panes above the plant, and by 10 a.m. that same day the stalk was three feet above the roof. By the time the flower blooms, Bulkeley says, the stalk could be as high as 35 feet. The agave, which Bulkeley estimates to be 35-40 years old, was planted in half a barrel when it was donated to the Greenhouse by Mary Caccamo of Wappingers Falls, N.Y. in 1981.
Agaves are native to Mexico.
The agave stalk appears to be growing at an average rate of several inches a day.