Greg Starr’s agave presentation at the Sacramento Cactus & Succulent Society on 6/23/14

On Monday, agave expert extraordinaire Greg Starr gave a presentation entitled “Agaves as Living Sculptures” at the Sacramento Cactus and Succulent Society (SCSS). Greg had traveled all the way from Tucson, AZ especially for this talk, and I was thrilled to see so many people show up—not just club members, but new faces as well. There’s no better validation for a speaker than a large turnout, and we certainly had that.

140623_SCSS_GregStarr_010

Before the start of Greg’s presentation there was ample time to admire—and buy!—the plants he had brought.

As the SCSS Program Chair I was busy with other things and didn’t get a chance to take photos of the plant table right away. By the time I got my camera out, many plants had already been snapped up.

140623_SCSS_GregStarr_001

It goes without saying that Greg brought a good selection of agaves, including some rarities like the much sought-after and stunning beautiful Agave victoria-reginae ‘Snow Queen’ (much like this one, but in a smaller size) and an Agave petrophila, which I managed to appropriate. But he also brought a variety of cactus, including Astrophytum, Ferocactus and Echinocereus.

140623_SCSS_GregStarr_003

In addition, Greg had copies of his Timber Press book Agaves: Living Sculptures for Landscapes and Containers on hand. If you don’t have a copy yet, run—don’t walk!—and get one. In my opinion, it is the best book on agaves out there for general-interest gardeners and plant lovers. Click here to take a look inside the book.

140623_SCSS_GregStarr_005

I don’t know what Greg was demonstrating to SCSS member Oksun Avery in the photo above, but it must have involved a very large agave!

After some other matters and the monthly raffle—with plants provided by Greg—it finally was time for Greg’s presentation. I think he was as eager to get started as the audience was!

140623_SCSS_GregStarr_009

Greg’s talk focused on a dozen select species (Agave bovicornuta, gentryi, montana, multifilifera, ovatifolia, parryi, schidigera, striata, stricta, victoria-reginae and zebra) to illustrate the range of sizes, shapes and textures that exist in the agave kingdom. In breathtaking photos he took us to Mexico—the epicenter of all things agave—and described some of his adventures photographing agaves in habitat. I don’t know how many plant expeditions Greg has been on in Mexico, but it must have been dozens (Tucson’s vicinity to Mexico certainly helps cut down on travel time). In recent years he has been studying the agaves of Baja California—most of which are not in cultivation in the U.S.—and he is in the early stages of writing a book on the subject.

Some of the photos we saw in Greg’s presentation are also in his Timber Press book, but others were brand-new, taken on a May 2014 trip to Central Mexico. It’s one thing seeing a beautiful agave in somebody’s yard or in a botanical garden, but it’s an entirely different experience seeing it in its native environment. I would love to go on a plant expedition to Mexico someday.

Knowing that most people don’t have an in-depth knowledge of Mexican geography, Greg thoughtfully showed a map for each agave species he talked about, with its distribution circled in red. This really helped me understand where each species comes from, which provides some clues to its ability to thrive in our area. While Greg’s talk didn’t specifically focus on the cultivation of agaves, he did provide information on cold hardiness, sun/shade preference, etc. More detailed cultivation information can be found in his book.

When Greg got to Agave zebra (he presented the species in alphabetical order) I knew that he was almost done, but I could easily have listened to him talk for another hour. In addition to being a veritable fount of knowledge, he also has a wicked sense of humor, and he had the audience in stitches more than once.

I can’t recall the last time I enjoyed a plant-oriented presentation more. I hope we will have a chance to welcome Greg back to Sacramento soon for another exciting talk on agaves. By then he probably will have squeezed in a few more trips to Mexico!

Side note: Greg has also written what I think is one of the best general-interest books on plants suitable for hot climates like the Southwest and California’s Central Valley. Titled Cool Plants for Hot Gardens (Rio Nuevo, 2009), it is sadly out print but your local library might be able to get a copy through interlibrary loan.

Comments

  1. Ok so now I am mad all over again that I missed it! Someone should be video taping these talks! Grrrr!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That would be nice, but it's a copyright issue.

      I was thinking of saying that the talk sucked to make you feel better, but that wouldn't have been fair to Greg :-).

      Delete
  2. Great talk and plant shopping too, cool!

    ReplyDelete
  3. So lucky to get to go to a talk by Greg. I agree about his agave book, it is a brilliant guide and referance for anyone interested in them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for seconding my recommendation. People, buy Greg's book if you're even just slightly interested in agaves!

      Delete
  4. Oh so lucky you Gerhard. Too bad it is so far away. I am ordering his book wile on vacation. Lol!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh I wish he could come to Portland and speak for one of the HPSO talks, of course the subject matter would have limited appeal here in Oregon. Funny at your mention of his book 'Cool Plants for Hot Gardens' I thought "hey, I didn't realize Greg Starr wrote that!" and went to look for my copy. No he didn't, because my book is actually 'Hot Plants for Cool Climates'...funny.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Loree, suggest that the HPSO invite him. I certainly didn't think he'd say yes when I asked him to to come to Sacramento :-).

      Funny about the two books: I have a hard time remembering the title of Greg's book because I keep getting it mixed up with the other one. The same two adjectives, just reversed. I don't even know why I have Hot Plants for Cool Climates because our climate is anything but cool...

      Delete
  6. p.s. glad you grabbed that Agave petrophila, and linked to plant lust! Just yesterday I was looking at mine and thinking about how much it's grown. I meant to go look up older photos but now I don't have to!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'd been wanting an Agave petrophila and I was very happy when I saw that Greg had brought one. I also got an Agave ocahui and an Agave zebra. Was tempted to get another ovatifolia (seed grown, so hence potentially very interesting) but I didn't know where to put it--I already have three others!

      Delete

Post a Comment