Flowering mangave and espaliered pomegranates

A local gardening friend told me her Mangave ‘Purple People Eater’ was flowering. I’d never seen one in bloom so I was eager to stop by. I was surprised by how yellow the flowers were—not creamy or pale yellow, but a deeply saturated warm yellow.

The flowers are very agave-like, which isn’t a surprise considering that ‘Purple People Eater’ is ¾ Agave and only ¼ Manfreda. It’s a cross between Mangave ‘Bloodspot’ (itself a hybrid between Agave macroacantha and Manfreda maculosa) and Agave pablocarrilloi, the species formerly known as Agave gypsophila.

It was hard to get a good photo of the entire plant because it was in mottled shade, but in addition to the main flower spike, there were about six shorter ones. Strangely enough, they don’t come from offsets as I would have expected, but have emerged from in between the rows of leaves.


The mangave was cool to see, but the main attraction was right next to it: a curved espalier with three ‘Wonderful’ pomegranate trees!


The pomegranates are my friend’s husband’s baby, and from the look of it, he has perfected the art of trimming them.


The curved espalier between the walkway to the front door and the paved patio is a sight to see!



Here’s the base of one of the trees:


‘Wonderful’ is said to be the sweetest and juiciest variety. The POM-brand pomegranate juice sold in its distinctive bottle representing two stacked pomegranates is made from the ‘Wonderful’ variety.


My friends are in the midst of a major renovation of their backyard. Cacti and other succulents will feature prominently. I’ll have a post about their new garden sometime next year when it’s all done.


© Gerhard Bock, 2022. All rights reserved. To receive all new posts by email, please subscribe here.

Comments

  1. Love that curved espallier --how often do you see that ? 'Purple People Eater' is my favorite Mangave here in my garden. It was completely pristeen until we had a 20 degree night last winter-I should have covered it but it had gone through high 20's with no problem so I decided it would be ok. Wrong ! It still looks goof though and has two offsets.

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    1. 20° is at the very bottom end of the range. Actually I'm surprised it did as well as it did.

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  2. A perfect espalier. Your friend's hubby obviously has the knack and the patience. Have only ever had a store bought pomegranate which are kind of eh. Wonder what one freshly plucked from the tree would be like? Hmm.

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    1. I have two fresh poms from C & A's espalier and look forward to cracking them open!

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  3. The mangave bloom is very cool. But that pomegranate espalier -- wow!

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  4. The Mangave's bloom color is an amazing sunny shade of yellow, but you are right, that espalier hedge steals the show. Excellent job trimming those trees. I love the color and shape of pomegranate blooms, and that huge fruit live up to name, ‘Wonderful’!
    chavli

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    1. Any pomegranate espalier would elict oohs and aahs, but the curved designed it BEYOND.

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  5. Not sure my PPE is still around down south -- what a spectacular bloom. But for horticultural skill and beauty, that espalier says it all! Great idea wonderfully executed. And poms are hardy to zone 8?!!

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    1. Poms are hardy to zone 8? I didn't know that. Heck, I don't know much about pomegranates, other than that I love eating them!

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  6. Wow, I'd have never expected flower spikes like than from 'Purple People Eater'. I've had 2 of them for a few years now but no signs of bloom. As agave account for 3/4ths of their parentage, I wonder if that increases the likelihood of the parent plant dying back or becoming misshapen? The espaliered pomegranate trees are impressive!

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  7. Brilliant yellow on the Mangave. The Pomegranate, though, is truly impressive. There are a few here and there in the neighborhood, a very ornamental small tree, but none look as good as your friend's. Shows what expert care can do--and that is undoubtedly expert care. One good Pomegranate Daddy there!

    Hardy to USDA zone 7, I just read.

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  8. I have 2 Mangave 'Purple People Eater' and I hope they bloom like that. I wonder if the plant is monocarpic with that Agave background. I love how you explain the history of the hybridizing of the plant. So interesting.

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    1. Thanks! I love doing research and sharing what I find out.

      I do think that each flowering rosette is monocarpic, but there should be enough non-flowering offsets to keep the clump going.

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    2. I hope that is true!

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  9. I can see a two trunks pomegranate ... and the other horizontal lines seem to be the poles to support the cordons but I wonder wether they are more trees or just the one with 2 trunks?

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