On Gardening: Art & Sol mangave coming this spring

Norman Winter, Tribune News Service on Dec 19, 2024

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Six-months ago I wrote a column introducing you to the Art & Sol collection of mangaves, which was having a soft release with a full debut occurring in 2025. If you are not familiar with mangave, it is a cross between the agave and a plant called the manfreda, both native to the Southwest.

The taxonomic hierarchy has recently determined that the manfreda is also an agave. But we will call this new plant a mangave until further notice. I would like to address some misconceptions you may have.

Many of you may think that an agave-like plant structure can’t work in your design. I suppose that is fair and before I joined the Mad About Mangave crowd I had similar thoughts. I even wondered what I could do with them. But then I was offered the opportunity to grow a few mangave varieties.

That same year I was also invited to try two varieties of eucomis or pineapple lily called Crowning Glory Purple Reign and Crowning Glory Princess Bride. These have much the same architectural features and their foliage structure, though somewhat taller than the mangaves, seemed to make a perfect pairing.

I also combined the Lavender Lady and Thunderbird mangaves and the pineapple lilies with a new Stoke’s aster called Totally Stoked Riptide. As l was looking at the planting on Dec. 1, the Stoke’s aster clumps, even without blooms, seemed perfect with the mangave. The Crowning Glory Purple Reign and Princess Bride Pineapple Lilies are both recommended for zones 6-9, while the hardiness range for the Totally Stoked, Stoke’s asters is slightly larger at zones 5-9.

The mangaves represent the biggest caveat to the combinations as Lavender Lady is recommended from zones 8-10 and Thunderbird 9-11. My area of Georgia was just recently re-classified as zone 8b. Science says, Lavender Ladies live and Thunderbirds freeze. I have always considered myself a zone stretcher though, so we’ll see how it goes.

Seriously, don't fret the agave-type foliage in the garden. Son James and Eden Estate Management landscape team didn’t even blink as they planted Thunderbird mangave in bed with angelonia and zinnias. In another bed they used Silver Fox, which will become part of the collection, with zinnias and Truffula Pink gomphrena.

No matter what you are growing, the incorporation of some mangave will add some pizzaz and architectural structure. There are six varieties in the original Art & Sol Collection: Lavender Lady, Thunderbird, Bad Hair Day, Catch a Wave, Night Owl and Tooth Fairy.

As I mentioned, Lavender Lady is recommended for zones 8a-10b, but Bad Hair Day is the toughie as it is recommended for zones 7b-11b. All the others in the collection are recommended for zones 9a-11b.

There are four more being added in a professional or soft release in 2025 bringing the collection to 10. The four being added are Purple People Eater, Silver Fox, Aztec King all recommended for zones 9a-11b, and Moonglow. Moonglow will be hardy in zones 8a-10b.

I got my first mangaves in the spring of 2022. I got a Night Owl, which is part of the Art & Sol collection, and one called Dreadlocks. By the end of the 2022 growing season, I could tell both were going to bloom. Since they were in containers, there was no problem moving to the garage for winter protection.

The bloom stalks were mighty for such small plants. The Night Owl stalk reached 6 feet plus and the Dreadlocks around 8 feet. By midsummer 2023 my mangave family was growing. The Dreadlocks mangave was sending up pups or off sets that were quickly sizing up. I figured myself to be a mangave mad scientist. I planted some in containers and some in the ground. I would see how their hardiness zone stacked up in west Georgia.

The Night Owl was different as it formed bulbils all along the flower stalk. A bulbil by definition is a small young plant that is reproduced from axillary buds along the flower stem. Daylilies are known to do this occasionally. Even while on the mother plant, the bulbils were forming adventitious roots. This was a no-brainer for transplanting to small pots and trays.

By midsummer 2024 the mangave mad scientist was planting a Night Owl here, there and everywhere just to see how they would perform in different areas of the landscape. In other words, it was fun in the neighborhood. When the Art & Sol collection of mangaves debut this spring, tell your garden center now you are expecting the opportunity to buy them.

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(Norman Winter, horticulturist, garden speaker and author of “Tough-as-Nails Flowers for the South” and “Captivating Combinations: Color and Style in the Garden.” Follow him on Facebook @NormanWinterTheGardenGuy.)

(NOTE TO EDITORS: Norman Winter receives complimentary plants to review from the companies he covers.)