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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 6, 2006)
|USt,OUt FT] igout eatingout eatmoout JANUARY 6, 2006 out eatingout L < Moving Blues (And Grays and Greens) castagna Growing Agave in the rain Portland s Eastside Dining & Spirits emember when I wrote my first column a R few months ago and I was busy tearing out Í plants, yawning at things that I didn’t like Featuring music and videos on Hat screen plasma monitors Video Lottery * we now have WiFi * Extended menu including late night hours Thurs. Fri. Sat. til 1:30am 503-230-7980 2913 SE Stark anymore? Well, now I’m caught in the mid dle of moving to a new house, wondering which plants I love enough to bring with me. I have to sav that I’m feeling pretty damn proud of myself and my self-restraint. I have to thank my bosses at Viva Plants for being dinner castagna Wednesday...Saturday caie castagna 7 nights a week 503.231.7373 1752 se hawthorne. portland great coaches at the pick-and-chose, leave-behind or dig-and-bring game. In one of the first conversations I had with them, Paul asked me what I was going to BY DAN YOUNG bring with me. I told him that I wasn’t totally sure but that I would definitely bring my Agaves with me. To that one part pumice and one part sand. During the summer Paid said, “Well, of course, that would be like not I usually water them once a week and feed them with an moving your furniture.” organic liquid fertilizer once a month. 1 don’t water Fortunately I own one of those light mid-century Danish couches, but on last count I have 30 or more Agaves. them and move the pots to a dry place with plenty of sun from October until mid-March. Pots aren’t the only way you can grow Agaves in I’ve tried all kinds. Their blue-to-gray-to-green Portland. Many of them can be grown in the ground rosettes are unbeatable for adding form and structure here, provided they get full, all-day, hot, blasting sun and their roots stay as dry' as possible in our wet winters. I was talking with Sean Hogan of Cistus Nursery recently and asked him what he thought the three best Agaves were to grow in Portland. I could tell it was a bit hard for him to narrow it down to just three. The first he suggests is Agave parryi from Arizona, New Mexico and high eleva tions of northern Mexico. Agave parryi forms tight rosettes of bluish gray and Agave parryi, native to Arizona, New Mexico and high elevations of northern Mexico, will establish colonies in well-drained Oregon soil. grows to about 1 1/2 to 2 feet tall eventually. Agave parryi sends out runners to make to your garden. I soon started collecting them for their good-sized colonies; from that one plant you will have differences in spine color, the hairs or filaments on their many in a few short years. It can easily handle temper leaves or variegation. I’ve planted them in pots, in the atures down to zero degrees Fahrenheit or lower. garden, in heavy soil and in perfectly prepared sandy There is certainly no worry of this pokey cutie freezing gravel. I’ve kept them in the house, in my greenhouse out here. and under the eaves of my house. I’ve had them pretty The second on the list is Agave mckelvevana, which much everywhere but my bathtub and my bed. I’ve had I bought out at Cistus a few years back. I planted it some good luck and unfortunately some bad luck, too. close to my house under the eaves, where it stays real I have learned that the easiest way to grow Agaves ly dry and is doing fantastic. A mckelvevana is a small across the board is in containers. The entire genus er Agave, only growing about a foot tall. It is also hardy needs great dr ainage, so make sure a hole is in the bot to zero degrees if dry. tom of the container. The soil you use should be a cac The last but not the least Sean suggests is Agave tus potting mix or a DIY recipe of one part potting soil. havardiana from western Texas, New Mexico and trattoria | enoteca justoutpersonals.com northern Mexico. This is another that I have grown. 1 have to admit that on my first two tries I killed this one, but now I have one growing well in a container that I leave outside year-round. Agave havardiana gets 2 feet tall and just about 3 feet wide. Again, this species can handle temperatures down to zero, if not colder. I think bringing the desert to the rainy Pacific Cafe & Deli DINE IN TAKE OUT Northwest is really fun and not as hard as many peo ple think. It might take a little more thought and preparation in the beginning, but all in all, growing Agaves is damn easy. ® Agave havardiana grows 2 feet tall and about 3 feet wide and is hardy to zero degrees Fahrenheit. 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