Hundreds of people line up outside of Horticultural Hall in Halifax's Public Gardens for the giveaway of seeds from the city's famed agave plant on Thursday, January 31, 2019.Darren Calabrese/The Globe and Mail
The lunch hour lineup for a free handout stretched almost a city block, and people passed the time in the cold by talking about making their own tequila.
Only a few were joking.
Seeds of an American agave plant – unfortunately not the kind used in the alcoholic beverage – were the focus of a unique public giveaway in downtown Halifax on Thursday. The first 158 of about 200 people who lined up at the city’s Public Gardens were rewarded with one tiny zip-lock bag containing an even tinier agave seed to call their own. Dispersal of the seeds was the last gasp of fame for the agave plant that captivated Halifax and a slew of visitors to the gardens last spring and summer when it bloomed unexpectedly.
Agave plants live for decades, but flower only once before spreading their seeds and dying. Halifax’s agave was four decades old, and had spent two of those decades in the city when it surprised its horticulturalist keepers by producing a flower stalk that shot up 15 centimetres a day last April. None of the gardens' agaves had ever bloomed before. The plant grew so tall it became entangled in the greenhouse rafters and had to be moved outside under a special blanket and heat lights to buffer it against the harsh Maritime weather.
Nicknamed “Agave Maria,” the plant became a social-media sensation; curiosity about its fate captivated the plant’s devotees, who continued to visit even after the agave had shrivelled.
The agave plant during its bloom, in April, 2018.Andrew Vaughan/The Canadian Press
“It was like awaiting the birth of a human baby, except in this case … the moment of birth – seeds and flowers – would mean the death of the mother plant,” said Henri-Dominique Paratte, chair of the board that governs the incorporated society Friends of the Public Gardens. “It had all the ingredients of a Greek tragedy,” he said, adding: “In the middle of condo buildings, glass and metal, there was nature at its best.”
Jessica Lutz, a medical laboratory assistant, said she visited the plant at least a dozen times before it died. In line for a seed on Thursday, she admitted to feeling nervous about planting it and was considering making it into a necklace.
“I haven’t grown something from a seed in a long time. I’m really afraid I’m going to kill it and then I won’t have it anymore,” she said. “But I have six plants at home right now. I haven’t killed any of them! I’ll have to mull this over.”
Careful handling of the seeds will be key. Agave Maria showed a temperamental side after its growth slowed as unexpectedly as it took off last spring, fuelling worries that the cold might have killed the plant before it could flower. By August, though, its asparagus-like stalk bore yellow blossoms, marking the first time an agave has ever flowered in the region. Requests for seeds began pouring into the city via telephone and e-mail from near and far.
Lisa MacLeod so enjoyed watching the plant with her mother that she arrived two hours early to ensure she would get a seed on Thursday. First in line, Ms. MacLeod planned to give the seed, which is about one-third the size of a pinkie fingernail and looks like a black, shrunken pumpkin seed, to her mother for a birthday gift.
Lisa MacLeod proudly shows off a seed from Halifax's famed agave plant.Darren Calabrese/The Globe and Mail
Doug Ross, fourth in line, planned to give his seed to his father as a retirement gift.
“It is the gift of potential,” he said, adding: “And it is the ultimate long-term project.”
With her hood drawn tightly to block out a biting wind, Bonnie Zinck, fifth in line, said she coveted a seed for its uniqueness.
“Where else are you going to get an agave seed in Halifax,” she said, before admitting one could likely be bought online and delivered. But a seed from away would not be quite the same, she mused.
“A seed from any other plant would be a stray,” she said. “This one is from here.
Halifax’s Celebrity Plant
The American agave (agave americana) is a type of perennial native to the southern United States and Mexico. Its average lifespan is 25 years. The plant flowers only one time near the end of its life.
Agave americana
Mature plants
produce flower
stalks that
can reach
more than
four metres
in height
Flower
clusters
Blue-green leaves
can grow to more
than two metres
Leaves form
rosette pattern
Native range
CANADA
CANADA
U.S.
MEX.
MEX.
JOHN SOPINSKI/THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE: gardenia.net; usda; university of connecticut; lucid central; shutterstock (reference photos)
Halifax’s Celebrity Plant
The American agave (agave americana) is a type of perennial native to the southern United States and Mexico. Its average lifespan is 25 years. The plant flowers only one time near the end of its life.
Agave americana
Flower
clusters
Mature plants
produce flower
stalks that
can reach
more than
four metres
in height
Blue-green leaves
can grow to more
than two metres
Leaves form
rosette pattern
Native range
CANADA
CANADA
U.S.
MEX.
MEX.
JOHN SOPINSKI/THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE: gardenia.net; usda; university of connecticut; lucid central; shutterstock (reference photos)
Halifax’s Celebrity Plant
The American agave (agave americana) is a type of perennial native to
the southern United States and Mexico. Its average lifespan is 25 years.
The plant flowers only one time near the end of its life.
Agave americana
Native range
CANADA
Mature plants
produce flower
stalks that
can reach
more than
four metres
in height
U.S.
MEX.
Flower
clusters
Blue-green leaves
can grow to more
than two metres
Prefers full sun in
sandy or rocky,
well-drained soils
Leaves form
rosette pattern
JOHN SOPINSKI/THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE: gardenia.net; usda; university
of connecticut; lucid central; shutterstock (reference photos)