What a surprise when a flower stalk suddenly appeared on the Manfreda undulata ‘Chocolate Chip’ that currently resides in the jungle of potted succulents that is my office window!

Manfreda is closely related to the agave (Family Agavaceae), a favourite genus that I have mentioned here and there on this website. Like agaves, manfredas grow in a rosette formation with leaves that emerge from a central point. They have fleshy, succulent leaves that are much softer and less intensely fibrous than their cousin. Succulentish. They also lack spines. If you have an affinity for growing agaves you will know why this trait is appreciated.

This particular variety, ‘Chocolate Chip’ has fantastic foliage. It is wavy and crinkled along the edges with a dark green base that is coloured by deep mahogany splotches. That said, I do not have photos of the plant to share with you today. I will come back to that another time. Today is all about the flowers.

Unlike agave, manfreda is polycarpic, meaning it can bloom repeatedly without dying. This is fortunate as the plant was a gift from my friend Barry Parker. It is a nice, healthy size and I would like to keep it, thank you very much. I have two other manfredas from him. One sits right next to this one in my office. Both are hardy to zone 7 and can not live outdoors year-round in my zone 5b(ish) climate. This winter started off quite mild so I kept them in my sunny, unheated porch. By January it had started to freeze for stretches of time, so I moved them up to my office. They go outside (staying in their pots) once all danger of frost has passed. The third plant (Manfreda virginica) is much less flamboyant, but is supposed to be hardy(ish) here. Technically, it is hardy to zone 6 but I often try to push the zones when it is close enough. In early 2014 I planted it alongside hardy cactus in the dry bed (sandy, well draining soil). It survived through last winter’s hardship so there is no reason to suppose that it shouldn’t survive this one.

I really enjoyed photographing these wispy, spidery blooms. They were such a joyful and unexpected gift in these last days of winter.