Q. My Fucraea plant has
dropped hundreds of little bombs during the last rains –what can I do with
them? It seems a shame to waste them
The bombs you mention are the way the Fucraea reproduces –in time
each of them can form a mature Fucreae –let’s look at the possibilities and
which one is most compatible with the environment:
1. Plant them around your property
a. Only works if you have
room for the 40+ foot plant –of course since the Fucraea that is
producing the plantlets is going to die sometime in the near future you
have at least one place to plant one of them.
b. You’ll be looking at the
same problem 40-60 years from now.
2. Pot them and…
a.
Sell them as house
plants
i. Fucraea are full sun plants and only those in sunny windows will survive
a.
They get quite large and
may quickly outgrow the spots they are placed in
b.
They require much better
air circulation than most indoor areas provide
b.
Sell them as outdoor
landscape plants
i. Better option than 2a but you would require a
retail nursery license in order to do so.
3. Plant them surreptitiously on public and private
land
a.
Most Fucraea do
not scale well to what is considered ‘classic’ guerilla gardening
b.
Trespassing is illegal
4. Compost them and:
a.
Mulch them around your
replacement Fucraea
i. Returns Fucraea specific nutrients to the
soil
ii. Creates a look that is similar to what surrounds
Fucreae in the wild.
b.
Mulch other plants with
them
i. Fucreae seedlings are quite fibrous, and their persistence may look
‘trashy’
ii. There is a small chance that they might exhibit
a degree of ‘alellopathy’, a property whereby the decaying foliage of some
plants and trees is toxic to plants and germinating seeds.
5. Toss them in the trash
a. Noooooooo...
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