Its taken about 25yrs to flower, we bought it when it was about 3ft tall ,now its about 6ft tall with a flower spear nearly 9ft tall & a diameter of 4ins at the spears base . Australian native plant know as a blackboy ,grass tree or Xanthorrhoea.

I once tried to grow some of these from seed. I had them in a pot for about 5 years and my (then!) husband threw them out, thinking it was grass -LOL. Congratulations, yours looks fantastic!

1 comment

by killiecrankie 18 Sep 2013

My husband & I have had some arguements about throwing out so called dead plants , one is now a very Lge cycad( I was right )

wow, very impressive !!

Awesome! Love it! suzanne

Totality cool

OH My Goodness! That is stunning. Does that long stem come off after it stops blooming?

WOW

What an amazing plant.

Wow, I've never seen a plant like that before. I am surprised nothing has knocked it down so it must be really strong?

A real conversation piece for sure - do you have people stopping by to photograph it or is it something that is seen often...really amazing what is out there in other parts of our great universe...

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by killiecrankie 17 Sep 2013

Its the largest the we have ever seen.We saw a smaller double headed blackboy with 2 spears but they were very small in comparsion to ours in a front garden last week.There could be many more in the national parks nearby.

Hi! I am leaving you a PM with how to measure that height & a picture of his "instructions" he gave me at church today! I hope you can do it...would love to know how tall it is!! I had to hunt & hunt for your post to tell you how to do it!! No shadow involved!!

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by gerryb 15 Sep 2013

Man that gave me the info works with the forest service.

Well, no wonder it took 25 years to gather up the strength to put up a flower stalk that big! Thanks so much for showing this, it's just amazing, must be even more so in person. I'll bet birds, bees, even bats and moths like it. I'd be interested to see if Gerry comes up with that way to measure it. I think it does have something to do with it's shadow, and I believe there's a legend about our George Washington figuring out the mathematics of how to measure it. Of course, over here, George Washington is responsible for a lot, hee hee hee, father of the country and all. It's just amazing to think how much energy it takes the plant to make this spike so high, and that it's strong enough to withstand wind, etc., all just for a "flower", then does it fall off and just rot? Or could you use them for fence posts? This is SO interesting, thanks! Hugs, Marji

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by killiecrankie 16 Sep 2013

Yes George is known for chopping down a cherry tree isn't he ? Our backyard slopes down hill slightly & the one behind is a bit lower before it goes up hill again.Also the house goes right across the block so our backyard has protection from a lot of the elements.As kids we used these spears as swords but they must have been small for us to break off to play with.I'll let you know what happens to it but it will have to come down under its own steam

Wow! Now THAT is a flower! Or a tree! I am amazed! There is a way to measure something from the ground, but I can not remember how! I'll ask my friend that works with the forest service & get back to you. Stand tall, flower, until you get measured! I THINK it has something to do with a shadow...but don't know why I think that!

I was trying to think of a funny joke about the height of the stamin! Wow! did not come out right! Thanks for sharing it, it is very cool!

Amazing, that flower is ENORMOUS. I sure hope it does not signal the plant's demise. Does it have a fragrance?

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by killiecrankie 13 Sep 2013

I didn't notice any prefume but all the rock orchids are blooming now & they have a strong perfume.Its too tall to reach even on a ladder.We tried to measure it I held the ladder while husband stood on the ladder holding up a metal tape measure but we didn't get a very accurate measurement because once we had the tape out to about 8ft or so & held it up the tape doubled over &came back down.

wow kinda reminds me of the century plants we have here in florida, it takes about 10 years to bloom but after the bloom is gone the plant dies, hope this isn't the case with this beauty.

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by killiecrankie 13 Sep 2013

no it won't die even bush fires cause no damage to them.The reason why they were called blackboys is that bushfires burn them leaving a black charred stump & the new leaves come out of the top & the flower is speared shaped, reminding people years ago of an Aborigine

Looks great. Would have loved one in my garden.

Fantastic plant. I see that the bees love it also.

this well worth the time and care beautiful.Maria

Wow...that's all I can say...Wow!

Wow! Worth all of the time and care you have lavished on it.

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by killiecrankie 14 Sep 2013

Its a native plant no care needed .Maybe the record breaking temperatures in January made it think it had been in a fire ,so it flowered.

high range, think of all the energie it needs, you have feed the plant well 8-), and yes I would like to know too if it will go into bloom again

Wow, that is impressive!! I hope it lasts for weeks so you can enjoy this for some time. Now that it flowered once will it do so every year or is it a one-off thing.
PS - I removed your double.

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by killiecrankie 13 Sep 2013

Thank you removing the double post.
They usually flower every year but we think it wasn't getting enough sun but now all the trees behind us have been chopped down & the town houses have been built in their place the whole yard gets more sun now.