Mangave 'Mission to Mars' PP29393 (Mission to Mars Mangave) - A very nice colorful and sculptural fast growing succulent plant that forms a rosette to 2 feet tall by 3 to 4 feet wide with gracefully recurved 2 foot long by 3-inch-wide leaves that are thick and rubbery. These leaves are a gray-green color and so heavily spotted with red dots that they mostly appear a reddish gray color, much as one could image to be the color of the surface of the "red planet", Mars. The margins on the centrally channeled and upwardly recurved leaves are edged with cinnamon-colored teeth.
Plant in full to part sun, with the red coloration enhanced by the brightest light, in a well-drained soil and give occasional to regular irrigation. Hardiness on this variety is not yet known but it is speculated that it might be hardy to below 20°F and useful in USDA Zones 8 and above. his should prove to be a very nice large container or garden plant that adds a unique color to the Mangave palette.
Mangave 'Mission to Mars' was a 2017 introduction in the Walters Gardens MAD ABOUT MANGAVEŽ Collection and is a complex hybrid created by Hans Hansen at Walters Gardens in Zeeland Michigan. The patent application notes that the seed parent was a Plant Delights Nursery Mangave designated as 'PDN#9' with the pollen parent being our native California agave Agave shawii. Plant Delights Nursery's plant reportedly used Agave x pseudoferox (a hybrid thought to involve Agave americana, A. asperrima and A. gentryi) as well as a couple of Manfreda cultivars for the one parent. We first received this plant for trial in January 2018 and it received US Plant Patent PP29,393 in June 2018. The picture on this page courtesy of Walters Gardens.
This information about Mangave 'Mission to Mars' PP29393 displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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