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| Category: Succulent |
| Family: Nolinoidae (Asparagaceae) |
| Origin: Mexico (North America) |
| Evergreen: Yes |
| Flower Color: Pale Yellow |
| Bloomtime: Infrequent |
| Height: 10-16 feet |
| Width: 6-12 feet |
| Exposure: Full Sun |
| Deer Tolerant: Yes |
| Irrigation (H2O Info): Low Water Needs |
| Winter Hardiness: 20-25° F |
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Beaucarnea 'John Bleck' (John Bleck's Pony Tail) A slow growing small succulent tree to 8 to 15 feet with a large swollen base that has a tortoise shell patern and only a few narrow branches holding at their tips rosettes of 2 to 3 foot long narrow pale green leavees and topped with a 2 to 3 foot tall brancning inflorescence holding pale yellow flowers in summer. Plant in full sun to light shade in a well drained-soil and water deeply and infrequently. Has proven hardy to short duration freezes down into the low 20s°F. We originall y received this plant as the Guerrero Pony Tail, Beaucarnea hiriartiae, a fairly recently described endemic to a small area around Cañon del Zopilote in Guerrero, Mexico where it grows on steep hot rocky hillsides between 800–2,300 ft within the lowland dry tropical forests and is mostly closely related to Beaucarnea purpusii. It is clear upon examination that this was not the correct identification and we now think think plant likely Beaucarnea guadamalense or a closely related species or a hybrid. The name of the genus honors Jean-Baptiste Beaucarne, a 19th century Belgian plant collector and horticulturist who first collected a flowering specimen of Beaucarnea recurvata. Theis genus was long put in the extensive Agave family, the Agavaceae, then moved with Sansevieria, Dracaena, Dasylirion, and Nolina into the Ruscus family, the Ruscaceae. Current treatment places them all in the subfamily Nolinoideae within the very large Asparagus family, the Asparagaceae. The genus was also previously combined with Nolina but the current treatment has elevated Beaucarnea back to the genus level and included within it the genus Calibanus. The genus Beaucarnea is now a listed genus protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and they cannot be shipped across international borders without special permits. Beaucarnea hiriartiae was described in 1992 by Luis Gerardo Hernández Sandoval with the specific epithet honoring Patricia Hiriart Valencia (1947-1991), a Mexican botanist and professor who studied of the flora of the dry regions of central Mexico. Our plants grown from seed from a single female plant in the garden of master plantsman John Bleck. It is unclear whether this plant had some hermaphroditic flowers or if crossed with some other nearby species of Beaucarnea.
The information about Beaucarnea 'John Bleck' displayed on this page is based on research conducted in our nursery library and from online sources we consider reliable. We will also relate those observations made of this plant as it grows in our nursery gardens and in other gardens that we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has additional information, particularly when they share cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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