The agave, planted around 2007 and native to the mountainous regions of north‑eastern Mexico, is now growing at roughly 10 cm a day and will produce a massive inflorescence of yellow and pink flowers before dying, a typical pattern for monocarpic agave species.
Botanical horticulturist Anna Lim called the event “an amazing botanical event” that may only be witnessed once every few decades, and urged the public to visit while the spectacular display lasts.
Kew Gardens staff are preparing to cross‑pollinate the plant, reaching out to the wider agave community to locate a suitable pollen donor, and have indicated plans to cultivate more agave montana specimens in the future.
Thomas Freeth, head of collection management at Kew, said the bloom is likely linked to this summer’s record‑breaking extreme heat, describing it as “a tell‑tale sign of our rapidly changing climate” and stressing the need to adapt garden landscapes to such conditions.
Only two other agave montana plants are thought to have ever bloomed in the UK, the most recent in Norfolk in 2023, which was also attributed to an unusually hot summer.
The plant will pause its rapid growth over winter as it goes dormant, then complete its single reproductive cycle next spring before dying, marking the end of its 20‑year life span.