This rare, 35-foot plant only blooms once every 20 years & is growing near Delaware

Among Longwood Garden’s near 1,100 acres of gardens, woodlands and meadows and 10,000 species is a once-in-a-lifetime bloom that is as hard to miss as it is rare to witness.

After nearly two decades, the elusive Agave americana plant, also known as the century plant, is in full bloom at Longwood Gardens.

Once thought to flower only once every 100 years, the century plant typically blooms once every 10 to 25 years. This will be the third century plant housed at Longwood Gardens since 1997. Horticulturists on staff have carefully propagated the original plant to continue its lineage at the regional botanical garden.

The century plant is a perennial succulent that blooms only once in its lifespan before it dies. According to the National Park Service, these plants are usually found naturally in desert climates only. Its strong spine grows a stalk that can reach upward of 30 feet when blooming.

Longwood staff members first got wind that the century plant was ready to bloom in February of this year when the stalk in the center of the plant would grow at a rate of 5 to 6 inches per day. Since then, it has grown so tall and so rapidly that the gardens had to remove a glass panel from the roof of the Silver Garden in March to allow the plant to blossom.

Longwood’s century plant stands at approximately 36 feet, and has sprouted greenish-yellow flowers that resemble stalks of broccoli, according to Jourdan Cole, public relations manager at Longwood Gardens.

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The century plant has only about three months left in its lifespan before it is removed and replaced with its clone Agave americana that Longwood Gardens is now growing in its production greenhouse. The replacement plant will be around 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide at first, but give it another decade or two and it will be as tall as your house!

Longwood Gardens is open every day except Tuesdays. On Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays, the doors are open from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. On Thursdays through Saturdays, the gardens are open from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. Daily fares for adults run around $33.

Molly McVety covers community and environmental issues around Delaware. Contact her at mmcvety@delawareonline.com . Follow her on Twitter @mollymcvety .

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: This rare, 35-foot plant only blooms once every 20 years & is growing near Delaware