What is a Death Bloom?

After decades of growth, an Agave plant flowers once—sending up a towering stalk before completing its life cycle. 

A thunderstorm swept through West Lafayette on August 11, 2026, and winds exceeding 40 mph knocked down the giant flower stalk of Purdue’s Agave americana, ending the death bloom prematurely, though the celebration of its legacy continues on in Purdue’s Botany and Plant Pathology teaching greenhouses.

 

 

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learn more: the death bloom of a century plant

On August 11, 2026, a thunderstorm with powerful winds toppled the towering flower stalk of Purdue's Agave americana, bringing its extraordinary death bloom to an earlier close than anticipated. Although the bloom's final chapter was cut short, the celebration of this iconic plant, affectionately known as Alice, continues. For the latest updates, follow Purdue Botany & Plant Pathology on Facebook.

An arid, desert-dwelling succulent in West Lafayette, Indiana. A plant with deep cultural and historical significance across Mexico and the American Southwest. And a bloom that comes only once in a lifetime.

Mary Alice Webb, professor emerita of botany and plant pathology, researched how plants take up calcium and other minerals. After a trip to Mexico in the 1990s, she returned with a pot of small agaves to share with her students. For years, the plant was believed to be Agave tequiliana, but recent study of its leaves, spines, and extraordinary bloom stalk has confirmed it as Agave americana, the century plant. Now more than 45 feet tall, this remarkable agave is demonstrating why it has captivated botanists and gardeners for generations.

Over the past three decades, this agave plant has overtaken its space in Purdue University’s Lilly Life Sciences Range. The plant only blooms once in its lifetime — a phenomenon followed by seeds and new pups of the mother plant as it slowly wilts away. And that “death bloom” began in late April 2026.

The flowering spike can get as tall as a telephone pole and grows 6-8 inches every day. As a relative to asparagus, the structure looks strikingly similar to the vegetable. While its difficult to tell how long the bloom will last, you have the opportunity to watch it online live directly from the greenhouse.

You can also visit us on campus for a greenhouse tour or open house, where the glass panels above have been removed to let the flower reach its full height. Keep an eye out for more pictures, events and a timelapse or two!

Dozens of professors and hundreds of students have watched this plant grow in the Lilly Life Sciences Range, taken selfies in front of its great blue leaves and inevitably pricked themselves on the tips. Seeing it bloom now is a powerful reminder of time, patience and learning across generations.
View of base of plant looking up at bloom through glass roof View of base of plant looking up at bloom through glass roof
Plant standing tall above greenhouse roof Alice the agave standing tall above the greenhouse roof on a sunny day
Close up of flower blooms and bees Close up of flowers and the pollinators that are visiting

Agave Timelapse - April 30 to May 11, 2026

Support the Greenhouse Teaching Collection!

Interested in keeping the greenhouse plant collections alive for future students to learn from? You could be a part of this deeply-rooted history by supporting the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology!

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