Lytham couple reveal secret of how to grow rare 16ft Mexican Agave plant

A green-fingered couple from Lytham have revealed the secret to grow a rare 16ft plant in their garden - after it finally bloomed 12 years after they bought it.

John Hall, 78 and his wife Maureen 74, have transformed their garden into a sub-tropical paradise, with palm trees and banana plants - after discovering there was sand below the soil.

When the couple, who ran a business manufacturing school uniforms before retiring, purchased a Mexican montana agave plant 12 years ago, never in their wildest dreams did they imagine it would bloom.

The plant is native to the mountains in Mexico and can take up to 25 years to flower.

Last July, the agave plant (some varieties of which are used in tequila production) began producing a stem, that grew eight inches a day.

In the winter, it grew dormant, before starting to grow again in March 2026, reaching 16 feet high, and producing a two-foot orange and yellow flower.

Despite being extremely proud of their achievement, the couple say the plant flowering is bittersweet, as Montana agave plants die as soon as they have flowered.

The couple believe the sand in their garden is "perfect" for creating their "semi-tropical garden".

John, who first spoke to Talk to the Press said: “We’ve got a semi-tropical garden, with palm trees, bananas and all sorts of weird and wonderful plants.

“When we bought the agaves, we thought there’s not a chance they would flower.

“We spoke to a local supplier, who said he’s never heard of one flowering this far up north.

“One of our agaves flowered seven years ago, but it didn’t have the wow factor like this one does, this one is incredible.

“It’s bittersweet though, because once they flower they die, which is sad to see when you’ve kept them so long.

“The neighbours keep looking over the fence, everyone is so invested in it.”

Prior to moving to Lytham, 14 years ago, John and Maureen lived in the Pennines, and as the soil in their garden was wet and damp, they had a Japanese garden, featuring Koi carp ponds.

Then, when they moved to Lytham, John dug 12 inches down into the soil and noticed it was pure sand.

“I thought, ‘what's good to grow in sand?’ When you think of the desert, you think of Spain, Portugal, palm trees and the like," John said.

“So that's the idea I went for, and it’s worked perfectly.”

The couple set about creating a semi-tropical garden, featuring palm trees and banana plants, and due to the micro-climate in their area, two years ago were able to produce bananas.

“They were only small and they weren’t edible, but nevertheless, this a first for this far up north”, John said.

John and Maureen decided to spruce up their garden by purchasing two agave plants native to Mexico, 12 years ago, from a specialist plant nursery in Peterborough, which were around 10 years old, and four feet tall.

Mexican agave plants can take up to 25 years to flower and usually thrive in a much hotter climate, so the couple never expected to see the plants bloom.

A few years later, they bought some more agaves, which grew steadily at first, before in May 2019, one of them began to grow suddenly, soaring to 15 feet, before producing stunning yellow flowers.

“It was a great achievement to see, especially in the early years of me growing these plants”, John said.

Sadly, as agaves are monocarpic, the plant died after it flowered, but now seven years later, one of their original agave plants has flowered.

In July 2025, John noticed that one of the plants was beginning to grow a huge stem.

He said: “It was growing eight inches a day, and just kept going up and up and up."

In September, as temperatures dropped, the plant stopped growing, but in March 2026, it started again and has now reached 16 feet tall, and a stunning two foot yellow and orange flower.

“The last time one flowered, the local paper called it the Blackpool Tower," John said.

“I think we can call this one the Eiffel Tower.”