Photo Doug Kohen

Before he retired, Warren DEMerrit, now 91 years old, received a small cactus plant as a gift and he planted it in the front garden of his Lafayette home. For 35 years, the Agave plant remained small and unobtrusive. This spring, the plant began to grow a tall stem -up to 3 inches a day. By last week the flower stem was over ten feet tall and was just beginning to bloom; Agave plants only flower once and then die.