"Jack & the Beanstalk" ?

[ktbi]

Nice pictures Dale....Are they all over the place - in every yard? Do they give off a foul odor? We had something very similar in Japan, not nearly as tall, and it really stunk, but the birds and bugs loved them.....Ron

 

[JOETHECROW]

Dale,...are the leaves near the bottom part of that plant too?...Talk about an instant bird feeder! and if I may ask,...is that a tile roof on your home? Thanks for sharing these pics.

 

[SAbottles]

Ron, no. Even tho' I described it as an "invasion", they are pretty scattered. Ours is the only one in this area, but within 3 miles there are quite a number of skinny tall stalks visible. Not sure about the smell, will let you know when the pods open ! []

 

[SAbottles]

Joe, the big heavily serated leaves are down at the base, the branches with the pods are all higher up. And yes, that is a cement tile roof and just a few months ago I painted the whole d#mn thing myself [:'(] !! Used to do a lot of climbing, so I used ropes to protect myself, but it still got quite hairy at times ! Here's a shot as I was doing the front :

 

[SAbottles]

And another of the intrepid (read stupid!) painter :

 

[SAbottles]

In answer to a query from cyberdigger, yes, that tentacular thing is still there and still growing!! -

 

[SAbottles]

With the very strong South Easter we have had for two weeks, I swear the tip of that thing had a 7 foot sway! Here is a view from up in our garden, showing that it is rearing above the roof :

 

[SAbottles]

There are quite a number of others in the area and. like ours, the clusters of buds are still shut tight. Think the very cold wind might have something to do with it:

 

[SAbottles]

In the meanwhile something else is looming on the horizon :

 

[SAbottles]

This palm tree seems to think it is something out of "Lawerence of Arabia" and will have to be curtailed shortly !! :-