Giant cactus has burst through roof and it won't stop growing

A giant cactus which just won’t stop growing has smashed the glass on a garden centre greenhouse. It happened at the Plant Lovers Nursery in Candlesby, Lincolnshire, and was witnessed by partners Mink and Tim Sumner-Wilson.

They could only look on as the Giant Agave which they bought from a French nursery in 1968 and is between 50 and 60 years old, broke through the roof of their greenhouse. And the native Mexican plant, nicknamed the Green Giant, isn’t intent on stopping there. Since smashing through the 12-foot ceiling on March 29, it’s been growing at an incredible two inches a day.



And it now needs a stepladder just to measure its full height of 14 feet and heading skywards. Mrs Sumner-Wilson, 70, said the plant’s actions were part of the final stages in a somewhat tragic life - one that will see it eventually flower for the first time before dying shortly after.

“They are known by some as the ‘Century Plant’ because they don’t flower – or only flower once in a century,” she said. “The flower stem is likely to exceed 25 feet, by which time it will have produced side branches that will produce numerous flowers. It will take most of the summer to fulfil its dream and then a further two years to die. This thing is going to be spectacular.”