Beschorneria 'Ding Dong'

From our variable seed batches of Beschorneria decosteriana x septentrionalis, we made this selection in 2002 for its truly huge proportions. Beschorneria 'Ding Dong' forms a massive, thick, green, sandpaper-like rosette to 3' wide. On mature clumps, the flowering spike emerges in spring like a giant phallic asparagus shoot. As the shoot tops 7' tall, it begins to turn bright red and branch outward. On each branch, the fascinating bell-shaped flowers of red and green begin to open over the next few weeks. I don't know much about things from Venus, but this plant must be from Mars.