How to care for agave: "desert" microclimate, top dressing, transplanting

The genus agave belongs to a large family of asparagus. More than 300 species of plants are known that grow mainly in the desert areas of Mexico and Central America.

Botanical Description

Agave leaves are fleshy, green with a blue or grayish tint. The decorativeness of individual varieties is enhanced by yellowish or white stripes. The stem of the plant is almost invisible - it is underdeveloped, as in many succulent crops.

A basal rosette is formed from large leaves with a waxy coating. Sharp spines are located at the edges, the longest are concentrated at the tips. Agave in its natural environment is a very large plant, the rosette of leaves reaches five meters. Homemade varieties are more modest in size. Even dwarf agaves were bred, the maximum size of which does not exceed five centimeters.

Agave is a long-lived plant. In nature, life expectancy can reach 100 years. Blooms rarely even in vivo. Only adult plants bloom in the 15–20 year of life. A long peduncle appears from the center of the outlet. The inflorescence is formed from a large number of small flowers of a yellowish tint. After flowering, fruits are formed, the plant gradually begins to die, replaced by children. In an apartment, agave blooms extremely rarely.

Varieties

For the apartment, mainly miniature, slowly growing species are suitable.

• American. The most common type. It differs in fairly large sizes. Leaves are lanceolate, with a bluish tint. The presence of reddish-brown spikes is characteristic. It can bloom in the tenth year of life. Based on the natural look, a number of varieties with improved decorative qualities have been bred. Leaves are decorated with longitudinal white or yellow stripes.
• Funka. Forms compact sockets of a grayish tint. It differs in the original shape of the leaves - narrowed at the base and tip, expanded in the center. On the sides and on the tip of the leaves are small bright spikes.
• Nesting. It is a compact outlet. Leaves are opaque, expressive. A distinctive feature - instead of spikes along the edges of the leaves are long light fibers. Thorn only one - at the very tip of the sheet.
• Queen Victoria. A popular, beautiful variety. The outlet is neat, close to a spherical shape. The leaves are dark with distinct light stripes, triangular in shape, almost without thorns.
• Potato-like. Not widespread, but very decorative variety. The socket is compact - no more than 25 cm. It differs by shovel-like leaves with a bluish waxy coating. The leaf ends with a spike of a dark red hue. Along the edge are the same spines.
• Compressed. An original variety that forms thick, rounded rosettes from very narrow leaves.It is capable of branching, forms additional sockets with age, fills the space around itself.

Agave Care: Things to Consider

Growing agave in a pot at home is even for beginners. This is an unpretentious plant that requires minimal care. But to maintain a high decorative effect, it is still recommended to adhere to a number of rules.

• Lighting. There are no special lighting requirements. It tolerates sunlight, tolerates with slight shade. It can be grown on northern windows subject to additional illumination. The tendency to slow growth does not allow the plant to quickly stretch, so in winter they do without illumination.
• Temperature. In summer, it easily adapts to average temperatures. Favorable conditions for growth are 22–28 ° С. In warm weather, they take to the street. Some gardeners even plant on flower beds in the summer. If the flower spends the summer indoors, it is regularly ventilated. In winter, do not allow cooling below 10 ° C.
• Watering. It is recommended to moderate agave, even in the summer. In nature, the plant is adapted to a dry climate. With excess moisture, the roots quickly rot. Determine the need for watering according to the state of the earth - wait until it dries out at least half.
• Humidity. Natural conditions for agave are dry air, so spraying agave is not necessary. Occasionally, agave can be bathed in a warm shower to remove dust from leaves. After bathing, the plants are well dried, remove excess moisture from the axils of the leaves. Prolonged stagnation of water leads to rot.
• The soil. Optimum soil - loose sandy substrate with a minimum organic content. Ready-made primers for succulents are acceptable. You can mix coarse river sand and turf. It is advisable to add baking powder - perlite to the finished soil. Particular attention is paid to drainage - agave does not tolerate fluid stagnation in the root system. Brick dust, broken clay shards or expanded clay will be used as drainage.
• Top dressing. In the vegetative period, it is allowed to feed the agave once a month, not more often - it does not need a large amount of fertilizer. In winter, you do not need to agave. Feeding with a minimum amount of nitrogen is chosen. This trace element contributes to the development of rot.
• Transfer. Agave can be transplanted annually if the plant is young. Adult specimens only when absolutely necessary - with decay or strong sprawl of the roots. Agave transplantation is difficult - roots are injured, leaves are often damaged. When transplanting, the neck is not buried - it should protrude slightly above the soil level.

Technique for obtaining new plants

There are three ways of propagating agave - by children, parts of rhizomes and seeds. The seed method is often used to grow new varieties, since it is impossible to get seeds from your plant.

Kids

Features. Propagating agave with children is quite simple. Combine two procedures - transplantation and separation of children.

Sequence

1. The agave is removed from the pot, with a sharp knife or blade, the children are separated - the lateral processes.
2. The children are put on paper, cleaned in a cool, shaded, well-ventilated place for two days, so that the slices dry.
3. Small pots are filled with a mixture of turf with sand.Children are planted in a slightly damp substrate.
4. At the rooting stage, watering is very rare. Cover with banks, polyethylene, no need to spray! Watering is enhanced only after the appearance of roots and signs of growth.

Pieces of rhizomes

Features. The breeding procedure is combined with a transplant. Only healthy plants are suitable.

Sequence

1. Pieces of rhizome with at least one kidney are carefully cut.
2. All sections are treated with carbon powder.
3. Rhizome cuttings wilt a couple of hours.
4. For rooting, they are planted in boxes with slightly damp sand.
5. In individual pots transplanted after the appearance of stable signs of growth.

Seeds

Features. Some varieties can only be grown from seeds. For example, Queen Victoria’s agave. Sowing begins at the end of winter. Spring planting is allowed no later than the end of March.

Sequence

1. A low bowl is filled with a substrate with a predominance of sand in the composition.
2. Seeds are laid out on the surface of the substrate, sprayed from a spray bottle.
3. The plate is covered with transparent glass, the temperature is maintained at 20-25 ° C.
4. After emergence, the glass is removed. Seedlings are kept in a warm place with moderate lighting. Water very carefully.
5. The grown agave seedlings can be planted in separate pots.

Seed plants develop very slowly. Before an adult ornamental plant is received, several years will pass.

Growing difficulties

Diseases and pests affect agave not very often. Of the diseases you have to deal with rot, but this is more the result of excessive watering. The treatment in this case consists in cutting out the rotting areas, treating them with fungicides, coal powder and transplanting into fresh sterile soil. The problems and pests that are encountered most often are summarized in a table.

Table - Difficulties in growing agave

Since it is very easy to care for the agave, it is suitable for decoration of an apartment or landscaping of an office. This is one of the few indoor plants that require minimal lighting and care to maintain decorativeness.