growing agave macrocantha cuttings

[vapester]

hello all. well yesterday i was going to repot an agave mac i just bought and when i took it out its pot its roots were all old and dead/rotting. So i do what i've been doing lately, i gave it a clean cut n cut off all the roots and will let it dry now. But it had 5 offsets.....i've never repotted an offset like this before with this type of root formation, i will let them dry/scab up another day or 2 and will then put each one in a pot and leave in dappled light for a few weeks with cautious waterings....i was wonderng if anyone else had some advice on how to get these guys going, or how tough/easy it is as far as success rate, thanks in advance.

John

[wantonamara]

I have done what you described with sprouts that were growing in the wrong place. I yanked them out , let them dry and put them in a pot. I did not really focus on if all of them survived but many have. What you say that you are doing, sounds good to me. -Mara

[amanzed]

In this situation, I had better results starting the little stolon shoots covered completely with soil, so they could break through to the surface in their own time. It didn't have to be deep, but this worked better than leaving part of the shoot (even the tip) exposed to light.

At any rate I did not have 100% success, but some of them did grow up!

--dean

[agavemonger]

For the stolons, I leave about 1/2 inch exposed to light. This seems to work better than burying them completely. It also has the advantage of being able to watch the development. When the stolon already has a plant developing, bury the plant so the lower leaves are partially buried but still sticking out into the light. This allows a firm rooting-in to take place very rapidly, and seems to encourage the development of more pups. If the stolon is circling around the pot on the mother plant, carefully unwind as much as you can and rebury in the same circular pattern in the new pot. The more stolon that you have, the more successful the result will be. If you have many small stolons, then just put 4-5 per pot and seperate them later after plantlets develop. This is more space efficient.

Most of the time these stolon cuts take readily. Of course, spring and early summer is the best time to do this. If the plant develops up in the air on the stolon, just repot it lower in the pot and it will set roots and you will have a new plant.

I rebury the cut stolons immediately, and water them in as soon as humanly possible. There is no advantage to letting them dry out. They never seem to rot when done at this time of year. Put them in full, all-day sun and they will grow nice and compact right from the start.

Keep them moist by watering every few days when it is hot. Agaves prefer more water than you would think.

If you are more patient than I am, it is best to wait until the plantlets develop a few real leaves before seperating them from the mother plant.

The monger

[Tim Harvey]

Always wanting something for nothing, I trim the terminal shoot of these long stolons below the second node from the tip and plant with it protruding above the soil as the Monger described. The remaining piece, now being blind, will want to pup in the right circumstances. I have found that such conditions involve being shallowly planted - maybe 0.5" below the surface, in an open medium so light can reach the stolon. Often a pup at each node will be the result.

T

[agavemonger]

Tim makes a valid point here. You can cut your stolons into four or five inch pieces, and many times get several plants from each stolon. If the plant is rare or valuable, you might want to use as large a piece as possible for a few times, until you build up the numbers a little bit. Then just cut the long stolons into pieces and plant several per pot to save space. You can divide them up into individual pots later once they are more established. You can also try laying them on their side, about 1 inch below the soil surface, and see what happens!

[amanzed]

Tim, Monger, fascinating... Maybe mine got dried out, so the slightly covered ones thrived better in that case. I'm encouraged to try your methods instead.

Now if I can get up the motivation to divide 5+ pups from around my big A. americana mediopicta alba in a LARGE ceramic pot. Every time I think about it, my subconscious makes me put off my encounter with its armature and awkward weight for another day.

Maybe I should saw off the bottom leaves of the central plant so there are fewer radial sawblades to cut and puncture my skin. I figure it will regrow a full rosette crown quickly enough. In the meantime I can handle the whole plant a little easier during the de-potting and division.

--dean
DC Elzinga

[agavemonger]

Dean-

It is always easier to handle big Agaves from "under the skirt". I usually set mine gently on their side and pull the pot off carefully. Then I seperate the easily divisible pups and slip the pot back on. This is much easier with two people.

If you are particularly greedy like me, taking away every baby from its mother, then you will want to completely redo the plant. You can gently cut the lowest leaves off, leaving about three inches or so protruding from the stem. Next, gently work away all the soil and the old hair root mass that easily falls away, along with all the rhizomes and pups. Leave the tougher roots on the plant; just pull off what comes loose easily in your hand. The old roots help the plant take up water and stabilize it in the pot until new roots develop.

After you seperate the pups, the real "fun" begins. Starting from the lowest leaf on the "stem", break the leaf in half longitudinally and peal each half off sideways, away from the center-break you made, and they will easily pull off. The leaves grow radially around the stem, so check the attachment point and make sure you are always working on the lowest leaf. Remove all parts of the leaf before going on to the next one. Sometimes older dryed leaves need to be cut down the center with a scissors first. Take off as many leaves as you want to make the plant look its best. Don't go too far though, or the crown will fall apart on you. If the leaves don't come off clean and easy (I.E. you are ripping away tissue from the stem) you are going too far. Then repot the plant so no stem shows. Repot your pups and stolon sections immediately, and water everything in thoroughly. Unfortunately, most gloves seem to only hinder this task, so you are usually "down and dirty" with bare hands.

The most important thing to remember is that all parts of the plant are loaded with toxic calcium oxalate crystals. You need to prepare everything you need ahead of time, work fast, complete the task, then clean your hands thoroughly! And I mean thoroughly! Rub grit or sand or just plain dirt mixed with hot water aggressively over and in between your fingers, then rinse while scrubbing, then do this again several times. Using a small plastic scrubbrush and hot water helps around fingernails. This procedure will grind away most of the microscopic oxalate crystals now embedded in your hands. Then wash again with soap and hot water. Never touch your face or go to the bathroom before this step is completed.

Next step is to find yourself an easy chair, and get out your magnifying glass, needles, and a good pair of tweezers. Pick all the broken teeth & spines out of your hands before they fester.

After this step is completed, crack yourself a cool one, and enjoy a chapter or two from Godfather Gentry's book!

Don't forget to pay homage to The Ghost before you go to bed that night.

Sweet dreams!

The monger

[vapester]

thanks everyone for the advice....i'm gonna go ahead and repot them today. I think i will have good success now and learned some new tricks along the way. Just as i new i would bringing it here....

[braveone2u]

The ones with the roots will probably survive more than the ones without a root. And I agree with agavemonger.

Here's a vid with my macroacantha in the mix (for added diversion):

YouTube - DJ VEX of Apocrypho + AGAVES - Connect (little fresh's baby agave collection)

Good luck.