Agave are wonderful, tolerant plants well-suited to the California climate. Dividing and planting Agave pups is an essential part of maintenance for the plant both to better propagate new agave, and also for the health of the parent plant.
Many Agave plants “pup”, or, produce offspring prolifically. So prolifically, in fact, that the base of the plant can become very crowded very quickly. Removing the pups is good basic gardening practice. Dividing agave pups not only allows the parent to fully mature and stand on its own as a specimen plant, but also gives you free plants.
Agaves are beautiful, symmetrical plants native to North America. (Read my post on some good agaves for the California Landscape). I love, love, love them in a landscape, because once they are in the ground, they are virtually worry-free. And they look so elegant.
Getting them into the ground is another story though. Many agave varieties have very long, sharp leaf tips or saw-tooth edges. Don’t avoid them, though. Agaves look lovely in almost any type of landscape design – from modern and clean, to formal, to cottage.
Many agave are hardy down to about 20 degrees F. They can handle both coastal fog and super hot and dry climates. They can last an entire hot California summer with no supplemental water. This is what makes them a surefire transplant. Agave roots are thick and fibrous, so they do not get stressed when dividing and planting agave pups.
Dividing Agaves
I try to remove the pups when they are less than a foot in diameter – it makes them easier to move. I start with my shovel on the outside of the plant, digging a trench about a foot deep all around the offshoot.
You’ll need to sever the connecting root between the parent and the offshoot. If the soil is porous you should be able to just pull them apart. You may need to use the shovel tip or a sharp knife. I have found usually the connecting root comes free easily. Try to sever the root in half so that the pup has some and the parent also has some.
After the agave pup is free from the parent, use a sturdy spading fork or pitchfork to lift the pup with the rootball.
Lose some of the soil? Don’t worry – the pup will be fine. Make sure you fill the hole around the parent plant back up and all of her roots are covered again.
Lose most of the root? Still not a problem – the agave will usually grow new roots. If there is a basal rosette and it is mostly intact your pup will probably grow new roots. See more on this below.
Planting the New Agave Pups
You can now just put the pup in a pot or in the ground. Agave aren’t fussy about rich soil. They’ll grow in both clay and humus. If your pup had roots, it will start getting bigger almost immediately. If your pup did not have roots, it will grow roots usually within a month. It doesn’t even need much water to grow new roots.
In fact, I’d recommend you water it sparingly, maybe once or twice in the first two weeks after planting, depending upon your soil. Then water about once a month after that. If it is a particularly wet winter or if you are prone to overwater your plants, you might want to let any open wound ‘heal’ prior to planting. To heal is to allow the open cut to dry out for about one week. After this heal time, you can put your pup right into the ground or pot for planting.
One more quick note about dividing and planting agave pups – make sure your new planting site has enough room for a full-sized agave. Even though your baby plant is small now, it can grow very large quickly. Even outgrow a space. While many agave species are 2 – 4 feet wide, some, like the Agave Americana (Century Plant) can grow up to 8 feet wide and as tall. At that size it will be too big to move to another location with more room. So put it in an appropriate sized spot from the start.
