{"id":1970,"date":"2017-07-01T12:00:12","date_gmt":"2017-07-01T16:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/?p=1970"},"modified":"2016-11-02T10:30:48","modified_gmt":"2016-11-02T14:30:48","slug":"agaves-like-it-hot-dry-and-sunny","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/2017\/07\/01\/agaves-like-it-hot-dry-and-sunny\/","title":{"rendered":"Agaves Like It Hot, Dry and Sunny"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Agaves<\/a>

Agaves in Burbank, CA<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Variegated<\/a>

Variegated agave in sidewalk planting in Burbank, CA<\/p><\/div>\n

Agaves (Agave spp<\/em>.) are long-leaved succulent landscape plants. These native perennial succulents\u00a0 grow in desert-like environments (USDA hardiness zones 8 and warmer). Plants grow in a rosette form with long their fleshy leaves frequently tipped with one or more sharp spines and a prominent bloom spike with cup shaped flowers. Most\u00a0are\u00a0native to the Southwest U.S. and Mexico.<\/p>\n

Agaves are exceptionally drought tolerant and ideal for xeric gardens. Temperature hardiness, sunlight, and soil drainage are the three key components to successfully growing agaves. Agave have a large tap root and do not transplant well, so carefully select an appropriate site where to plant. The majority of the roots are surface roots and do not require a deep hole if planted when young.<\/p>\n

Porous, well-drained soil is an absolute must! When planting in clay soils, deeply amend bed or container soil with coarse sand or pea gravel\u00a0in a 50:50 ratio. Water the plant diligently the first week after planting and gradually wean it back to 2-3 times monthly in containers, all\u00a0depending on\u00a0season of the year and outdoor air temps.<\/p>\n

Never overwater agaves!<\/strong>\u00a0They are famous\u00a0for their low water use. In early spring apply a slow release fertilizer such as Osmocote\u2122 or Nutrikote\u2122. This should supply nutrient needs for the entire year.<\/p>\n

Most agaves naturally dieback after blooming. They form new plants (\u201cpups\u201d or offshoots) at the base of the \u201cmother\u201d plant. Many gardeners opt to remove the spent floral spike with long handle lopper pruners to avoid their sharp spines.\u00a0Agaves should be re-potted every year, usually in the spring in new media. Prune off old lower leaves if they detract from the plant’s beauty.<\/p>\n

Non-hardy types are moved indoors or in an unheated garage where temps drop below 37\u00b0F and grown in an east facing window. Over the winter months reduce frequency of watering intervals and do not fertilize.<\/p>\n

Agaves are deer-resistant. The tall bloom stalks attract hummingbirds.<\/p>\n

\"Agave<\/a>

Agave parryi var.<\/p><\/div>\n

Four popular agaves:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Century plant (Agave americana<\/em>) – a lovely flower (inflorescence) and leaves have a white stripe running along the center.<\/p>\n

Parry\u2019s or Mescal agave (Agave parryi<\/em>) \u2013 an attractive slow growing compact form that measures 2-3 feet across. Leaves are grey green tipped with a spine (zone 7 hardy).<\/p>\n

Ocahui Century Plant (Agave ocahui<\/em> ) (zone 7b -10) \u2013 this 2-3 feet wide ball-shaped agave has attractive rigid dark green leaf blades with attractive red margins and sharp flexible spines. Bloom spike will eventually reach nearly 15 feet tall with yellow-green flowers.<\/p>\n

Black spine agave (Agave macroacantha<\/em>) –\u00a0a medium sized rosette form and 1 \u00bd feet long thick grey green leaves, each tipped with a 1-inch long sharp black spine. Small grey and red flowers form on sturdy 7-10 feet high stems.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Agaves (Agave spp.) are long-leaved succulent landscape plants. These native perennial succulents\u00a0 grow in desert-like environments (USDA hardiness zones 8 and warmer). Plants grow in a rosette form with long their fleshy leaves frequently tipped with one or more sharp spines and a prominent bloom spike with cup shaped flowers. Most\u00a0are\u00a0native to the Southwest U.S. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[444,1352,1353,398,710,144,521,674,806,665,774,627,625,843,812,1059,601,849,777,630,705,706,646,756,113,455],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1970"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1970"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1970\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13457,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1970\/revisions\/13457"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}