I'm Debra Lee Baldwin, author of three books about succulents.
In this video and the corresponding page of my site you'll get expert advice and info
about agaves in bloom. You'll learn how to start new plants from the resulting seeds or bulbils.
And to help you know which agave you have and what to expect,
I'll show you over 20 different varieties in bloom all labeled. Agave flower stalks tend
to be impressively tall relative to the plants. There are two forms: unbranched with blooms along
the stalk, and branching with clusters of flowers. Flowers form seed pods or bulbils that are clones
of the mother plant. There's no stopping an agave from dying when it blooms,
so you might as well enjoy the show. Flowers attract hummingbirds, bees and other pollinators.
However cutting off the stalk does slow the process, and by doing so you won't have to
deal with a tree later on. Figure about a minute to slice threw an agave bloom stalk.
It can take years, sometimes decades depending on what kind it is, for an agave to bloom,
typically 15 to 25 years. Some go off sooner, notably Agave desmetiana and Agave vilmoriniana.
Some take longer, like Agave victoriae reginae. The flower stalk grows quickly
up to several inches a day. How can you tell when your agave is starting to bloom?
Leaves in the middle come together sort of like praying hands. They surround an emerging bud atop
an ever-lengthening stalk. Large agaves may produce stalks up to 30 feet tall.
Buds form, then flowers that open from the bottom of the stalk to the top. If you want baby plants
wait several months for the bloom stalk to mature then harvest bulbils or seeds.
Agave expert Jeremy Spath of Hidden Agave nursery explains how to start seeds and bulbils.
Even though it's a furcraea, it's not an agave, they're very closely related
and it works the same. But let me see if this one's even rooted yet. Nope
it's a week. Oh just a week. A week and a half. Yeah but I just stick them right there,
just in the dirt like that. You could have a whole large pot and fill it with soil and stick tons
of them in that one pot. Is there a time of the year, I would think right before the rainy season.
I don't think it matters. OK. I think with this kind of plant it doesn't matter and you don't even
need to wait for them to get to a large size. I mean as you can see there's some really small ones
in here. You know you'd actually do them more harm than good by being too careful and worrying about
it. I mean I would just put them in a potting mix and stick them in there and forget about them,
keep it moist and just wait. Pretend you're Mother Nature, right? Right. Step on them. (Laughter)
Growing agaves from seeds is pretty easy. They're really tough. Do you keep your seeds in these
little envelopes? Yeah like a coin envelope. Says parrasana cross with parryi 'Truncata' so this
is a hybrid I did. Usually if you pollinate an agave, you're about six months away from
the fruit ripening after you pollinate. Parrasana was the mother. So it IS like making a pizza, now
you now you're adding the Parmesan. Yeah, right exactly. And this is dry mix? It's slightly moist.
You could use either a dry or or wet because I'm just going to water it in after this.
Okay this I get at a roofing supply store here in San Marcos, it's just roofing grit.
You can get almost the identical stuff sold as chicken grit.
Very lightly sprinkle it across the top. Oh that anchors everything down. Anchors it down yeah
and you don't want to use too much because you can you can suffocate your seeds.
So you kind of want a gentle rain effect.
Because if you just turn it and I go okay it's time to water and turn it on, usually you get
this gush of of water and you blast your seed to kingdom come. Just go back and forth like this
and let the water sink in and stop, and do it repeatedly until your soil is totally soaked.
All right and then I check it every day and any time that the top of the surface
starts to look a little dry, I water again. And that's it. Then it takes usually about,
well depending on how fresh or old your seed is,
about five to fourteen days for that for germination. Oh that's exciting. Yeah, quick.
To remove a dead or dying agave, saw the leaves off so all you have left is a core
that looks like a pineapple. The core is heavy, so let it dry until you can
lift and transport it. Watch out for sharp teeth along the leaves and points at their tips.
Some people have a severe allergic reaction to agave sap.
Wear wrap-around glasses and protect your skin. Wear leather gloves, long sleeves and trousers.
Use a hand saw. A power saw may spray caustic sap. Take your time and don't wipe your face with your
sleeves or other parts of your clothing that may have bits of the plant or the sap on them.
I hope you found this video helpful. Learn more in the corresponding page of my website.
As always my goal is to help you use and enjoy succulents in your own garden and landscape.
Please know I appreciate your comments. Do subscribe and hit the Like button.
I'm Debra Lee Baldwin. Thank you for joining me!