How To Remove A Century Plant

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Agave plants flower once in their lifetime and then dice, and some species take decades to blossom. Agave plants spread without flowering by growing offshoots, called pups. These pups grow into new plants once they are separated from the primary plant. They are easily removed past exposing the connecting root and cut through it. Y'all tin can then grow the pups by replanting them. By separating the offshoots when you lot spot them, you lot can start an agave garden or share the pups with other gardeners.

1. i

   Clothing a pair of gloves when handling agave. Many common varieties of agave accept sharp spines on the leaves. To avert painful pricks, sideslip on a pair of gardening gloves before approaching the plant.^[1]

   • Thicker gloves, such every bit a expert pair of leather gloves, offer the well-nigh protection and are worth using if you take them.

2. 2

   Locate the small buds in the ground. Agave pups look similar miniature versions of the mother plant. They unremarkably pop out of the soil around the mother plant, but sometimes they tin appear correct under the plant's leaves.^[two]

   • Lift the plant'southward leaves carefully while wearing gloves to find any pocket-size pups hidden from sight.
   • The pups are easiest to remove when they're pocket-sized, and so searching the plant for them now tin can save you some hassle later.

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3. 3

   Remove the plant from a pot if it is in one. You will need to remove the agave showtime in order to separate the pups. Tip the pot onto its side, allowing the pot'south contents to come out. Pull the institute and soil out of the pot, taking care to avoid agonizing the root brawl.^[3]

   • If you have a flexible pot, yous may need to clasp or push on the sides to empty it.
   • For ceramic and other hard pots, you lot tin can move a trowel forth the within edge of the pot to loosen the dirt.

4. 4

   Clear the dirt effectually the constitute to expose its roots. Brush or dig away the dirt around the roots. Normally, yous practise not need to have the mother constitute out of the soil. Avoid touching the roots as much as possible. The pups will attach to the root cluster through a single large root, which y'all should be able to spot without taking apart the entire root ball.^[4]

   • You tin dig underneath the plant's root ball, then lift the institute out of the footing with a shovel. This can help you lot locate the connecting roots.
   • For agave plants as well extensive to dig upward, loosen the clay around the plants you wish to remove.

5. 5

   Pull the pups away from the mother plant. Grab the pup by the fleshy root you exposed earlier. Twist the pup from side to side every bit y'all pull it towards you lot. Almost pups will come free easily this way. Be enlightened of the spines and throw away any loose leaves then you don't step on them afterward.^[five]

   • Cutting through the root is e'er an choice. Slice well-nigh halfway along the root connecting the pup to the female parent plant with a sharp knife, shears, or a shovel.

6. 6

   Replant the mother institute if you lot dug it up. Check the mother plant to make certain it is stable in the soil, with the roots covered. Shovel dirt evenly over any holes you had to dig earlier. If yous apply a pot, render the agave to the pot and refill it with soil.

   • Set the agave in the center of the pot, then add a store-bought soil mix specifically for cacti and succulents. Cover the roots with the soil. Lightly water the soil to help it settle over the roots.
   • Cacti and succulent soil is well-draining and contains a high percent of sand and gravel.

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1. ane

   Institute the pups in suitable soil with full to fractional sunlight. You can institute the new pups around your garden. Equally long as the plants are in total to partial sunlight, they should thrive too as the mother establish. For pot growing, separate the pups into individual pots filled with a store-bought soil mix for cacti and succulents.^[six]

   • The pups tin be planted anywhere with loose, well-tuckered soil. If the female parent plant grows in your yard, chances are the pups will also.
   • Loosen the soil about 12 in (30 cm) deep. Plant the pups so the root brawl is covered and the leaves are right above the soil's surface.^[7]
   • Agave grows best when planted in the early fall or spring. The roots establish in virtually two months. When yous touch on it, the found will experience firmly attached to the ground.
   • Be patient, as agave plants are slow growing.

2. two

   Dampen the soil once a week for a month. Give the new pups a supplemental amount of h2o to encourage root growth. Afterwards planting, add water until the soil appears slightly damp. Look a week for the soil to dry, so dampen it again. Exercise this a few more times until the agave is established in its planting bed.

   • Water the agave once a week for no more than than 6 weeks. Afterwards, the plant should need h2o near one time a calendar month, or once a week in the summer.

3. 3

   Fertilize the soil every month in spring and autumn (optional). To ensure a healthier institute, apply a fertilizer that is 20% nitrogen, 20% phosphorus, and xx% potassium. Spread fertilizer around the plant from March to May, so again in September to Nov.

   • Spring and fall are the growing seasons for agave, then this is when the fertilizer is effective.
   • Agave does not require fertilizer to abound into a healthy, mature plant.

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Add New Question

• Question

  How long can I wait to replant pulled aloe vera plants/pups?

  

  You tin expect until pups are virtually dry if yous water well after replanting, simply the faster yous replant them, the better the result will exist.

• Question

  After separating the pups, they don't grow fully. They grow tall, but not broad. How practice I plant pups to take them round like the mother found?

  

  Brett Gilbert

  Top Answerer

  A pocket-size pot size is nigh probable the culprit. If the agave has no space on the sides, it may go longer but not wider. Use a pot that leaves about 2 to iv inches (5 to ten cm) effectually the plant'south sides. Brand sure the root brawl is positioned in the center of the pot. When the agave outgrows the pot, possibly in ii to three years, transfer information technology to a pot the adjacent size up.

• Question

  My puppies are growing from the mother body at present dying afterwards spectacular flowering. How do I remove the shoots?

  

  Dig deep enough in the ground to remove all the roots of the shoots then replant them in a sunny place.

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Video

• Avert root rot by removing the pups when the weather is warm.

• Agave plants grow slowly and don't need repotting for at least 2 years.

• Agave plants just bloom once, and then they die. However, they can produce many pups before then.

• Check your plants every week. Fifty-fifty subsequently removing pups, you may find more right away.

• Agave plants thrive in desert environments, so water them them infrequently.

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• Many agave plants have sharp spikes on the leaves. Although non dangerous, the spines can sting, and then wearable gloves, shoes, and dispose of loose leaves.

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Things You'll Need

• Pot or one thousand space
• Potting soil for succulents
• Trowel
• Shovel
• Gloves
• Newspaper
• Water
• Fertilizer

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