Agave help

[Silas_Sancona]

9 minutes ago, Colin1110082 said:

Ah I see. I also ordered a saguaro cactus because why the hey not! See here is the thing, I haven’t ordered the agave yet because I am torn on parryi truncata and blue glow. I like parryi more but I heard blue glow is much more forgiving if it gets too little/too much water and light. 

Have grown both in pots and the ground ..Croaked after getting too much / too little sun,  too much or too little water  so to me, they're pretty similar in what they tolerated..  Blue glow is nice, but a bigger fan of A. parryi  types / other Agave sps w/ a similar look, size, and coloration myself..

Both do stay reasonably- sized in containers, so either could work..

Saguaro will require lots of light and a soil mix w/ absolutely no organics  ..Don't care what the nursery selling it raised it in. 

Not getting enough light and, like many cacti,  it will begin to etiolate and can eventually die. 

...Is the kind of Cactus better suited to a greenhouse that gets light all day, rather than sitting in a window.
 

[Colin1110082]

36 minutes ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Have grown both in pots and the ground ..Croaked after getting too much / too little sun,  too much or too little water  so to me, they're pretty similar in what they tolerated..  Blue glow is nice, but a bigger fan of A. parryi  types / other Agave sps w/ a similar look, size, and coloration myself..

Both do stay reasonably- sized in containers, so either could work..

Saguaro will require lots of light and a soil mix w/ absolutely no organics  ..Don't care what the nursery selling it raised it in. 

Not getting enough light and, like many cacti,  it will begin to etiolate and can eventually die. 

...Is the kind of Cactus better suited to a greenhouse that gets light all day, rather than sitting in a window.
 

Yes. Light should be no problem. The place I got it from specializes in succulents so I am assuming that organics shouldnt be a problem. I can also take some of the soil off and repot in that mix I got. It has no organics, just different rocks and I can remove those coconut chips if you think I should for the saguaro 

[Colin1110082]

On 9/4/2024 at 12:35 PM, Silas_Sancona said:

Because it is light and will float up and out of the pot each time you water, definitely don't use Perlite as a top dressing..  Cleaned gravel ..Like the one option you'd mentioned that is primarily Lava Rock ..or any gravel option of a similar grade size... will stay put in the pot(s)

I myself also add in larger rock types to  some specimen potted stuff..

Sorry lol, one more mix I want you to check out before I buy anything. This one is cheaper and is about the same as the others except it has instead of coco coir Doug fir bark which I think you said if good 

[Silas_Sancona]

44 minutes ago, Colin1110082 said:

Sorry lol, one more mix I want you to check out before I buy anything. This one is cheaper and is about the same as the others except it has instead of coco coir Doug fir bark which I think you said if good 

Since i myself don't include wood products in my soil mixes, i'd go would go with the bark - free option..

If that one is too gravely, you can always go to some place like one of the big box stores, or Petsmart and grab some extra Cocopeat.

petsmart sells in in bags for Reptile bedding, Big Box stores, here at least, sell small blocks for like 3 - 5 bucks..

Blocks will need to be soaked / put through a pre wash cycle in a bucket for about 2 days before use however to reduce any lingering salt content. ( Not all companies that sell Coco Peat / chunk husk pre- wash their product enough before packaging / selling )

[Colin1110082]

1 hour ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Since i myself don't include wood products in my soil mixes, i'd go would go with the bark - free option..

If that one is too gravely, you can always go to some place like one of the big box stores, or Petsmart and grab some extra Cocopeat.

petsmart sells in in bags for Reptile bedding, Big Box stores, here at least, sell small blocks for like 3 - 5 bucks..

Blocks will need to be soaked / put through a pre wash cycle in a bucket for about 2 days before use however to reduce any lingering salt content. ( Not all companies that sell Coco Peat / chunk husk pre- wash their product enough before packaging / selling )

Do you think the agave will live in the mix I showed with the bark? It’s just that one is so much cheaper and you get more. I can even sit there for an hour and remove all the bark 😂 

If you really think the agave will rot in the bark mix then I’ll get the first one. This stuff also has good reviews nothing mentioned about rot. I think this guy makes it himself I reached out and asked if he could go light on the bark before he sends it out. Sounds like I’m ordering food,  As far as the agave, I changed my mind. I want a parryi truncata now lol.

[Silas_Sancona]

1 hour ago, Colin1110082 said:

Do you think the agave will live in the mix I showed with the bark? It’s just that one is so much cheaper and you get more. I can even sit there for an hour and remove all the bark 😂 

If you really think the agave will rot in the bark mix then I’ll get the first one. This stuff also has good reviews nothing mentioned about rot. I think this guy makes it himself I reached out and asked if he could go light on the bark before he sends it out. Sounds like I’m ordering food,  As far as the agave, I changed my mind. I want a parryi truncata now lol.

It probably would do ok in that mix as long as you aren't watering too often..  My thing with having bark in a soil mix is while it is a bit more durable than softer organics, no matter what a seller might say the stuff will still break down. Faster still if the soil is moist. 

Unlike Coco Peat / chunked Coconut Husk, Fir / Pine bark doesn't possess naturally occurring compounds that can reduce the development of pathogenic fungi or bacteria that can cause issues like root rot.



 

[Colin1110082]

33 minutes ago, Silas_Sancona said:

It probably would do ok in that mix as long as you aren't watering too often..  My thing with having bark in a soil mix is while it is a bit more durable than softer organics, no matter what a seller might say the stuff will still break down. Faster still if the soil is moist. 

Unlike Coco Peat / chunked Coconut Husk, Fir / Pine bark doesn't possess naturally occurring compounds that can reduce the development of pathogenic fungi or bacteria that can cause issues like root rot.



 

Yeah. I’ll only water it once when I get it and maybe once a week after, then I’ll water every 2 weeks. I’ll get this then. 

[Silas_Sancona]

21 minutes ago, Colin1110082 said:

Yeah. I’ll only water it once when I get it and maybe once a week after, then I’ll water every 2 weeks. I’ll get this then. 

Indoors, you'll only need to soak an Agave ..and / or Cacti once a month, esp. thru the cooler months..  Watering once every 2 weeks would be too often.

[Merlyn]

I'd agree on the bark, it's probably fine if you are limiting the watering.  My potting mix for outdoor agaves does have some bigger chunks of pine bark, I use the HD/Lowe's "mini bark nuggets" and they seem to work okay.  It's probably better than the fine shredded tree bits that I use from their "topsoil."  The picture sure looks reasonable to me!

[Colin1110082]

On 9/5/2024 at 8:22 PM, Silas_Sancona said:

Indoors, you'll only need to soak an Agave ..and / or Cacti once a month, esp. thru the cooler months..  Watering once every 2 weeks would be too often.

 

On 9/7/2024 at 3:53 PM, Merlyn said:

I'd agree on the bark, it's probably fine if you are limiting the watering.  My potting mix for outdoor agaves does have some bigger chunks of pine bark, I use the HD/Lowe's "mini bark nuggets" and they seem to work okay.  It's probably better than the fine shredded tree bits that I use from their "topsoil."  The picture sure looks reasonable to me!

Here’s the plant all planted! I got the truncata and I used the organic mechanic soil mix and some perlite. Looks good! Did I plant it too high? Thank you to everyone who helped me on this thread 

[Merlyn]

Looks reasonable height to me.  I try to minimize the depth of the caudex in soil here, just due to risk of rot.  You want it deep enough to be stable, but high enough not to trap a lot of moisture up against the base. 

[PalmsInBaltimore]

looking great! 

[Colin1110082]

1 hour ago, Merlyn said:

Looks reasonable height to me.  I try to minimize the depth of the caudex in soil here, just due to risk of rot.  You want it deep enough to be stable, but high enough not to trap a lot of moisture up against the base. 

Yeah, the bottom of it just barely dips below soil line.