New agave acquired (angustifolia marginata)

[TropicsEnjoyer]

Well, I finally went ahead and bought one of these spiny things after seeing one and one only at HD for once. I don’t plan on planting it since it’s winter rn and it won’t be warm for a good while. Would it do ok in my garage with some grow light? Or should i leave it out just potted. Any other care suggestions are appreciated, i don’t have much experience with these. 

[Merlyn]

@TropicsEnjoyer good choice!  It'll be fine outside in a pot, just move it under canopy if you expect frost or a hard freeze <30F.  It would also be fine in a garage under grow lights, if that's easier.  They don't need much water over the winter, maybe once or twice per month.  They are fairly water-tolerant though, just don't water them every day when it's cold!

If you plan on separating out that pup, now would be a good time.  It's at least 6" total diameter so it probably has some decent roots.  I have some clusters of them in the yard and they are fine...but...er...difficult to weed around them. 

[TropicsEnjoyer]

52 minutes ago, Merlyn said:

@TropicsEnjoyer good choice!  It'll be fine outside in a pot, just move it under canopy if you expect frost or a hard freeze <30F.  It would also be fine in a garage under grow lights, if that's easier.  They don't need much water over the winter, maybe once or twice per month.  They are fairly water-tolerant though, just don't water them every day when it's cold!

If you plan on separating out that pup, now would be a good time.  It's at least 6" total diameter so it probably has some decent roots.  I have some clusters of them in the yard and they are fine...but...er...difficult to weed around them. 

I thought about freeing the pup too, but I think i’ll wait until I take the whole plant out of the pot so i’m not putting myself through those needles twice. Also do you think it will give more in its time in the pot or will start to proliferate once in ground?

[Merlyn]

Just now, TropicsEnjoyer said:

I thought about freeing the pup too, but I think i’ll wait until I take the whole plant out of the pot so i’m not putting myself through those needles twice. Also do you think it will give more in its time in the pot or will start to proliferate once in ground?

It will definitely grow more pups, but they aren't "prolific" like Americana.  Those tend to grow 5-10 pups at a time in all directions.  I'd get 1 or 2 pups per year on my Angustifolia.  Genetics plays a part too, some are heavy puppers and some just stay solo.  I have a big silvery Weberi that's remained solitary, despite being nearly 8 feet in diameter.  Usually Weberi pup like mad.  So the short version is that you might get another small pup in that pot by springtime, or you might not! 

[TropicsEnjoyer]

@Merlyn alrighty, good to know. I’m hoping that if it gave one it will give many more eventually. And yes i have seen how crazy americanas get. I have a small one that could almost be considered a pup itself and it already has 4 pups of its own 😂. 

On a side note i saw my home depot had yucca gloriosa, which is very stiff it almost feels like an agave. I’m surprised yours melted. Also had Y. omila (=aloifolia?). I guess i never really paid attention to desert plants until recently but it’s cool. 

[TropicsEnjoyer]

Well today I finally got the courage to separate the pup:

Found another big rhizome growing^

The pup, its roots, and a pup of its own!!!^

Another rhizome shooting up^

Final product^
 

[Merlyn]

@TropicsEnjoyer looks great!  After a while you'll just reach in there and yank them out brutally by hand and just repot them without worrying about it.  That's because you'll soon have 20+ pups and won't care too much if one of them happens to die. 

[TropicsEnjoyer]

4 hours ago, Merlyn said:

After a while you'll just reach in there and yank them out brutally by hand

To be honest it wasn’t that bad. Having a good knife made it really easy, along with the fact that the pup was somewhat distanced from the mother. Also it wasn’t very dangerous either, I think I was more concerned about hurting the plant than myself 😂.