In contrast to many other plant species, pruning as a means of size limitation does not really make sense with agaves. If these exotic plants are to be cultivated as compact houseplants, for example, then correspondingly more compact growing agave species must be selected.

Diseased leaves should be removed

Reasons for pruning agaves

Since agaves on the one hand grow rather slowly and on the other hand can hardly tolerate any pruning injuries, these plants are usually not pruned at all. While other plants are stimulated to fresh growth when repotting by cutting back the roots and leaves, agaves should be injured as little as possible when repotting. However, there can also be "emergency situations" with the agaves in which it is necessary to remove individual parts of the plant:

  • with obviously diseased leaves
  • with already yellowed and completely dried leaves
  • if a leaf was accidentally severely damaged or torn

The long, narrow and typically thickened leaves of the agave store large water reserves inside. Injured leaves are therefore a risk in terms of dehydration and possible disease germs. They should be cut off as smoothly as possible on the stalk of the plant with a clean and sharp knife, without cutting too deeply into it.

This is how agaves can be propagated over Kindel

There may be reasons other than an injured leaf to attack an agave with a sharp knife. This is the case, for example, when a so-called child grows out of the side of the mother plant. You can easily separate this offshoot from the mother plant when repotting and plant it in a separate pot for propagation. If a child is formed in agaves with a flower base, its removal can sometimes prevent the otherwise imminent death of the mother plant.

Alternatives for cutting off the spines

In the past, the pointed spines of certain agave species were often cut off the leaf ends to prevent injuries. Unfortunately, this not only leaves unsightly scars on the leaves, this practice is also not necessarily good for the plants. As a compromise between plant health and the need for security, you can make the sharp spikes "harmless" by putting on bottle corks.

tips

If there are signs that individual leaves of the agave are dying off, they should only be separated from the plant and disposed of when they have completely dried up and all nutrients have been removed from the leaves.

Category:

Vegetable garden