Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Planting a blue agave cactus?

I bought a good sized blue agave today for $80 and have never had one before. I understand they dont need much water, since i'm in humid Houston TX, only to water once a month. How about planting them? I understand I need to put it on a high spot to allow the water to drain off, and put rock underneath it and around it for drainage? Any other advice? What about fertilizer? I couldn't find much info on the web for these things.

Planting a blue agave cactus?
Must be a big Agave for $80. They don't need much water after they are established, new roots begin to grow into the soil, so it would be best not to let this big plant dry out to much. Especially if you are lacking in rain this summer, the main thing an Agave will do is scorch in the hot sun when they are newly planted, so make sure the soil is moist for at least a month. These are slow growing plants, so it will take alittle while for the roots to start attaching themselves to the new soil around it. Fertilize it with a 10-5-10, once a month until fall. Water in the mornings and water deep to the roots. Do not put rock under the plant if you are planting it in the ground or pot, it is not needed, Agave's can grow in pretty bad soil, they are native to Mexico, I would try to use the same soil as Mexico has. I guess you know Tequila is made with the Agave plant. Give your plant plenty of space to grow and don't plant it where there


is a lot of people traffic. The common name for the Agave is Century plant, after it blooms it dies, but it takes a long time to bloom, if you have any pups[baby plants] grow from the mother plant, you can take them off and plant them too. Hope I helped you alittle.


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