Agave in the gardenusually arouses admiration and interest. Often these plants grow in pots and are kept indoors for the winter. As it turns out, it is possible to cultivate agave in Polandin the ground , and the plant can overwinter in a bed, as long as we plant an appropriate species of agave and take care of it properly. We present the bestfrost-resistant agave species , we explain how to cultivate garden agave looks like and we reveal how towintering agave in the garden !
Garden agave
Fig. pixabay.com
Frost-resistant agave
For cultivation in the ground in Poland,frost-resistant agave species . The most easily accessible in Poland are:
Agave Havarda(Agave havardiana) - the most popular and most effective species of agave. The rosette reaches 70 cm in diameter. Long (70 cm) leaves, green-blue, on the margins hook-shaped, black thorns. A long black spike at the top of each leaf.
Mexican Agave(Agave neomexican a) - the rosette reaches 45-60 cm in diameter. Gray-green leaves, half overgrown with brown thorns on the margins, 2.5-3 cm red-brown spike on the tops of the leaves.
Utah agave , Utah agave (Agave utahensis) - small agave, 30 cm in diameter. Blue-green leaves, narrow (5 cm wide) and long (50 cm), slightly concave at the tops and convex underneath. Gray thorns along the margins of the leaves, a long gray tip at the top.
Mountain agave(Agave montana) - reaches 180 cm in height and 150 cm in width. Glossy broad-green leaves with thick red spikes on the edges and a sharp red tip spike. The leaves have a characteristic leaf blade pattern with spikes on the next leaf.
Agave whalebi tongue , Eng. Whale? S tongue agave (Agave ovatifolia) - the rosette reaches 80-120 cm in diameter. Big and broad blue-gray leaves, shaped like a whale's tongue. Black hooked spines along the margins of the leaves, and at the end of each leaf 2.5 cm long apical spine.
Agawa parryi , Parry's agave (Agave parryi) - reaches 60 cm in diameter. Leaves gray-green, oval or lanceolate. Hook-like thorns on the edges, on the underside of the leaf, the thorns of the previous leaf are imprinted. The sharp tip of the leaf has a characteristic dark brown, brown or black discoloration, clearly contrasting with the rest of the leaf blade.
Garden agave - cultivation in the ground
The garden agave plantmust be sunny, preferably in full sun all day long. Agave ovatifolia tolerates light partial shade, but even in this case it is better to have full sun for most of the day.
Garden agave
Fig. pixabay.com
In the cultivation of agave in the garden, it is very important to choose the right substrate.Garden agave requires a light and permeable substratethat will ensure its drought throughout the year, especially in winter. Garden agave is best planted on the sand itself with the addition of expanded clay, coarse gravel or stones. If we have heavy soil in the garden, then at a depth of about 50-70 cm replace the soil with a lighter, porous substrate.
Garden agave should be planted in a hole with a diameter of 40 cm and a depth of about 50 cm.After planting, water the agave only once and never again!Agave is a succulent and can draw water from fog and rainfall by itself.Garden agave is best planted on a slight elevation so that the rainwater flows down the slope freely and does not remain in the root zone. After planting the agave, mulch the ground with small stones or decorative gravel.
Good to know!
In our climate, garden agaves grow very slowly. To slightly accelerate their growth, a month after planting them in the garden, feed them in spring and summer, every 2-3 weeks with fertilizer for cacti and succulents.
Garden agave - wintering
Under the right conditions, some garden agaves can survive frosts down to -29 ° C (Agave parryi). Unfortunately, the frequent rainy and snowless winters in our country significantly reduce the frost resistance of the agaves cultivated in the soil and usually the temperature below -15 ° C is already dangerous for them. Therefore,for a good winter agave it is necessary to protect itWhen the temperature starts to drop below -15 ° C, the agave should be protected against frost.For this purpose, its lower part is covered with pine needles, and then the whole is covered with agrotextile.
In order for the garden agave to survive the winter in the garden, it is very important to keep the substrate almost completely dryduring the fall / winter period. Otherwise the agave will rot. In order to protect the agave from moisture, it is necessary to prepare a suitable roof for it. We can easily build such a roof ourselves. It is enough to assemble a structure made of boards, metal pipes or PVC elements, on which we stretch a tarpaulin sheet, foil or other waterproof material. We dig the structure into the ground and load it so that it is not knocked over by the wind. We install the agave roof in the second half of September so that the substrate near the agave roots has time to dry before the first frosts.
MSc Eng. Agnieszka Lach
