Agave – Growing in Atlanta

Q: This is my pitiful blue agave. Most of the exterior leaves are dead. This started after the summer monsoons. I cleaned off the roots (black bugs in there), removed wet soil, replaced with sand. Now, it’s in plant ICU. Can I repot and pray for a miracle indoors?

A: I think it either got too wet or too cold….either one is death-dealing to blue agave.

I talked to David McMullen, who has experimented with agaves at his Lithonia-area farm for nine years. He says the best planting media for agaves is a 1:1 mix of pea gravel and coarse planting soil. They like growing on a slope or on top of a slight mound where water drains past quickly.

David recommends growing Agave parryi or Agave ovatifolia in Atlanta.

A good source is Yucca-Do Nursery in Texas.

I’ve added a shot of an agave Denise S. sent me from Arizona. It’s probably Octopus Agave, Agave vilmoriniana.