Agave cuttings?

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jmoney
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Agave cuttings?

Post by jmoney »

Can I propagate an agave from a cutting of the tip of a huge plant?

Basically I have a neighbor that has a giant agave plant which is dying because the power company came through and trimmed the shade tree that was over the plant and the sun is now wrecking havoc on the plant. They also trimmed the really tall stalk that had grown from the middle in the process of trimming the tree.

If I cut a 3-4 inch end off of one of the leaves, can I grow a new plant from that? Does it work the same as rooting a cactus cutting?

I would like to 'save' the neighbors plant without taking an entire huge leaf.
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greenknight
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Re: Agave cuttings?

Post by greenknight »

If it was sending up a tall stalk, it was going to bloom and die. If you cut off the flower stalk, they die anyway.

I don't know if a leaf cutting would work at this point, normally it would. It's not quite the same as a cactus cutting - the leaf wouldn't grow, but small plants would grow from its base. I'd take a bit bigger piece than you're talking about, but I don't think you need a whole leaf.

They usually put out some root suckers, though, that's a better way to get a start of it.
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Re: Agave cuttings?

Post by esp_imaging »

New leaf and stem growth normally only occurs from a bud or other defined growth point.
In some succulents (Echeverias and many other Crassulaceae), there is a growth point at the base of each detached leaf, so they are generally easy to grow from whole leaf cuttings. A few species of Kalanchoe even have several growth points on the ends or sides of leaves, so can grow multiple new plants from each leaf.
Others, such as Aloes, are only likely to grow from leaf cuttings if a tiny bit of the base of the stem is detached with the cutting, as this includes the growth point at the base of the leaf.

It's fairly unusual for plants to readily produce new growth points from only part of a leaf, so this method of leaf cuttings does not work well, if at all, for most succulents (Gasterias are an exception).
So I think leaf tip cuttings from an Agave won't work. Still, no harm in trying?
Lots of agaves offset from the base when the main rosette dies after flowering, so this would be an easier way to get a larger plant going than a leaf cutting.
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jmoney
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Re: Agave cuttings?

Post by jmoney »

esp_imaging wrote:New leaf and stem growth normally only occurs from a bud or other defined growth point.
In some succulents (Echeverias and many other Crassulaceae), there is a growth point at the base of each detached leaf, so they are generally easy to grow from whole leaf cuttings. A few species of Kalanchoe even have several growth points on the ends or sides of leaves, so can grow multiple new plants from each leaf.
Others, such as Aloes, are only likely to grow from leaf cuttings if a tiny bit of the base of the stem is detached with the cutting, as this includes the growth point at the base of the leaf.

It's fairly unusual for plants to readily produce new growth points from only part of a leaf, so this method of leaf cuttings does not work well, if at all, for most succulents (Gasterias are an exception).
So I think leaf tip cuttings from an Agave won't work. Still, no harm in trying?
Lots of agaves offset from the base when the main rosette dies after flowering, so this would be an easier way to get a larger plant going than a leaf cutting.
Wow! That's a lot of information to take in but very appreciated. Thank you!
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greenknight
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Re: Agave cuttings?

Post by greenknight »

There are quite a few plant that will grow from part of a leaf, but many won't. It sounds like Agaves will from what it says here: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ep419" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; .

They're more commonly propagated from offsets, or from bulbils which are produced along the flower stalk. There may not be any bulbils, since the flower stalk was cut, though there might still be; offsets are very likely. Still couldn't hurt to try the leaf cutting method, it would be an interesting experiment if nothing else.
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7george
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Re: Agave cuttings?

Post by 7george »

Image Image

Some agaves produce lot of almost rooted offsets (or germinated seeds?) when dying. This is not the same case but it's interesting.
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snarfie
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Re: Agave cuttings?

Post by snarfie »

Wow very cool george!
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