Content
- For the agave, cut off the leaves properly
- Little care is the better care for the agave
- Reduce the risk of injury without damaging the leaves
- When leaves should be cut off
- Tips
Only sick or withered leaves of the agave should be cut off
For the agave, cut off the leaves properly
The agave belongs to the asparagus family and convinces as a garden and potted plant more with the attractive leaves than with the rarely occurring flowers. Many gardeners are very uncertain about the proper care of agaves, but the basic rules are relatively simple.
Little care is the better care for the agave
If the location for the agave was properly selected and prepared, then the necessary care for the plants in the sequence should actually be very limited. While in some shrubs in the garden, the regular pruning has a stimulating effect on growth, in the agave rather the opposite is the case. The succulent plants have fleshy and water-containing leaves, so that interfaces of cut leaves are large-sized wounds and thus also entrance gates for pathogens and pests. As a result of the compact growth of the agaves, pruning healthy plants is generally not necessary at all.
Reduce the risk of injury without damaging the leaves
Agaves with pointed end spines on the leaves can be quite a problem if children regularly play in the garden or if the agaves are kept in the pot during the winter months, complicated paths have to be covered. Agave owners therefore often cut the end tips of the leaves together with the spines simply with a sharp knife. If the plants survive this well, but ugly scarred spots remain on the leaves. An alternative offer protective measures such as bottle corks, which are simply put as a "blunt end" on the pointed spines.
When leaves should be cut off
Even if no cut of the leaves is necessary, there are situations in which leaves should still be removed:
If pieces of leaves are accidentally torn off, the remainder of each leaf should be cut as close to the stem as possible, without cutting too deeply into the meat of the stalk. Fouled leaves should be removed as soon as possible and countermeasures such as better drainage should be checked.
Tips
Occasionally, in the agaves, old leaves on the base of the leaf rosette die by themselves, slowly drying up. Wait until these leaves are cut off until all the nutrients and moisture from the leaf have been pulled back into the plant and the leaf is completely dried out.