Agave Victoria-reginae variegata
When grown in areas where there are no heavy frosts such as So California where I am located these plants may be cultivated with good success outdoors where their beauty is better observed. I have a limited amount of earth to grow my plants so I prefer to grow them in pots with quality soil and light shade to full sun exposure. During the hottest summer month they get afternoon shade which coupled with a well timed mid-summer treatment of water soluble potassium-rich fertilizer creates the beautiful Fall colors shown in the picture.
I also have a nice collection of mature Agave Victoria-reginae in my collection as well as the often overlooked King Ferdinand’s agave, the Agave ferdinandi-regis. This form has a black-edged leaf and makes a nice addition to any agave collection.
But by far my favorite for propagation as a pot culture is the A. victoria-reginae f. caespitosa. Caespitosa is a very small compact form that pups more than any other agave. I have a few small ones available in the Store right now but they are in limited supply. These beauties are busting out of the 4” nursery pots.
The picture here shows one that I have planted in a 7″ oval bonsai pot. When allowed enough room to expand they will quickly fill up a nice display pot. It currently takes up 3 1/2″ x 4″ of the pot and has 6 heads! Next year I will have to move up to a larger pot or remove the accent rock and recenter the plant.
One of the other things I like about agaves is the ease of propagation. Unfortunately, as we all know, most agave take about 20 years to flower so you have to rely on seed from other sources if you want to propagate from seed. It is easiest to propagate them from the pups or suckers produced at the base of the stems in the spring. If taken from a excellent specimen these pups are sometimes referred to as “super clones” since they will have all the characteristics of the mother plant.
Separate the clones from the mother plant with as much root as possible, even one small root could be enough to insure survival. NOTE; I have had success with no root at all so don’t throw away any pups, they were free so take a shot. Plant the pups in evenly moist but well draining soil, continue to mist occasionally and keep in filtered sunlight until they are growing then gradually move them into regular sunlight situations.
I hope you enjoyed this post, I have included the General Rules for Cultivating Agave PDF in our Plant Care Instruction section.
