Handle with a folded newspaper or a piece of carpet around the leaves; the spines draw blood and the sap irritates. Give it more room than it currently needs, because the leaves that unfurl next year define the final width.
Care
Full sun, all day, all year. Shade gives a soft, open, floppy rosette.
Water well in summer when the mix has dried, and keep bone dry from October to March.
Sharp drainage above everything: half grit or more, in a heavy pot that won't blow over. On the ground, a raised bed or gravel slope. Rich soil produces soft growth that neither looks right nor survives winter.
None, beyond removing the lowest leaves once they shrivel — cut them flush rather than tearing. The terminal spine on the larger species is genuinely dangerous at eye height; clipping the last centimetre off is a reasonable precaution near a path.
Almost never. A weak feed once in early summer for a plant that has been in the same pot for years, and nothing otherwise. Agaves are built for poverty and feeding shortens their good looks.
Offsets — 'pups' — appear around the base of most species and are the whole story. Cut one away with a little stem in late spring, let the cut callus for several days, then pot into dry gritty mix and wait a fortnight before the first water.
Month by month
Months change with the climate: in southern Italy tomatoes go out two months earlier than in England.
- AprilStart watering again as growth resumes, letting the mix dry right out between times. how ›
- MayDetach offsets with a little stem, let them callus, then pot up. how ›
- JuneMove outside for the summer once frost is past — full sun, and the pot raised off the ground. how ›
- SeptemberTaper the watering off as the nights cool. how ›
- OctoberGet it dry and under cover: an unheated porch or a rain shelter beats a warm room. how ›
- NovemberCheck the crown is free of fallen leaves and debris — water trapped there is what rots the growing point.
Months based on climate: UK. Your choice stays on this device.
- AprilStart watering again as growth resumes, letting the mix dry right out between times. how ›
- MayDetach offsets with a little stem, let them callus, then pot up. how ›
- MayMove outside for the summer once frost is past — full sun, and the pot raised off the ground. how ›
- SeptemberTaper the watering off as the nights cool. how ›
- OctoberGet it dry and under cover: an unheated porch or a rain shelter beats a warm room. how ›
- NovemberCheck the crown is free of fallen leaves and debris — water trapped there is what rots the growing point.
Months based on climate: Northern Italy. Your choice stays on this device.
- MarchStart watering again as growth resumes, letting the mix dry right out between times. how ›
- AprilDetach offsets with a little stem, let them callus, then pot up. how ›
- MayMove outside for the summer once frost is past — full sun, and the pot raised off the ground. how ›
- SeptemberTaper the watering off as the nights cool. how ›
- NovemberGet it dry and under cover: an unheated porch or a rain shelter beats a warm room. how ›
- NovemberCheck the crown is free of fallen leaves and debris — water trapped there is what rots the growing point.
Months based on climate: Central Italy. Your choice stays on this device.
- MarchStart watering again as growth resumes, letting the mix dry right out between times. how ›
- AprilDetach offsets with a little stem, let them callus, then pot up. how ›
- AprilMove outside for the summer once frost is past — full sun, and the pot raised off the ground. how ›
- OctoberTaper the watering off as the nights cool. how ›
- NovemberGet it dry and under cover: an unheated porch or a rain shelter beats a warm room. how ›
- NovemberCheck the crown is free of fallen leaves and debris — water trapped there is what rots the growing point.
Months based on climate: Southern Italy and islands. Your choice stays on this device.
Common problems
How to spot it. The centre of the rosette goes soft and smells after a wet spell.
What to do. Keep rain off the crown in winter and tip the pot slightly so water runs out; a rotted growing point cannot be saved, though offsets often survive.
How to spot it. The rosette collapses suddenly from the centre, with grubs at the base.
What to do. Rare in the UK but devastating; destroy affected plants and don't replant agave in the same compost.
How to spot it. Bleached patches on leaves after a move outdoors.
What to do. Harden off over two weeks in spring rather than moving straight into full sun.
Popular varieties
Questions
Agave: is it hardy?
H2: Tender. It survives down to 1 °C.
Can it grow in a pot?
Yes, and preferably: a pot lets you move it under cover for winter, which is what decides survival in Britain. Use a wide heavy pot — a mature agave is top-heavy.
Agave: when do you prune it?
None, beyond removing the lowest leaves once they shrivel — cut them flush rather than tearing.
When do you feed it?
Almost never. A weak feed once in early summer for a plant that has been in the same pot for years, and nothing otherwise. Agaves are built for poverty and feeding shortens their good looks. Feeding months, UK: June.