Agave Blog – Transplant

It’s human nature, I find, to want to see living things thrive, “happy” you might say or “give them a chance”. I often find myself at the ‘clearance’, ‘second chance’ or ‘death row’ area at garden centres looking for that little gem, that rare, difficult lost cause that even the professionals couldn’t keep looking good enough to move on to a loving home that all plants aspire to find.

So, when an opportunity arose to re-home a mature, giant Agave Americana ‘variegata’ I just had to rise to the challenge. Now, this isn’t your average off the shelf, struggling hellebore which may cost a mere few quid, it was a once in a blue moon chance to obtain, maybe 15-20 years of slow growth which had created one of the most architecturally, stunning specimen plants that can be added to a garden.

Having transplanted several of these before, of similar stature, I had a good idea that this would be possible and that the plant would survive, the equipment needed and the man power involved… so during the hottest spell of weather so far this year, three of our volunteers, our plant sales manager, Warren, and myself rendezvoused at the site and set about the removal of what is essentially a wrecking ball covered in razor blades and spikes.

The removal of the lower leaf swords and terminal spikes was the first step, so we could even contemplate getting close to the plant. What was left was then tied up and the crown severed from the root ball. Agave, like many succulents, do not need much, if any, roots at all to transplant. That is a big plus for a ‘plant’, which, above ground alone, weighed in at around 50kg!

After some careful manoeuvres, with the help from 4 ropes and levers, the plant was secured in the van and stored dry and shady back at the gardens. Another great advantage of succulents is that they can survive for days, if not months, without contact with soil.

In its native habitat, stretching from the Southern United States, into Mexico and south through Central America, into the northern countries of South America, Agave Americana has long been revered. Used as a food source some 8000 years ago by the Aztecs, to today where it is used to produce Mezcal, an alcoholic drink similar to Tequila. Similarly to Champagne, the Mezcal can only be named Tequlia if it is made from a specific Agave, ‘tequilana’, as it is solely native to the specific region of Mexico.

Now successfully colonising across much of Mediterranean Europe, Agave Americana is considered a ‘weed’ and is a prolific survivor in hot, dry arid regions. It propagates itself by producing offsets or ‘pups’, small identical plants appear around the base of the mother plant. After anything from 15 years old in ideal environmental conditions, the mother plant becomes capable of producing one of the largest flowers of any flora in the world. A spike of over 30 feet tall is possible! The spectacle lasts around 6-8 months, after which, the plant dies. This is known as being monocarpic.

Very few gardens are lucky enough to have such a great specimen, and I feel lucky to have one now at Marwood Hill for visitors to enjoy. I’d like to thank those who made it possible – volunteers Mike, Gary and Ian.