Rotting Agave pumila pulls through

In January, I noticed that a few leaves on my prized Agave pumila in the front yard had started to rot. The seemingly non-stop rain in January was simply too much. (In total we had over 30 inches of rain this winter--10 inches more than our historic average.)

I first applied a fungicide in hopes of stopping the infection but that didn't seem to do very much. I was thiiiiiis close to removing the entire plant but pity got the better of me and I decided to give it one last chance. I pulled off the rotten leaves--they practically came off in my hands--when to my surprise I noticed a handful of babies hiding underneath. There was no way I could get rid of the mama now!

Fast forward 3+ months to May 24. This is what my Agave pumila looks like now:

Mama may be half the plant it used to be, but it has healed and is pushing out new leaves.



And the babies are growing too:


They're better off staying with mama for a while yet. 


This winter was brutal enough, which is why it's good to see a success story!

Comments

  1. Whew ..I bet that's a relief ! My A. 'Arizona Star is making a comeback too. It looks a bit crappy right now but the new growth is plentiful.

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    1. My 'Arizona Star' also had some problems with leaf spots over the winter. The new leaves look perfect. Keep on growing, baby!

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  2. I'm glad she and her babies didn't drown! We got almost 24 inches of rain, significantly more than our average which is just a smidgen less than 15 inches, but I recently determined that our soil is heavy on sand so our drainage is good - almost too good.

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    1. You're lucky with your soil. Ours is the opposite--clay. Fortunately, we've amended most areas in the garden enough over the years that it's not a big problem any longer.

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  3. Ahh that's good. And perhaps in just a few weeks it will be back to its original size, if not bigger.

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    1. It'll be a while yet since it's a slow grower. I can't wait to see what it looks like in a year's time.

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  4. I have trouble staying with disfigured, is-it-dead-yet plants, so your happy ending is a lesson for me to hang in there and be patient. Look at all those babies!

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    1. Me too! That's why I wanted to remove it. And I would have done that if it hadn't been for those offsets.

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  5. A happy ending to a wonderful winter. Can't say no to rain. All your plants in that area look larger, and refreshed.

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    1. I was getting a bit sick of the rain there a few months ago but now I'm wishing for a rainy day...

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  6. I'm so glad you didn't yank that agave, Gerhard! I knew it would make it!

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  7. Replies
    1. Too often they don't get a chance because of impatient people like me!

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