My Mangave ‘Foxy Lady’ is in the process of making bulbils — dozens, maybe hundreds. I was going to include a few photos in my last This and that post, but I decided to write a separate piece so I can dive a bit deeper into the mystery and marvel that are bulbils.
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| Bulbils forming on the flower stalk of my Mangave ‘Foxy Lady’ |
Bulbils are baby plants, genetically identical to the parent, that form directly on the flower stalk (aka inflorescence). Often they develop the beginnings of roots (called root primordia) while still attached. In nature, when the bulbil-laden flower stalk eventually falls over or the bulbils are dislodged by wind or wildlife, they quickly take root and begin growing as independent plants.
Bulbils are rare in the wider plant kingdom, but fairly common in some plant families like amaryllis and lily. Some agave species (as well as most furcraeas and certain yuccas) produce bulbils as a brilliant evolutionary insurance policy. The reason is simple: Most agaves are monocarpic, meaning they flower only once at the end of their life, invest all their energy into a massive reproductive effort, and then die. Because producing seeds relies on successful pollination and favorable weather, it can be risky. If pollination fails or conditions are too harsh for the delicate seedlings, the plant faces a reproductive dead-end. Bulbils bypass the vulnerable seed-and-seedling stage entirely. By shedding thousands of hardy miniature clones, the parent plant ensures its genetic legacy even if no viable seeds are produced.
A handful of agave species, including Agave vilmoriniana, Agave desmetiana, Agave angustifolia, Agave sisalana, and Agave tequilana, produce prolific amounts of bulbils, sometimes hundreds or thousands on a single inflorescence while most other species rely almost exclusively on seed or offsets (pups). However, even those species will sometimes produce bulbils if the flower stalk is damaged before it can complete the flowering cycle and make seeds.
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| My Mangave ‘Foxy Lady’ in its heyday |
When it comes to mangaves, ‘Bloodspot’, ‘Freckles and Speckles’, ‘Night Owl’, ‘Purple People Eater’ and ‘Silver Fox’ are all known to form bulbils instead of, or in addition to, setting seed. ‘Foxy Lady’ is a beautiful sport (mutation) of ‘Silver Fox’ so it’s not surprising that it, too, relies on bulbils as a primary form of reproduction (it also produces offsets, but sparingly).
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| Mangave ‘Foxy Lady’ last year |
My ‘Foxy Lady’ began pushing a flower stalk last October. Not much happened during the winter months, but in March the flowers finally began to open. Now, 3+ months later, the inflorescence is full of bulbils ranging in size from barely there to two inches in diameter. Plus, there’s still a smattering of flowers that might turn into bulbils, too.
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| June 30, 2026 |
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| There are still a few flowers left, some of them not even open yet |
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| Even the tiny bulbils already look like the parent |
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| The only seed pod I was able to find, and it doesn’t look viable |
My ‘Foxy Lady’ was solitary for a long time, but it eventually made a few pups. Typically, the main rosette flowers and dies, and the pups keep the clump going. However, three of the pups also produced flower stalks. They’re much shorter than the main inflorescence, but they, too, have bulbils.
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| Three pups are flowering, too |
This phenomenon is called synchronous or sympathetic flowering. Since the pups are still physically connected to the mother plant via underground rhizomes, the hormones that trigger flowering in the mother plant travel down the rhizomes and flood the growing tips of the pups, prematurely forcing them into a reproductive state. It’s not super common, but it does happen.
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| Bulbils on one of the smaller inflorescences |
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| The two flower stalks highlighted in yellow barely extend above the rosette |
When it comes to harvesting the bulbils, it’s best to wait until the flowers have finished blooming and the bulbils are large enough to handle comfortably, maybe a couple of inches across. At that point, you can simply snap or cut them off the stalk. Let the cut ends dry and callus over for a few days to prevent rot, then put them in well-draining soil. Keep the soil slightly moist while the roots develop. Afterwards you can treat them like you would any standard succulent, i.e. water only when the soil is completely dry.
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| Tiny marvels |
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| Bulbils rooting in 2" pots |
I took off these two bulbils for demonstration purposes. I’ll wait another month or two before I remove the rest. The longer you leave them on the flower stalk, the better. Larger bulbils have more developed root primordia and will establish faster.
How many bulbils will I root/keep? Ideally, no more than 10. But more likely, all of them. The need to have a plant sale is becoming more acute every day.
© Gerhard Bock, 2026. All rights reserved. To receive all new posts by email, please subscribe here.
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