Since agaves are monocarpic plants, they have a bit of a “one and done” lifestyle—they bloom once and then unfortunately pass away. But don’t worry! You don’t have to lose that gorgeous evergreen look in your garden. We’ve rounded up the best and easiest ways to propagate your succulents so you can keep the agave legacy alive.
Propagating via Pups (Offsets)
It’s pretty common for an agave in a pot to start feeling a little cramped. Usually, it’s not because the main plant grew too fast, but because it’s busy making “pups.” As desert natives, agaves produce these little offsets around the base of the mother plant to ensure the next generation survives. To propagate your plant using these pups like a pro, just follow these steps:
- Use a sharp, clean knife to carefully detach pups that already have roots from the mother plant.
- Be extra careful not to nick or damage the mother plant’s root system while you’re at it.
- If you find a pup without roots yet, no problem! Just pop it into a glass of water for a bit.
- Once those water-babies have grown roots (or if they already had them), they’re ready for their own pots.
- When potting them up, make sure to use a special succulent or cactus mix or a well-draining enriched soil.
- Give the young plants a light misting at first, but hold off on a real watering for about two weeks.
Pro Tip: Since agaves generally need repotting every two to three years anyway, that’s the perfect time to harvest your pups. The best time for repotting and propagating is right after the winter dormancy period.
Propagating from Seed
Besides grabbing offsets, you can also grow new agaves from seed. However, because of their unique blooming cycle, these succulents only produce seeds once in their lifetime right before they die. This makes seed propagation a bit trickier than just pulling off pups. Plus, it takes a lot of patience—some agave species can take decades before they finally flower and produce seeds!
Growing young agaves from seed isn’t exactly the “fast track” compared to using pups. But if you’re up for the challenge of raising a desert beauty from scratch, you can usually find fresh seeds at your local garden center or through online specialty shops.
