Post-winter the large plant has the same spots my big A. ovatifolia have, and overall it's quite healthy, despite growing on the north side of a tall home (see the post I wrote about discovering these Agaves here). I think the biggest problem is the mulch collecting in the bottom of the leaves and around the crown. People...don't mulch the plants!
Weather Diary, May 9: Hi 75, Low 48/ Precip 0
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The remarkable thing is that they survived winter.
ReplyDeleteIf you were carrying a cordless blower on the way to dinner you could have done them a small favor.
If I had a cordless blower I would be a happy gardener. I started researching them but never did make the purchase. Do you have a favorite?
DeleteOh, I was kind of joking. I rather loath the noise pollution they create, although what's a little noise when it comes to saving agave?
DeleteI wonder if some gardener blew the mulch in there. My own whale's tongue agave likes to collect leaves from the guava trees nearby - I sometimes have a devil of a time removing them without injury.
ReplyDeleteLike it was a "professional" rather than the homeowner/gardener? That seems likely.
DeleteCan you take along a can of compressed air next time you walk past, and give them a good blast? It's so worrisome for them to rot with all that around the base, especially after having survived this horrid winter.
ReplyDeleteThat would be nice of me wouldn't it? First I'd need to buy a can of air...
DeleteLeaf blower or shop vac. to the rescue! There's something jarring about agaves growing out of bark mulch.
ReplyDeleteAgreed.
DeleteNow I don't feel so bad about neglectful mulching.
ReplyDeleteYou neglectful? Never...
DeleteOoh, you do NOT want to see my cactus bed right now if a little bark mulch upsets you. (Bark mulch would be a step up from what I have). The mulch between the leaves makes me crazy too!
ReplyDeleteBut I bet you've got a blower?
DeleteI love Peter's idea of the shop vac. He suggested it for the fruits of the Styrax too. Stroke of genius, which I will take full advantage of next year. This year, I'm pulling those darn things out by the handful, as usual.
ReplyDeleteMe too, I HATE HATE HATE the Styrax.
DeleteYikes! Makes me want to get a stick and flick off as much of the mulch as possible. All that organic matter promotes rotting and spots too, tsk...
ReplyDeleteIt's a sad state...
DeleteI would only use stone mulch. We use fish hook pullers at The Ruth Bancroft Garden to get down between the Agave leaves, and to pull weeds out from the cacti. A great tool to have!
ReplyDeleteFish hook pullers!!! Brian thank you! Something new to add to my tool box.
DeleteYou can tell I've been out in my garden all day when I am not checking blogs until the evening. I learned that my verbena bonariensis never returned because I mulched the area where it was planted.
ReplyDeleteYikes, seedlings didn't have enough light to grow?
DeleteLinda... I'm in Denver and for the last few years my vb's have readily reseeded in the dense bark pathway... enough that they wanted to become a shrub! I haven't planted a new vb in years!
DeleteAmateurs! ;)
ReplyDeleteHa! You made me laugh.
DeleteYour readers have great ideas! Love the ingenuity. It IS a tricky problem--getting debris out from within and weeds out from under. Not that I keep my yuccas as clean as I should (😧😬) but here's the coolest thing I've used: for yuccas in reach of our shop with its air compressor tool, I've used use 50-foot+ air hose and the sharp spraying nozzle. For cleaning inside crevices between leaves, it's fantastic!!!
ReplyDeleteOopsie!
ReplyDelete