This plant has begun to form a small plant at the base.
Does that mean that it is near the blooming stage and,
if so, will it die after blooming? I've had it about 4 years.
Thanks for any info,
Louise
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Louise ~ I'm not great at IDs but I believe your plant is not an aloe but an agave?

Thanks for the info. I wondered if that was the correct name or not.
I tried to edit the first thread post and it wouldn't let me access the
lead in title to change the aloe to agave.
Am I going to lose the plant by natural causes? I hope not because
it takes a while to grow one this large. how large do they grow when
they are mature?

Louise

Many Agaves make pups but continue to grow, so I wouldn't worry too much.
The mature size depends on the species. There are some that will be 6 ft tall and wide.

I don't think you will lose it because of the pup. I used to have a huge agave when I lived in Calif and it sent pups out constantly and over great distances from underground roots. The main one didn't die. It was actually a major pain because the thorns were deadly and it started encroaching on the walk. I finally had to hire someone with a long crowbar to remove it and still, I found pups for years.

We had a large, wicked one growing near the sidewalk when we lived in AZ. One day when I came home for lunch and managed to impale my knee on one thorn. It was agonizing for a week or so. I learned to nip the thorns off in self defense.

It wouldn't be the first time I was wrong but if I recall, I read the telltale imprint of the leaves on the Agave are indicative on A. Americana? ( if I recall ) I noticed yours shows those imprints, Louise.

OMG! The 6' wide and 6' tall would be a problem.
I did search for the Agave Americana and it does really
look a lot like mine. And, the thorns are already wicked.
It was a gift from a grand-daughter who graduated in
May from UTSan Marcos. I think the plants are plentiful
in that part of Texas.
Thanks to all of you for the quick answers. I have another
one that is not quite so large and is a beautiful blue color.
It has a total of six pups, each about 3-4" tall now. It's in a
much smaller pot than the first one. The problem now is
handling it for the upgrade to a larger pot.
Louise

Get a pair of simple nail clippers to 'disarm' the plant.

Yes, I have a little hedgehog Agave which isn't quite as aggressive as yours but after my encounter with the large one, I swore I wouldn't have a plant with thorns or stickers. I do keep it in line with nail clippers too.

Nail clippers to the rescue!
Thanks for the remedy (I should have know that....)

Louise

Unless you are growing it outside in the yard, I wouldn't worry too much about it getting that big, either. They need a lot of space, time and a lot of sun to get that large.

To my experience, whether or not they have the bud imprint is about 50/50 - some species do, some don't. They are very lovely, aren't they?

My own personal favorite is the A. macroacantha, a smaller, silvery agave with black spines. I just got some of these from a sale at one of the local high schools, what a find. I'm wondering if it's too late in the year to plant them out - I know they prefer warm soils....

Sheryl,
The reason that I haven't planted mine outside is because
our temps many times get down to 15-19 degrees for a few
days in a row. Would that damage them?
Below, I'll post a picture of the other one, the blue one. It
is the one that has 6 or 7 pups around the bottom and the
pot seems way too small for any of those to grow very much.

Louise
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Sheryl,
here's the picture of the smaller triple(?) brug that is opening.
It's already starting to color a bit - seems like it will be some
kind of peach/salmon. The tag in the pot says 'Tootsie' but
it may have gotten switched from another pot. The very cold spell
that we had a couple of weeks ago kinda nipped the end of the
bud as it was beginning to open. The end just mashed in my
fingers and appeared to be frost-bitten. I wondered if it would
still open alright.
I'll root a piece for you in a few weeks.
Louise
___________

You can stunt them by keeping them in a smaller container. I have an agave of unknown type but it is one of the ones that gets large. I planted it when it was a pup in a coconut shell and while it is starting to look kind of sad, it has been in that shell for over a year and only grown a little. I think the reason it looks sad is because there isn't enough room for the roots now.

I would really like to know just how low the temp can get
and still be safe for them to be in the ground outside. I
had a very large beautiful Sago in the ground. It was fine
for a couple of years and then came the 15-19 degree nights
for several in a row and it froze down to the ground. It
barely came back the next year with only six or so shoots
that came up to 8-10" and no more all year. I decided to
dig it up and found the central plant was gone but it had a
dozen small bulbs on the side under ground. I took them
off, discarded the mother plant and put the small ones in
separate pots. They seem to be just sitting still and haven't
started to grow even though they had good root systems
started. I'm puzzled as to what to do next.
If anyone has a suggestion, please help.

Louise

Your Brugs are just wonderful, Louise!

I agree with Jonna, the size of the pot is going to determine a lot.

I wish I could give you a definite answer on the cold hardiness of your plants, but it completely varies by species. There are some that can take snow, but some of the ones from Central America can suffer damage even here in the blast furnace. When working with them you might want to think in terms of micro-climate and your ability to keep them warm on cooler nights. A lot of them can be covered (with anything but plastic, unless you can keep it above the leaves), if you suspect your covering is too light - like a sheet - put a light bulb in with it (wow, that's going to be an issue with the loss of incandescent lights, huh?) like the ones at the end of an extension cord. You used to be able to use Christmas lights, but they are typically going to LED which is no help.

If it were mine, I'd pot up one of the pups this spring and let it establish, then try it as an experiment next spring.

If you like the A. macrocantha at all, I will send you one in exchange, Louise. Or something else you like, just let me know. I know you're carting a lot of stuff indoors right now, so I don't want to add to that!

extranjera said:I don't think you will lose it because of the pup. I used to have a huge agave when I lived in Calif and it sent pups out constantly and over great distances from underground roots. The main one didn't die. It was actually a major pain because the thorns were deadly and it started encroaching on the walk. I finally had to hire someone with a long crowbar to remove it and still, I found pups for years.

Thanks for your advice. I think I will repot it, put the pups in separate pots, keep inside this winter
and next spring plant the large one in the ground. I'll still have the smaller ones to keep inside in
case the large one freezes. I think the bluish one is prettier than the green one but I like both.

LM

Oh, there are some really spectacular colors and forms. Have you seen the "whale tongue" agave? I think it's A. obovata... really cool. And, of course, both the A. victoria reginae and the A. parryii, very popular here for very good reasons.