You may want to put a blanket over them, forecast to be in the teens later this week.

We've been having some temperatures in the teens lately... and I have found my first sign of trouble. The lower portion of that leaf in the center of the picture, where it is discolored, is also soft and leathery. Mushiness will soon follow. Further examination around this plant shows the problem is not localized to this spot but rather found here and there. Portions of this plant appear to have frozen solid and thawed out only to waste away I presume. I can only assume this plant is not as hardy as advertised. I know a shelter may have saved him but I would like to find out what can survive without cover. If none can, then I will either build shelters, put them in pots, or simply do without Agaves.



The two Parryi's (truncata and 'JC Raulston') on the other hand appear rock solid and unblemished. Although I can't really be sure if they're internally damaged or not. No wrinkling is yet visible, but it is too soon to tell.



The 7 potted pups seem reasonably content.


Agave Montana looks quite content to spend the winter in a greenhouse. This may turn out to be the best solution.

Things are going from bad to worse. An arctic air mass came down with howling winds and froze the ground about as bad as it ever does around here. Then a "snow event" came along and left me with this:



That's not too bad, but later an ice storm came along and turned the snow into ice:



Despite reasonable temperatures for a few days this ice would simply not melt. Every other bit of ice in my yard did melt... but not my Agave popsicles.

Then things got even worse... a historic snow storm came along and dumped a huge load of dense, icy snow on top of everything. Now my Agaves are entombed in ice:



Bone-chilling cold temperatures are forecast for the next 5 days so these ice blocks are going nowhere anytime soon.

However... a huge turn in the weather is forcast for next week. The temps will approach 50 as a warm rain storm is going to dump several inches of rain on us. This will be on top of frozen soil and a significant snow pack. It's going to be a swamp.

Did I pick the wrong year to do this? This first month of winter has been worse than any other entire winter that I can recall in the last 30 years. They're already calling this a 100 year event, and there's plenty more to come. Impeccable timing wouldn't you say?

I can see my Agave Ovatifolia has severe damage... I consider it a total loss. I'm surprised how quickly it succumbed as it was supposed to one of the best to handle this climate. And that was before this latest round of torturous weather.

My Agave Parryi Truncata was looking pretty good but I can see some wrinkly, softening leaves down below. That was before this latest arctic blast. Only the lower, outer leaves were effected. I wondered if the rest of the plant would carry on. This latest round of weather has squashed that hope. I'm pretty sure it's a goner inside that ice casing.

The Agave Parryi JC Raulston has shown no damage, although I cannot see inside the current ice casing. But it has carried on where the others have not. When it all melts next week I'll take a final assessment. If it is undamaged at that time I will consider that a great victory but I'm not gonna bet the farm on it yet.

On the brighter side, check out these Agave Parryi JC Raulston in pots.



These are pups from the larger plant that is currently a popsicle. These guys are only a few feet away but are protected from snow and ice storms underneath the eve of my house. They've been exposed to the same wicked temperatures as the others, and being in pots I'm sure their roots must have frozen solid. But today in the sunshine they appear as good as new. I can't find a single thing wrong with them. This gives me hope that their parent plant may also survive. If it does survive this trainwreck of a winter, that would be quite a nice surprise.

Tim, winter is such, always tough on the succulents. It sure will be a tough learning curve..important thing is to learn from the experience.

This is interesting to follow. If I can suggest, allow your Agaves to remain unmolested until the damaged foliage dries and falls off. If portions of the plant are alive, it will callous over and not rot. I've found if you remove the freeze damaged plant material too soon, the rot will spread to the plant and kill it absolutely.

Not sure if your Agaves will do this but I've also found many succulents will send up new growth from the roots after winter. Did I understand that you also have more Agave plants that you did not leave outdoors this winter?

Tim, maybe the snow cover well help on the 15* nights. I got hit with 14" of snow on Monday, if it ever melts I'll see what I have left alive. Had a power outage and started to worry about the indoor plants, got cold in a hurry.

pod said:Did I understand that you also have more Agave plants that you did not leave outdoors this winter?

I have a young Agave Montana in a cold frame that appears as happy as a clam. It must get pretty cold in there but there is some thermal protection and 100% rain and snow protection. Also an Agave Parryi Truncata pup from last year, it also seems unfazed in there.

Cold frame with reasonably happy Agaves inside... among other things.


I also have 5 Agave Parryi JC Raulston potted pups sitting only a few yards away from those in my pictures above. There's also a picture of them above. They are all undamaged. They are under the eve of my house and some of them have dry soil as a result but one is totally saturated with water and is still going well, despite the pot's exposure. Hopefully, their parent plant out in the garden will make it. If so, I'm planting all those pups out in the garden.

I have some 15-gallon pots available. I'm thinking next year of trying an Agave Americana of some sort in one of those pots. And then carting it into my garage when cold comes. But... first things first.

madcratebuilder said:Tim, maybe the snow cover well help on the 15* nights. I got hit with 14" of snow on Monday, if it ever melts I'll see what I have left alive. Had a power outage and started to worry about the indoor plants, got cold in a hurry.

Yes... I am hoping for some insulating effects. I really think that JC Rauston has a chance. I chose it based on its strong winter performance reported by a local gal who runs a gardening blog. She talks about it here:

http://www.thedangergarden.com...

If it does survive this winter, I would recommend any of you Western Oregon'ers to dash over to Blooming Junction Nursery when they open in Spring and grab one. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

She also has success with the same Agave Ovatifolia I have, but says this year she threw some frost protection over it.

OK... the weather nightmare has passed. Nine days of arctic snow cover are finally over. A few days of 46 degree rains and southerly breezes have melted all the snow and ice and I can now take a serious look at the conditions of my poor Agaves.

Agave Parryi var Truncata

This one I regret putting outside like this. I knew it to be less hardy than the others. However, it is just so beautiful I had to try it. It lived last winter in a pot in a cold frame and was very happy. I should have put it back in there this year. It doesn't look half bad in this picture but a close visual and manual inspection reveals that virtually all the leaves are totally soft and mushy. Those leaves are history. However, the central cone and the immediately surrounding leaves appear solid and in good condition. Its two pups also appear to be OK. I am optimistic that with some serious amputations this plant could make a recovery next Spring. Perhaps too optimistic? If any more serious weather comes along I will put up some protection for this guy and just assume he is not suitably self sufficient in this climate. This guy makes a superb container specimen. Lesson learned.


Agave Ovatifolia 'Frosty Blue'

This guy is in about the same condition as the Truncata above. Almost all the leaves outside the central cone are mush and have been for some time. I don't really know what to think about this. I know other people have had outdoor success with this one. Was my failure an anomoly? Was this weather spell an anomoly? I haven't decided if I should try this one again or not. I know some other growers of this plant and I will see how they fared before writing this guy off. Again, the central core appears intact but there is so much dead tissue I doubt I will even consider any rescue attempts.


Agave Parryi 'JC Raulston'

This one looks pretty good, wouldn't you say. I cannot find a single thing wrong with it. All of its leaves feel solid and alive, and the cone feels as solid as a rock. I have great confidence that this guy will make it through this winter and others to come. Might I hope to see it flower one day? I had heard great things about this one's moisture tolerance. And although its cold hardiness is not the best of the Parryis, it is more than adequate. I am very encouraged by this although I can still hear my grandmother telling me not to count my chickens before they hatch. I realize I am far from the finish line and it's quite possible this guy has internal damage in its core. At the same time I'm dreaming of an entire garden bed filled with these as though I was living in Phoenix.

oops... deleted

Tim, they do look like big specimens, so maybe it will callus off rotted ends and try to endure. But just got to keep it really dry to make it work. Good luck.

tarev said:Tim, they do look like big specimens, so maybe it will callus off rotted ends and try to endure. But just got to keep it really dry to make it work. Good luck.

Do you recommend cutting them off? Or just letting them heal by themselves?
If I cut them, what time of year is best?

I will not do it now, will wait for Spring to do that. Plant is in so much stress as it is. Sometimes it may just heal that part and seal the rest of the injury, and when it really gets dry, it is like paper you can easily tear off the dried out part.

Normally, I would tend to agree with Tarev, if the frost damage just stayed like that: mushy leaves. If that remains the status quo, they should eventually just dry out and shrivel up. However, on the lower leaves of the Ovi it looks like the mushiness is starting to convert into outright fungal/bacterial rot (not really surprising given that it was cold and wet) - and if that happens your core might still be toast, since by leaving on all those mushy destroyed leaves makes for fertile grounds for the rot, so it can easily spread, and even reach the now still healthy relatively unaffected parts of the plant, especially if things stay wet, which they are probably going to be.

So, if that is really rot I would probably cut the leaves of right now and you might want to go over those plants with some antifungals/antibacterials just as a precaution.

I've given up on the Ovi, it's a total loss as far as I'm concerned. The Truncata I will give it every opportunity to heal and resurrect itself... if it can.
Here is an Agave Parryi Truncata in a friend's garden that lives about 40 miles south of me. She says it is as solid as a rock. I'm stumped as to why hers is doing better. Maybe the 40 miles of latitude helps. Maybe it's the soil, hers is raised 18" with a commercial sandy loam mixture. Mine also gets significant summer and fall moisture which I wonder would not be helpful going into winter.
If drainage was the issue, wouldn't that effect the inner leaves as much as the outer?

40 miles is a significant distance in itself, somewhat like here, as you go more inland or if you go more to the south it gets warmer, micro climates.

It could also depend how much more mature one plant is from another. It would be a good comparison if you know both your plants were planted at the same time and exactly the same age.

Sometimes there are just some succulents not meant to be planted in ground, better to be in containers so it can be moved away when inclement weather is around. A tough learning curve to know which ones it will be. And this particular winter season, at least to my mind is much more rainy and colder compared to previous years. Don't know if it is the same in your area. Every year is different, so best to be more careful next time, if you still want to try same type of Agave.

Continuing observations.

Agave Ovatifolia is showing the seriousness of its condition. Every outside leaf is badly damaged and many are drooping as a result. This was expected. Even the two upright leaves in the center are badly compromised, although the cone inside appears solid. Although this plant may be salvageable, I think I won't even try. It succumbed so easily to the bad weather even before January, I am reluctant to deal with this variety anymore.


Agave Parryi Truncata had no problem with the December weather but got hurt badly in January. Its cone is apparently alive and well. It also has two live pups that you can see on the left and right side of it, and a third at the very bottom of the picture. The many wrinkled leaves appear lively and upright, but they are fatally spongy to the touch. Almost as though it is pretending to be happy. I will try to salvage this plant along with its pups. I can't leave them orphaned after all.


Agave Parryi 'JC Raulston' still looks and feels as good as new, so I shall plant more of that. Here I am planning to plant two of its pups from last year into a recent planting of some Sedum Spurium 'Elizabeth'. I think the dark red sedum growing around the Agaves will be quite becoming. Assuming all goes according to plan.

So tempting to pull A. ovatifolia carefully and transfer it to a container. I would, if it were mine. I don't give up easily on my succulents. I would just remove the lower leaves if it is really mush, help it dry out, and it may just come back better once conditions improve, but has to be in container and kept dry.

tarev said:So tempting to pull A. ovatifolia carefully and transfer it to a container. I would, if it were mine. I don't give up easily on my succulents. I would just remove the lower leaves if it is really mush, help it dry out, and it may just come back better once conditions improve, but has to be in container and kept dry.

The Ovatifolia turns out to be in even worse condition than I thought. I went to snip off some of the dead leaves and that exposed the lower parts of the cone. I could see then that the cone is much more damaged than I could see before. Oddly, the lower, internal parts of the cone were worse damaged than the top, exposed leaves of the cone. There was so much dead tissue in the lower cone that I could snap it off without too much trouble. It makes me wonder if my Agave Parryi Truncata is similarly damaged in its cone, although I doubt it.

Warning: graphic and disturbing image follows. Not for the faint of heart.










This guy's fate is no longer in question.

poor plant...

Go check your truncata now..or pull it out, while you still can..now you know it really cannot take this coldweather..while there is still time for it dry out, apply cinnamon, let it heal, hopefully it can.

Our weather forecast here shows rain again starting Feb 1, and you are to our north, so you will get it first again!

After seeing how the core of my Ovatifolia was compromised, I decided to trim off the dead leaves of the Truncata. That would allow me to see if it was fatally damaged in its core. What an unpleasant chore this was. I lost some blood but not too much.



The short-nosed Fiskars snippers were indispensable for snipping through the very fibrous leaves. Even though the outside of the softened leaves seemed good, the insides were a juicy, mushy mess. The Messermeister tomato knife was useful for slicing excess material. The long scissors were useful for getting into tight spots. I seem to have had the right tools if not the right knowledge.
The core seems solid, unlike the Ovatifolia's core. I will place that plastic cloche over the plant at night and during rain. All things considered, I'm not too hopeful, but I think it has a chance... maybe.