Many gardeners don't want to miss out on the Mediterranean flair of succulents like agave in the garden. However, in Central Europe not all agave species can be overwintered outdoors without any problems and without protection.
How do you protect agaves from frost?
To protect an agave from frost, it should overwinter in a cold house at 7-10°C. For frost-resistant species such as Agave parryi or Agave utahensis, which can withstand temperatures down to -15°C, roofing, coarse gravel, pottery shards and sloping planting are important to avoid waterlogging.
It depends on the exact subspecies
Today, more than 300 subspecies belonging to the agave plant genus are known. These sometimes differ greatly in size and growth speed as well as in their color appearance. However, what all agaves have in common is that they can store a lot of water in their thick-fleshed leaves, like a cactus. In this country, this becomes their downfall in particularly wintery temperatures, as the leaves then freeze and usually turn yellow and die in spring at the latest. But there are also agave species from mountainous regions such as the Agave parryi or the Agave utahensis. These can tolerate temperatures down to around minus 15 degrees Celsius and can therefore survive the winter outdoors in mild locations.
There is an enemy worse than the winter cold
The frosty winter cold is not the only enemy that substantially threatens agaves in the winter garden. Almost worse than the frost itself is the pronounced moisture, which sometimes causes the first signs of rot on the roots and leaves of the agave plants as early as autumn. So that waterlogging does not become a problem for your agaves, you can move potted specimens to a covered place in the garden from late summer onwards. During the winter you can also rely on the following measures:
- surround the plants themselves with coarse gravel and pottery shards
- cover the agaves (a foil cover (€10.00 on Amazon) would ensure moisture retention)
- Always plant agaves at a slight angle on a slight slope
A slight inclination of the plants in the bed ensures that rainwater can run off and does not collect on the leaf rosettes.
This is how the non-frost-hardy agaves are properly overwintered
Agaves that are not hardy are protected from the rain in the fall and moved to a cold house to overwinter at temperatures between 7 and 10 degrees Celsius. A garage, an unheated winter garden or a stairwell, for example, can serve as a cold house with as much daylight as possible and temperatures between 10 and 15 degrees Celsius.
Tip
Even more important for the care of any agave in winter than during the summer is a relatively pronounced dryness at the roots of the plant. Large specimens of Agave americana can sometimes be overwintered outdoors if they are kept as dry as possible and protected from the worst frosts with a cover.
