In contrast to many other plant species, pruning as a means of limiting the size of agaves doesn't really make sense. If these exotic plants are to be cultivated as compact houseplants, for example, more compact growing agave species must be selected.
Can you cut agave?
Should you cut an agave? Normally, cutting agaves is not necessary because they grow slowly and do not tolerate cuts well. However, it may be necessary to carefully remove diseased, dried out or injured leaves with a sharp knife.
Reasons for cutting agaves
Since, on the one hand, agaves grow rather slowly and, on the other hand, they can only tolerate cuts very poorly, these plants are usually not cut at all. While other plants are encouraged to grow fresh when repotting by cutting back the roots and leaf mass, agaves should be injured as little as possible when repotting. However, there can also be “emergency situations” with agaves in which individual plant parts must be removed:
- for obviously diseased leaves
- for leaves that are already yellow and completely dried out
- if a sheet was accidentally seriously injured or torn
The long, narrow and typically thickened leaves of the agave store large water reserves inside. Injured leaves therefore pose a risk in terms of drying out and possible pathogens. They should be cut off as smoothly as possible from the stem of the plant with a clean and sharp knife, without cutting too deeply into it.
This is how agaves can be propagated via Kindel
There can also be reasons other than an injured leaf to attack an agave with a sharp knife. This is the case, for example, when a so-called child grows out of the side of the mother plant. You can easily separate this offshoot from the mother plant when repotting and plant it in a separate pot for propagation. If a child forms on agaves with flower heads, removing them can sometimes prevent the otherwise imminent death of the mother plant.
Alternatives for cutting off the spines
In the past, the sharp spines of certain types of agave were often cut off from the ends of the leaves in order to prevent injuries. Unfortunately, not only does this leave unsightly scars on the leaves, this practice is also not necessarily good for the plants. As a compromise between plant he alth and the need for safety, you can make the sharp spines “harmless” by putting bottle corks on them.
Tip
If individual leaves of the agave are dying, they should only be separated from the plant and disposed of when they have completely dried out and all nutrients have been extracted from the leaves.
