Garden Interview with Steven Barbaro

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QUESTIONS:

What kinds of plants are Agaves?

Agave plants are succulent plants from the subfamily of monocot flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, order Asparagales. They can make great additions to tropical or desert plant collections. With over 450 known species, choosing the right plant is important.

Agaves are desert plants, so full sun is important as is not overwatering. They are slow-growing plants so even large species are manageable for many years.

Agaves aren’t without a downside. Most are armed with large terminal spikes and smaller ones along their leaf edges. Treat them like you would a cactus and approach them carefully.

How do you take care of agaves?

When caring for you agave, place them in a sunny window or outside in a sunny area to soak up as much sun as possible. Dont let the soil completely dry up but only water when the top 2-3 inches is dry. Water very lightly during winter months. Most are very delicate with frost but there are some species that can grow in colder climates. Always bring your agave in before the first frost and never let it freeze. They like warm dry weather so if you’re expecting a weekend’s worth of rain, you may want to move it to an area shielded from the rain or bring it inside. When choosing soil, use a cactus mix or a 50/50 mix of quality potting soil and perlite or sand. You can fertilize your plant with standard plant fertilizer but only mix to 50% strength.

How do I repot an Agave?

Agaves do not need to be repotted every year as they grow slowly and can keep the same pot for many years. It’s best to leave it alone unless it is necessary to repot as they do not like their roots disturbed. If you do need to repot, use gloves and trim away some of the lower leaves so you can handle the base, rather than pulling on the leaves. Knock off as much of the old soil and refresh it with new, nutrient rich, well-draining soil.

Many agaves reproduce by offsets so you may start seeing smaller agaves pop up around the mother plant. If you want to keep your plant as a single specimen, you can remove the ‘pups’ and plant them in another container or allow it to grow in a group.

What’s the best way to use agaves in the landscape?

They are great as an eye-catching focal point or grouped together for impact.  They also do well in containers.

What kind of agaves do you sell?

• Agave Americana
• Agave Tequilana
• Agave Desmettiana variegated
• Agave mitis multicolor
• Other agaves may be available as my mature plants reproduce.

Do you have other plants besides agaves?

I have sedum, mint, aloes and more.

Interesting facts about Agaves.

Agaves are also called century plants because they were once believed to only bloom once in a 100 years. While many bloom after 15-30 years, its still an amazing but tragic sight. The bloom is also the death of the plant. A long stalk will form in the center of the plant and reach up to 30 feet where it will branch out with flowers. Once pollinated they will form seed pods or, with some species, grow clones of itself and the main plant will die afterwards. The seeds or pups will scatter and start the cycle over again.

Agaves also hold a cultural significance for those in the Southwest US, Mexico, Central America and into South America and they were used in the production of fermented drinks such as pulque, a beer-like drink, mezcal and tequila.

What’s the best way to reach you?

People can call, text or contact me through facebook at Facebook.com/901agave to arrange meeting time as I do this part time when I’m not at my regular job.