Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Sunday - September 21, 2014
From: Willis, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Transplants, Cacti and Succulents
Title: Need help with century plant in Willis, TX
Answered by: Jimmy Mills
QUESTION:
Ok so I have two gorgeously monstrous century plants in my yard..I love em BUT I don't know if the have ever bloomed but since I am removing pups as fast as I can during the rainy season I'm assuming it has already.. My question is how to treat the parent plant and pups since parent seems to still be doing pretty well a little die off on the center but that's it and how much so I cut away of a pups root can I split the root to make several separate plants.. I'm a total novice with the gardening this being my first year with a yard and much of what I've learned is from how to gardening books and the internet :) (I realize I've asked about 20 questions sorry:/) Thanks ever so much for any tips hints or advice!ANSWER:
Ok so there are 9 different Agave species native to the US that have “century plant” as part of their common name; seven of those occur in Texas. The name of the species that you have is not terribly important, because they mostly behave similarly. Three of the more spectacular Texas examples in my view are:
Agave americana (American century plant)
Agave havardiana (Havard's century plant)
Agave parryi ssp. parryi (Century plant)
As to flowering, if your plants had flowered, you would know about it. The plant sends up massive flowering stalk as much as 15 feet tall from the center of the plant. Once flowering is done, the whole plant slowly dies.
The pups are a means of vegetative reproduction, and can be separated from the “parent plant”. This needs to be done carefully while avoiding the sharp-spine tipped leaves. This link to Birds and Blooms tells you how to do this.
Good luck, and be careful.
More Transplants Questions
Incorrectly planted anacua from San Antonio
November 22, 2013 - I purchased a 12' anacua tree from a local nursery about 18 months ago. It was not planted correctly (root bound, rolled into a hole about 3" larger than the pot) but is still alive with the number...
view the full question and answer
Best Time for Dividing and Transplanting Native Bunch Grasses in Jarrell, Texas
February 02, 2011 - Dear Mr. Smarty Plants,
What time of the year is the best for dividing and transplanting native bunch grasses like Gulf muhly, and Miscanthus?
view the full question and answer
Yucca elata flowering in Tauranga, NZ.
August 20, 2009 - I have two huuuuuuge Yucca elatas in my garden. One of them flowered spectacularly last year - a 15ft stalk that grew so quickly you could hear it, and then burst into a cloud of waxy cream flowers. M...
view the full question and answer
Propagating Dakota vervain (Glandularia binpinnatifida)
August 07, 2008 - Dakota Vervain.
We recently moved into a new house in Henly--Hays/Blanco county line. Mother nature was kind enough to provide us w/Dakota Vervain in some of our planting beds while we are getting...
view the full question and answer
New agave plants, offshoots of parent plant, transplanting
September 16, 2007 - I have different varieties of Agaves that are sending off new plants from the mother. Some have 1-2 and some have 6-7 plants. Is there a proper method for removing (cutting them a certain way) for t...
view the full question and answer
| Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |