Life Cycle of Agaves

Seeding

• Agave seeds are larger than cactus seeds, which makes them easier to handle. They germinate best in good-draining, acidic soil. The perfect soil for agave plants is mainly sand or small gravel. Sow the seeds in a location with full sun exposure. Spread the seeds evenly across the top of the soil and lightly cover them with sand. Small agave seedlings appear in two to three weeks.

Growing

• Agave plants grow rapidly during the rainy season in the desert. Seedlings are supplied with water while they are first growing. Once the small plants are growing strongly, they are considered drought-resistant. These succulents require watering if the leaves begin to wither. While the plants grow vegetatively, they are storing energy for their end-of-life flowering event.

Offsets

• Succulents have the ability to produce small plantlets or offsets through underground rhizomes. This is an ability that ensures that the parent plant reproduces. The offsets surround the parent plant before it dies through overcrowding or by completing its lifecycle. Eventually, the ring of small plantlets has a bare center where the mature plant existed. Some rings in the California Desert reach 20 feet across and represent nearly a thousand years of growth.

Reproduction

• Agave plants are special since they are a long-lived plant that flowers only once. The appearance of the large and tall flower stalk signals the end of the agave plant. The formation of the flower blossoms on the top of the stalk depletes the carbohydrate stockpile in the leaves and roots. Desert bats visit the flowers and spread agave pollen. The plant produces fruit and seeds. After seed dispersal, the agave withers and dies.