How to Remove Babies From a Large Agave

Gardeners with poor soil or those who live in hot, arid conditions can grow agave plants successfully. The plants need little water and no fertilizer, and you will never have to prune them. Agave varies in size according to the species, with the tallest growing to 12 feet tall. After the agave flowers, it dies, but you can save the small plants that it produces, known as "pups," and grow new agave plants.

Things You'll Need

• Leather or thick gloves
• Knife
• Spade or shovel
• Pruning shears
• 1 gallon planting pot
• Cactus potting mix

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Instructions

1. • 1

     Cut the pup from the mother plant, taking with it a small piece of the connecting stem. If the plant is so large that working near it is unsafe, dig a trench around the portion of the pup that you can reach, and use the spade to slice it from the mother.

   • 2

     Cut the roots on the pup to 1/4 inch in length.

   • 3

     Push the pup into the cactus potting mix in a 1-gallon container.