I planted my J.C. Raulston Agave today, and it did draw blood. But just a little. Not to mention a few muttered "Ouches!"
And it was an adventure. The plant sat all winter on my kitchen counter, with a pup growing out of one of the drainage holes. It had to be cut out of the pot so as not to damage the pup.
I discovered after cutting her out of the pot, that she had a second offshoot. Both attached to her by these long umbilicals, one of which was wound around and around the pot, much like her roots. In order to disentangle the babies, I soaked the root ball, and then swished it in a dishpan full of water to loosen the roots. There was also a ring of dessicated leaves around the plant, which I pulled off.
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| "Mother" post pot-surgery with her babies |
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| Even though they were dead, they were just as deadly! |
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| Those two white things at the base of the plant that look like roots are where the offshoots are attached. |
Only one of the long umbilicals had roots on it, at the very end where it was attached to the mother. I cut them off and planted both of them. Hopefully they will grow roots.
I planted the mother plant in one of the culvert planters.
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| I hope the mother and her twins are doing fine. |
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| Agave 'J.C. Raulston' with Stipa tenuissima, Allium 'Globemaster', Sempervivum 'Pluto' and 'Vivaldi', and Sedum ewersii |
