Octopus Vilmoriniana Agave is a strange-looking succulent with rosettes that can reach three to four feet tall and five to six feet broad.
Vilmoriniana has fine, soft serrations or spines along the leaf margins and a soft terminal spine, making it one of the ‘friendlier’ Agaves.
Flower Color & Fragrance
A mature plant (10 years or older) develops a ten to twenty-foot flower stem (inflorescence) with beautiful, fragrant golden-yellow flowers.
The spike grows to its full height, blooms, and eventually topples over the course of a season.
Water Needs & Feeding
Although the plant is drought-tolerant, it should be watered on a regular basis when it is young and growing.
Allow the soil to dry fully before watering deeply during the growing season, like with the Century plant (spring through summer).
Fertilizing is not suggested because it may cause the plant to blossom prematurely, resulting in death.
In the dry parts of Southern Arizona, Octopus Agaves flourish without any additional irrigation.
How often do you water agave octopus?
Agave vilmoriniana (Octopus Agave) is an evergreen succulent perennial with beautiful foliage that adds considerable appeal to the landscape. It grows in a solitary rosette with long, slender gray-green leaves that arch and undulate like octopus tentacles. The leaf’s toothed edges curve inward, especially at the tips. On mature plants, spectacular golden-yellow flowers atop a 10-20 ft. spike appear (after 10 years). This plant is monocarpic, meaning it only flowers once and then dies. While it does not offset or make pups, it does generate a large number of plantlets along the bloom spike that you may want to replant to guarantee that this lovely plant remains in your yard. In sunny borders or beautiful pots, this plant offers a striking focal point.
- On full sun, it grows nicely in sandy or gravelly, well-drained soils. During the warmer season, water infrequently once established. Drought resistant.
- Ideal for use in beds and borders, as well as rock gardens, succulent gardens, and Mediterranean gardens. In sunny borders or attractive containers, this plant makes a great accent plant.
- Resistant to deer. Birds and hummingbirds are attracted to the nectar-producing flowers.
How do you keep agave alive?
Use a succulent-specific potting mix that drains effectively. In the summer, water the container once a week, and once a month in the winter. Before watering, wait until the soil is dry a few inches down. As your agave plant matures, repot it every couple of years.
How fast do octopus agave grow?
The stretchy and twisted leaves of the Octopus agave gives it its name. It’s a big agave that grows 5-6 feet tall and as wide as it is wide, with long, flexible trough-shaped foliage. The leaves are pale green in color and have gentle pointed points. Plants can grow and flower in as little as 5-6 years, producing eye-catching 12-16 ft. tall spikes with stunning pale yellow flowers that bloom for 6-8 weeks. The blooming plant, like many agave species, dies after flowering but produces numerous little plantlets on the flower stalk that can be easily planted. Cold below 25°F causes damage.
Octopus agave can be found growing on volcanic cliffs and steep rocky slopes throughout Mexico. It has developed without the need for defensive spines to protect it from predators. Its velvety foliage has helped it become a favorite landscape and garden plant throughout the Inland Empire’s frost-free zones. It can be used in containers and for bulk plantings as a specimen and sculptural plant.
How often does Octopus agave bloom?
The octopus agave (Agave vilmoriniana) only blooms once in its 10- to 15-year lifespan. However, its 4-foot-wide rosette of sinuously arching, light-green leaves is architecturally interesting. Smooth, tentacle-like leaves provides a striking contrast to more structured shrubs. In Sunset’s Climate Zones 14 through 17, octopus agave thrives in sunny coastal and somewhat shaded inland gardens. Snout weevils are the only pests that pose a severe threat to this succulent. The octopus agave sparkles with a 15- to 20-foot spike of hundreds of glowing-yellow blooms in its final spring. Each one has a single bulbil, which is a tiny plantlet. They’re the only way for the plant to reproduce.
How big is an agave octopus?
Octopus agave is a medium to large accent plant that can reach a height of 4 feet and a width of 6 feet. Medium green, long and slender, and highly channeled leaves.
How fast does blue glow agave grow?
Agave comes from the Greek word agave, which meaning “adorable.” The majority of what draws this attribute is its record-breaking ability to produce tall leaves and bloom only once in its lifetime. Despite its slow growth, this succulent develops a magnificent rosette pattern of blue-green leaves with saw-like borders.
While it will take about 7 years for your Blue Glow plant to develop, you will start to see some real benefits after propagating it in the spring or early fall.
The Agave genus contains over 200 different types, and this particular hybrid is just one of them. This plant is deer-resistant and does not react to soluble salts in hard water, in addition to having a high drought tolerance.
How Big Does It Grow?
When compared to other Agave varieties, Blue Glow is usually a little smaller. It can attain a height of 18 inches, but if the growing conditions are perfected, it can reach a height of 24 inches. During its existence, it also stretches to around 2″ or 3″ feet. One of the best seasons to reproduce your Blue Glow plant is in the spring or early fall, as it is a slow-growing succulent.
What does an overwatered agave look like?
How do you tell if your succulent is too wet? There are usually obvious indicators that indicate whether a succulent has been overwatered or underwatered. A plant that has been overwatered will have mushy leaves that are soft and squishy.
The hue of the leaves would appear lighter or translucent than on a healthy plant. An overwatered succulent may frequently drop leaves even when lightly touched. The lowest leaves are typically the first to be harmed.
The plant will have a’sick’ aspect overall. The plant is either in the improper soil that does not dry up quickly enough, or it is overwatered, or both.
Your plants are being overwatered if you have been watering them regularly or sticking to a watering schedule regardless of how the plant looks, and you see the indicators I listed above.
A succulent that has been submerged, on the other hand, will have withered, wrinkled, and deflated leaves. The leaves will be thin and flat. The plant will appear withered and dry in general.
The leaves of a good succulent plant should be lush, robust, and not mushy or desiccated.
To learn more about this topic, go to my post “How To Tell If Your Succulent Is Over or Under Watered,” where I explain in detail how to tell if your succulent plant is being over or under watered.
This is a leaf from a String of Pearls ‘Senecio Rowleyanus’ plant that has been overwatered. If a succulent’s water storage capacity has reached its limit, it can practically burst from overwatering.
Can agave survive indoors?
Indoors, agave plants are quite easy to cultivate if you supply them with enough warmth and light. They only require a small amount of water and food, and overwatering or overfeeding can be fatal. They also don’t require repotting very often because to their moderate growth.