If you’ve managed to get your hands on a Queen Victoria agave to cultivate in your own yard or home, you’ll find that following typical succulent/agave care rules will suffice. It’s not difficult, and it’ll overlook the occasional rookie error.
This slow-growing agave prefers well-draining, airy soil with plenty of grit. It should be sheltered from the blazing afternoon sun when planted outside to avoid scorching. Place the plant in the sunniest position you can find indoors, where the light is weakest.
During the summer growing season, the Queen Victoria agave, like most succulents, appreciates plenty of water. Water the soil as soon as it becomes dry, which might be several times a week in severely arid conditions. This plant lies dormant throughout the winter, thus waterings should be substantially reduced to avoid rot. Once or twice a month (or even less if temps drop below freezing) be suffice.
If you give your Queen Victoria agave the attention it requires, it will grow into the typical geometric growth pattern that has made it so popular. This isn’t the largest agave out there, with a maximum size of roughly 50 cm/20″, but its magnificent leaves more than make up for it.
Size & Growth
Agave victoriae reginae grows slowly and creates lovely clusters of leaf in a rosette pattern with white markings, reaching a height of approximately a foot and a width of about two feet.
Flowering & Fragrance
The Victoria Agave Century Plant blooms only once throughout its life, producing a naked spike up to 15 feet tall.
You can harvest seed pods from the flower spike and/or keep an eye out for puppies that may grow from it.
Foliage
The foliage of this evergreen succulent is tapering and variegated, with a pointed terminal spike.
Individual dark green leaves with white borders on the margins.
Light & Temperature
If you’re going to put your Victoria Agave outside, make sure it gets enough of sun or light shade.
Bring your Queen Victoria agave indoors if your area gets a lot of rain in the winter.
Because it can withstand temperature variations, it can thrive year after year, even in very cold areas.
In order for a Victoria Century Plant to thrive in the winter, it must have dry soil.
Water Needs & Feeding
Agave victoriae reginae requires consistent watering throughout the growing season. Allow the soil to dry completely before watering deeply.
During the growing season, if you reside in a really dry region, you may need to water more than once a week.
Allow your Agave victoriae reginae to fall dormant in the winter. Water is scarce, if at all.
To aid in the establishment of young plants (puppies and seedlings), a balanced (20-20-20) fertilizer is applied first.
Fertilizer is rarely needed by mature plants. Be aware that fertilizing a mature plant may cause it to blossom and then die.
Soil & Transplanting
The optimum soil for reginae agave victoriae is light, airy, and succulent soil that drains well.
It’s best to use a mixture of 50 percent compost, potting soil, or garden soil and 50 percent sharp sand, pumice, grit, and/or gravel.
In reality, after an Agave plant has established itself, it is preferable not to disrupt it.
Grooming & Maintenance
Dust the cut edges of the leaves with sulfur powder to help them dry and callus over.
To avoid skin discomfort from the sap or unintentional jabbing from the thorns, wear protective gloves.
How do you grow agave victoriae-reginae from seed?
Offsets or seeds can be used to propagate Agave victoriae-reginae “Queen Victoria Agave,” though offsets may yield the best results.
Cuttings
Use a sterile, sharp knife or pair of scissors to cultivate “Queen Victoria Agave” from offsets. Remove an offset from the main plant and callous it for a few days before planting it in well-draining soil. When the earth has totally dried out, water it.
Seeds
The blossoms of Agave victoriae-reginae “Queen Victoria Agave” can be gathered for seed. Sow your seeds in a soil that drains well. If you live in a zone above 9a, you can grow Agave seeds outside. You can start sowing indoors under a grow light or on a seed mat if you live in a cooler climate.
Can you cut an agave stem and replant?
Annie is the webmaster. Yes, the top can be taken off and replanted. Leave enough stem to keep it stable in the soil, but not more than 10cm.
How big do Queen Victoria agave get?
THE QUEEN VICTORIA AGAVE IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPRESSIVE CULTURED CENTURY PLANT SPECIES. It is a slow-growing, sturdy, and attractive plant. Rosettes can reach a diameter and height of about 18 inches.
How do you care for agave blue glow?
Agave ‘Blue Glow’ is a slow-growing evergreen succulent with exquisite rosettes of blue-green, chalky leaves with finely serrated margins and a golden and scarlet ribbon adorning the margins. With its flaming crimson and golden edge, this magnificent beauty is especially attractive when backlit by the light. This Agave will take over ten years to flower. It will then perish without producing offsets. This desired hybrid combines the best traits of its parents: Agave attenuata’s wider leaves and lovely color with Agave ocahui’s smaller stature, solitary habit, and terminal spine. This Agave can be utilized in beautiful pots as a dramatic focal point or accent.
- In full sun, it grows well in slightly acidic, sandy or gravelly, damp or dry, well-drained soils. Tolerates part shade, which is beneficial in hot desert gardens where mild shade prevents the foliage from scorching. In the winter, keep it in a frost-free space, and in the summer, set it out on the patio or balcony. In excessive heat, water frequently; once established, use less water. Drought resistant.
- Ideal for city gardens, seaside gardens, rock gardens, succulent gardens, and Mediterranean gardens. In sunny borders or attractive containers, this plant makes a great accent plant.
How do you propagate blue glow agave?
Coring can be used to spread Agave ‘Blue Glow.’ To survive, the succulent is forced to produce puppies.
It is monocarpic and will not grow true to seed, despite the occasional flowering.
Coring
Behead the top of your Agave rosette using a sharp, sterilized knife. Drill straight down into the plant’s core using a 1/4 to 1/2 drill bit. The Agave will be forced to pup as a result of this.
Is Queen Victoria agave rare?
For the first and last time in its roughly 30-year life, the Queen Victoria agave at Carleton University is about to bloom.
Edward Bruggink, manager of the university’s greenhouse, remarked, “It’s rare to have one.” “It’s a Mexican product. It only blooms once in its lifetime before dying altogether.”
The gardener explained that determining the exact age of the plant is difficult because some can live for up to 50 years before flowering.
However, because Bruggink has worked at the institution since 1981, he is confident in estimating the age of the desert-dwelling plant to be at least three decades.
What is artichoke agave?
This circular clumping species develops a tight rosette of broad gray leaves with deeply serrated margins and robust pointy points, and is known as the Artichoke agave. During the summer, single plants grow to be 2-3 feet in diameter and produce a 12-18 foot tall flower spike with golden yellow blooms. After flowering, this species dies.
The artichoke agave is native to Arizona and Mexico, where it has evolved to withstand the sun, heat, aridity, cold, and summer drought. Its color and excellent shape make it a popular plant in attractive landscaping. A variant of Agave parryi var. truncata, in addition to this species, exhibits clumping tendencies and will develop enormous and sculptural groupings over time.
Can you plant an agave without roots?
As frequent readers know, I’m moving this week, and I’ve sworn to take my beloved ‘Whale’s Tongue’ agave (Agave ovatifolia) with me rather than leave it to the whims of fate and a new owner who might not appreciate its spiky qualities.
Agaves are normally unconcerned about being dug up and relocated. The larger the plant, the heavier it is and the more difficult it is to move. There’s a potential that the move will cause the plant to bloom as a result of the stress. This doesn’t happen very often, and when it does, it’s usually with older plants. Because Agave ovatifolia was first formally identified as a species in 2002 and commercially available only a few years later, I’m going to guess you don’t have a fully mature plant, despite its size.
The simplest solution is to dig it up and replant it in its new spot straight away, but that is probably not an option for you. You can wrap burlap around it like a tree if you can dig around it and get it out of the ground with the roots remaining in a ball of dirt. Because agaves’ roots are usually very long and not particularly dense, the dirt will most likely slip off, leaving you with a mostly bare root plant. That’s fine; agaves aren’t fussy about being bare-rooted. Trim the roots down to roughly a foot from the plant’s base and remove any dead leaves if this happens. Agaves are usually fairly easy to re-root. All you have to do now is pot it until you’re ready to relocate it and replant it which is probably easier said than done. I’d try to fit it into a 24-inch shallow (18-inch-deep) pot. You can safely remove a couple of the plant’s healthy lower leaves to get soil into the pot. Keep in mind that I’ll be impressed if you can achieve all of this without letting the plant take any of your blood.
I got a shallow, plastic tub supposed to be used as a pond liner for $12 at Lowe’s. It appeared to be an appropriate temporary containment for the large, blue whale, with a dozen holes made in the bottom. When I placed it next to the agave, though, it shriveled dramatically. Is there any way it could fit in there? But, oh well. Keep going!
To get a shovel beneath the plant, start by trimming off the lower leaves. Without having to come too near, my long-handled pruners performed a wonderful job of slicing through the luscious, fibrous leaves.
Some of the leaf fibers, however, were uncuttable and required cutting with a handsaw while leaning very close. I moved slowly and deliberately, trying to keep track of all the spines in the area around my face and neck.
I didn’t take a photograph of the next level since I was physically unable to do so. I dug all around the plant’s base, hoping to find a good-sized root ball. I tried levering the plant up with the shovel once I’d dug deep enough to get under and cut the main roots. There’s no way. The agave appeared to be as heavy as a whale and refused to budge.
Sweat was dripping down the inside of my goggles, I was cleaning my sweaty face with gloves soaked with agave juice from chopped leaves, and my face was immediately stinging and itching like crazy. As I hurried inside to obtain a damp towel and wipe my face with soap and water, a few choice remarks escaped my lips. Okay, there’s no harm done. Take a clean towel outside to mop up the puddle I’m about to become in another 10 minutes.
I excavated a narrower circumference around the agave and attempted to re-lever it. It swayed. I dug some more and levered again, feeling encouraged. It began to raise on one side, then the other. Success! However, how do you take it up and place it in the plastic tub?
The issue about agaves is that they don’t come with handles, which is obviously obvious to everyone else but wasn’t to me. You can’t bend in to lift the root ball without risking a thousand-point death penalty. Because the bottom leaves are coated with thorns, you can’t grab them to pull them, and they’re also quite delicate, snapping like a Saltine cracker if you apply any pressure. Because they’re so dense and heavy, you can’t pick them up with your shovel. I couldn’t simply ignore the mess until my spouse returned home to assist. What if a potential buyer contacted right now to schedule a showing? I sat and pondered the hauling experiences of my fellow garden bloggers, and one in particular came to mind.
I decided that sliding it would be simpler if it was in the tub, so I pushed up with the rope on one side, then the other, wedging the tub more under the agave with each pass. I was poked in the knee a couple times, but no blood was lost!
It’s not over yet! I needed to put the potted agave on a wheeled dolly now. I’ll leave the intricacies of levering, lifting, and avoiding unpleasant spikes in the face to you. I eventually triumphed, and the agave is now happily relaxing in the back yard, waiting for the next big thing. I just hope I got enough of its roots to save it.
Update: If you’re wondering if the agave grew back, the answer is yes. Continue reading to learn about Moby’s later exploits and final natural death and resurrection! (Yes, I’ve given this agave a name and a special place in my heart.)