Knowing how to propagate agaves is a satisfying and simple skill to learn. Loved for their sculptural shapes and beautiful green hues, as well as for their easy care requirements, these succulents top the popularity stakes both in the garden and as low-maintenance houseplants. Among the best desert plants , there are more than 200 species of agave.
They vary in size, but luckily propagating them is similar for most types. This is due to the pups, which grow out from the base of the mature plants, or sometimes on a stalk. The former are called offsets, while the latter are known as bulbil, but both are clones of the mother plant and are generally referred to as pups or offsets.
Thankfully, increasing the number of agaves in your yard is easy to do yourself, if you follow the advice from our gardening experts. Agaves can be grown from seed. However, removing the pups and replanting them is the simplest and most widely used method to propagate agaves.
'Most but not all agaves form offsets, primarily earlier in their lives before they have an agave 'menopause' and stop; eventually blooming and dying in maturity,' explains Jeff Moore , founder, Solana Succulents and co-author with horticulturalist Jeremy Spath of Agaves in Habitat & Cultivation. 'There are a minority of agaves that rarely if ever form offsets, so must be grown from seed. These are usually more rare in cultivation, not necessarily because they are difficult to grow, but because it is a time-consuming job to collect.