Century Plant

Century Plant Agave americana

What is the plant

The Agave Americana succulent plant is a member of the Asparagus family and the Agave subfamily. This plant’s natural areas are Mexico, India, subtropics, and tropics of North and South America. Century can also be found in Mediterranean countries.

The size of the bush can be 1-7 ft (0.3-2 m) in diameter, depending on the variety. Century Plant is characterized by medium growth intensity and belongs to perennials. It is extremely rare to see the flowering of this succulent if you grow it indoors. This plant is undemanding in care and growing conditions.

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Humidity

Normal

Lighting

Full Sun

Temperature

20°C - 28°C

Hardiness zone

8 - 10

Difficulty

Medium

Toxicity

Poisonous

Invasive

Weed

Water
To moisten the substrate in a pot, use well-settled water, the temperature of which should be slightly higher than room temperature. Once the agave begins its growing season, it should be watered 2 or 3 times every 7 days. Moreover, the substrate is moistened only after its top layer dries out a little. It is not necessary to moisten the bush from the spray bottle.

From the spring to the last days of autumn, this succulent plant should be watered regularly and sparingly. In the winter months, irrigate less often, especially if the winter turns out to be cold.
Sunlight
Century Plant needs a large amount of bright light for adequate growth and development. Windows of southern, southeastern, and eastern orientations are best suited. While the bush is young and weak, w recommend to protect it from the scorching beams of the sun, as they can leave burns on the foliage.
Fertilizer
Usually, the top dressing of Agave Americana is carried out only during the growing season with a frequency of 1 time in 2-4 weeks. To do this, use a complex mineral fertilizer with low nitrogen content. In winter, top dressing is not carried out at all.

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Soil
In natural conditions, this succulent plant grows on rocky-sandy soil. So it is quite undemanding to the substrate. In order to prepare the earth mixture with your own hands, you should combine river sand, clay-soddy soil, and lime in a ratio of 1:3:1.
Pruning
The plant doesn't require pruning.
Propagation
During the growing season, offspring forms near the base of the trunk. If necessary, it can be carefully separated. To propagate, leave the offspring in the open air for a while so that the cut site dries well. Plant the offspring in s small pot filled with a moist substrate.

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Temperature
In the warm season, the ideal temperature is 68-82°F (20-28°C). The temperature may be hotter, but it can’t go below 65°F (18°C). In the last autumn weeks, after the reduction of daylight hours, the bush should be moved to cooler conditions – about 50°F (10°C).
Container
Any pot with equal height and diameter will work for this plant. When choosing the size of the pot, note that in the first years of life, the root system of the bush grows very quickly. When the plant becomes an adult, the growth rate of its root system will decrease. Therefore, the pot’s diameter should be slightly larger than the diameter of the root system.
Fun fact
American Agave is also called a Century Plant, but it usually lives only for 10-30 years.
Popularity
3,376 people already have this plant 687 people have added this plant to their wishlists