One of the joys of growing plants from seed is to study the amazing variability within seedlings. Below is one of our outstanding Agave ovatifolia seedling selections from 2014. This form is very compact and dense, with wonderfully pleated foliage. Since this species never offsets, it will flower and die, unless we destroy the central growth point, causing it to artificially offset. Some clones of Agave ovatifolia produce bulbils on the old flower stalks, but that’s a gamble, since not all clones do this, and once it flowers, you’re too late to try the core removal. We named this Agave ovatifolia ‘Jabba’, due to its resemblance to the Star Wars character. Below is a photo of Agave ovatifolia ‘Sierra Lampazos’, the first clonal selection of Agave ovatifolia, to show the difference in the two clones.
I Have bought several agave and mangave over the past several months and all are doing very well in the containers. The question I have is when do I need to move these containers into the garage to winterize to keep them from freezing and once I but them into the garage do I need to give them some artificial grow light and how much should I water them. I currently live in the outskirts of Columbia, S.C. Which is supposedly is zone 8b
The timing of bringing containerized agaves indoors for winter depends on the cultivar/species. We regularly leave Agave victoriae-reginae cultivars outdoors until temperatures drop to the low 20s F, while more tropical species like A. desmettiana should come indoors prior to temps below 40F. You can use our hardiness ratings on each for a guideline. The more hardy species can often be kept in an unheated garage for winter without much in the way of light. By reducing the water, they go into a deep dormancy. If you want to keep them growing, then artifical light indoors will work great. Full sun outdoors is 10,000 footcandles. An overcast day is usually 1000 footcandles. Most cell phones have an ap that can measure footcandles indoors to give you an idea of how much light you have for your plants.