The Agave Bloom Cycle
Agaves are monocarpic, meaning they die after flowering just once This natural cycle unfolds over many years
- Maturation – Agaves spend years building up energy reserves before sending up a bloom stalk, often a decade or longer depending on variety. The plant grows steadily, forming its characteristic rosette shape
- Flowering – When mature, the agave invests its stored energy into a towering, imposing flower spike that can reach heights over 30 feet tall!
- Decline – This huge energy expenditure depletes the mother plant. As flowering finishes, the main rosette fades and withers away over weeks or months.
- Rebirth – But the agave lives on by producing offsets or “pups” from its base before dying, or bulbils along the flower stalk which drop and propagate into new plants.
Some agave species are native to California, but not this one. Still, pups or bulbils will be available for you to take home in a few months. –Nancy Neff