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| Yuccas and agaves will look better if treated more nicely |
Q. I have an agave in the yard that shows signs of stress where the outer leaf starts dying from the tip and progressing back toward the base of the leaf. Are they lacking water? (I only water it once every 2-3 months). Is there a nutrient that I can get for it and how often would it be applied?
A. Agaves, yuccas and other cacti and succulents look better with improved soils and regular waterings. They don’t like our unimproved desert soils but are very successful at surviving in them (even though they may not look very good).
Even though they are desert plants and do not receive much water in the desert they will perform better and look better with more frequent waterings. Water about once every two weeks in the summer; once a month or longer in the winter.
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| Harsh location even for a desert plant to look good |
They should improve unless they have other problems. If you plant more cacti and agaves, or replant this one, then make sure the soil is improved with compost at the time of planting.
Adding compost to the soil surface will help but is not as effective as putting it in the planting soil.