How to revive my Agave?

[murielpm]

My Agaves look sick . What should I do . 

 

[EricL]

Hello @murielpm 

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's marvellous to have you join us, and thanks for sharing your question about your Agave.

I suggest having a look at this guide - How to diagnose a sick plant by @Noelle. It will give you some very good ideas on what could be affecting your plant. Can you please tell me if you have had several days of rain and then a sudden day of extreme heat/cold? The damage on your leaves looks very similar to Agave Edema.

However, it takes a certain set of circumstances for it to happen. Has anyone been spraying weedkiller near your area? Have any of the other plants in the area displayed similar symptoms? If you can tell us a little bit more about the plant's history, it will help us form a diagnosis.

Eric

[mich1972]

Hi there @murielpm , thanks for sharing your question, geez I have not seen an Agave plant like this before. To me , it looks very much like a Mosaic Virus with the mottled spots and yellowing. 
Can I ask if it is getting too much water ? And also, is it overhead watering ? Agaves, being very fleshy plants and storing water in their leaves can’t stand too much water and it is essential they have plenty of free draining soil. I’m going to tag @Noelle as I would like to get her opinion on this 🪴😃

[Noelle]

Hi @murielpm 

In my opinion, it looks very much like as Eric has suggested.  Agaves are desert plants. When they are subjected to too much moisture, they absorb more than the plant tissues can handle, and the cells expand until they burst, causing symptoms very like those displayed in your photo.

This looks very much like a lovely plant growing in a wrong location - the surrounding garden and plants look quite tropical which suggests too much moisture.

If you can, lift and relocate the agave, either to a well drained gravelly soil in a sunny position or into a large pot filled with a cactus and succulent potting mix.

[mich1972]

Thank you @Noelle 😊 

[murielpm]

We’ve had a mix of heat , cold , rain . No spraying . It seems to have affected Agaves only in multitude of areas in the backyard.The 3 in the photo are the worst . Ones in front yard not yet affected .  A total of 8 plants , various sizes , some in dry areas of garden . 

[Jason]

Thanks for the extra information @murielpm. Perhaps you might like to do some more investigation of an agave that you think is in a "dry area" of the garden. Dig down and let us know about the soil conditions you find. 

It might also be helpful to know where you are based. 

Thanks,

Jason

[murielpm]

thanks @Jason . I’m in a coastal area in Malabar NSW . Sandy soil  &  early morning sun till midday. We had very wet conditions La  Nina last year & they were fine . The agaves that are in the front yard are unaffected so far  They are in a drier sunnier area . Not as big or as lush as the sick ones . Also there are some in a nature strip 3 houses away suffering from the same condition . They don’t get any extra watering other than nature. 

[EricL]

Hi @murielpm 

Unfortunately, there are no other visual signs of a fungal or insect attack.   If something has affected it, it could possibly be the roots, It's the only place we haven't look yet. Please let us know what you find once you' dug up the roots.

Eric