Hi Sonorablu, Your agave is the Agave americana, often called the Century Plant and a stunning example of a widely diverse group of succulents. They require deep, infrequent watering (so that the moisture soaks down at least two feet) once every three to four weeks in the summer and not at all in the winter. If you are using a spray head to water this plant, switch to a drip emitter so the water does't fall on the leaves. You may need to run your drip system for several hours to push the moisture down that far into the ground. Although these plants normally live a long time, in southern Arizona they are very vulnerable to damage from the agave snout weevil. This beetle lays its eggs in the maturing plant, usually 1-2 years before it's due to bloom. The larvae munch on the tissues introducing a bacteria which causes collapse and rotting of the plant. Pups aren't usually affected. Your yucca (it looks like Yucca elata or Soaptree Yucca) will live to bloom again. The flowers are pollinated by the yucca moth, who hides in the flower during the day, emerging at dusk to pollinate the flowers which bloom at night. The flowers are edible. The roots of this plant were used by native people to make a frothy soap. Be sure to leave the dry lower leaves on the stalk as they protect the plant from heat and cold. Try and resist the urge to prune your citrus. They are really large shrubs and do best if the canopy is allowed to grow nearly to the ground. Citrus are extremely vulnerable to sunburn. If you must prune, do so carefully, always removing a branch where it intersects with another branch or stem. Do not use sealants on the pruning cut - allow the wound to remain open to the air. Don't prune in the fall as branches left on the tree will protect it from winter cold. The best time to prune is in March. I've included a link to the U of A website in Maricopa County. They have a wealth of information that should work in La Paz County as well. I hope this helps. aztreelvr Certified Arborist Master Gardener Here is a link that might be useful: U of A Publications on citrus and more

Thanks for the posting tips Mara. I will do it that way next time. I know you were just kidding, but I would happily send you some seeds if I had some. I actually have more plants than I can manage, and it's too bad that the border complicates things when it comes to mailing plants. I bought my seeds from http://www.rarepalmseeds.com/pix/AgaMon.shtml several years ago and they all germinated. I actually lost the largest montanas (at the time)when we had a relatively nasty winter a few years ago and I left about ten of them outside in pots. In my winter soggy climate, I put a rain cover (large plastic bottle) over the ones in the ground the last few years to protect them from the rain and so far, so good. I think people are finding that this agave is not quite as tolerant of the combination of winter wet and cold as originally thought, although from what I've read, some people have had more success than others. You might enjoy this article by Paul Spracklin, the collector of the montana seeds. Here is a link that might be useful: Searching for Hardy Agave

Hoovb,I have never seen one in person,but from have read they are not nearly the mass of A.americana. The width is about 4' for A.tequiliana with a ultimate height of 5'. The warmer the climate the more they sucker-but that comes with(almost) all Agave keeping. After awhile you develop a certain technique about pruning these big boys to fit in a small yard if your determined enough. Some judicious pruning is keeping my americana from reaching anywhere's close to an unpruned with suckers,plant. As funny as it sounds,my americana since i removed all pups two years ago hasn't sent many up since..easy to keep up with production . Josh,I'm very tempted to plant my D.gigas.I'm the one who has posted that it has sailed through bay area winters un blemished. It's taken a few 32's over that time. The big freeze? I brought it in. But,since we should go another half a decade and more without below 30,That's quite a few years of good ground growing. And for the few days every twenty years we get very cold-I could do something to protect an in ground plant. This spring my wife brought it since she like the glossy leaves...never again! D.gigas hated a hot dry sunny window.. one lousy house plant.Outside it does and looks great.

Near Austin Tx. :-) I've had mine in partial sun and in my dining room, which is a cooler room. I'm noticing that the leaves are starting to extend down past the pot edge, so if I ever put it in the ground it would be at the cost of some leaves, or maybe I would have to build a mound. That might work, unless too many leaves start going too far down. I actually *aquired* it from a poorly chosen plant by our developments landscapers. The bought full size century plants to put next to the signage by the road, not even thinking that they would be closer to the end of their life cycle. Sure enough one out of four bloomed this summer and has since disintegrated into a pile of dehydrated cardboard. I was able to zip out one night and get one of the pups. I was going to put it in the front garden, but hubbs said no way. He fears the spines. We had a close call, where one leaf seemed to be afflicted with something that was causing it to dry up and shrivel, so I got brave and cut the entire leaf. The cut caloused over and has not continued any farther up the plant. I actually ignore the thing shamefully compared to my other plants. My cat adores it though, and spends hours laying in front of it, so maybe it's a vibe thing.