I would just plant it in the garden as is and you should get plenty of pups before long.

At least that is the way it would behave here.

I have done that before and though I did not dig it back up to see how long it took to root, it never looked like it even slowed down. I just dug a hole in the ground, a tiny bit wider than the diameter of the stem, and stuck it in and it did fine... my stem was about 2' long and the head was enormous, so I buried it almost the entire 2' to keep it from tipping over.

Thanks for the feedback I like the idea of planting the
entire stem.I will take it out of the pot to see what the root ball looks like. I am thinking fairly large. If so I just plant the entire thing up to the last leaves in a faily
dry and shallow bed. I could support the planting with some
rocks because the neck is definately swan like.
Brad after all these years I still can't figure out how to post pictures.

and if you don't feel like digging a hole, you can also just lie the entire plant on its side on the ground and often it will root that way, as long as the soil is somewhat soft and a bit moist.

Dear soul, follow the above advise they are all accurate. We sink our long stemed plants in a large deep container of pumice, and set in an Eastern exposure, it works, I have also cut just below the neck of the plant and set it on a flat of pumice until it takes root. There are many ways of getting the same results. Your are in zone 10 so I doubt if you would have any problems, orient it towards the sun, the plant tells you which way. The head grows toward the sun, put it in the same position. Mine had so many offsets I had to give it away. Norma

I appreciated all the advice above. I am in Zone 5, keep my plants indoors in the winter and in the yard in the warmer weather. Unfortunately, even though I have my plants in a separate room, one of my cats has knocked down my agave twice. Can I behead the battered top, follow the advice for replanting and also
get growth from the remaining stem and roots without the head?

I just got a bunch of Attenuata/ foxtails from a neighbor who was thinning them out. I got about 10 small cuttings/ones with roots and about 8 large (1.5-3 ft diameter rosette size cuttings w/ 2-3" stems).

Some are as thick as 3" stems

I'm about to do some large "lawn to garden" conversions so I need lots of cuttings hehehe :)

I was also wondering about planting them as I'm also in zone 10b sunset 24, coastal los angeles.

How long would you recommend I keep them dry or potted in pumice/gritty soil before putting them in the ground. I assume, since they're winter-dormant that it would be better in spring like Parcelsus said?

Izzrd do you remember what time of the year u planted? As here in LA, it only really gets much (if any) rainfall from jan-april

I would assume laying it on it's side would be better than planting the whole stem in the ground. Couldn't the whole stem rot if planted too deep and if it rained?

So do you all think these would be better to plant in the soil during the spring?

Where's the German? Macht schnell, bitte.

Deborah and Miki,

Yes, you can do this. Remember, don't water the soil until you see growth, but a spray / mist now and then would be fine. If you can get stem for both cutting and original plant, I'd say it's a go.

Miki, I'd say if you can keep the soil fairly dry, put the cuttings directly into the ground. If you wanted to be on the safe side, putting them in a pot and letting them root is OK, too, but I think probably unnecessary in SouCal.

Have you though about 'air layering'? Wrap a black plastic filled with with wet peat around the place you was going to cut. In about 4 months, should see signs of roots forming. Then you can safely cut it off and it has a start on rerooting. It works for trees, bushes and so on.
Stush

Great ideas. Here in Hawaii, our plants need to be adapted to both drought and muck, as our weather is very rainy or very droughty, In the same month. We air layer on-site a lot of plants and many plants can just be stick in the ground as was suggested or taking the entire stem, beheaded and cutting pieces and putting the stem pieces in pots with a moisture control potting soil, but maybe a gritty soil better for this succulent? What do you think of this idea, for the attenuata? Has anyone air-layed with the peat suggested? Peat holds moisture- is it too much, and also dries out easily if not tended. I am going to try leaving the stem horizontal on the ground, lining a channel for it with volcano pebbles that have myriad holes in them (used all the time here to prevent root rot) and some dirt, then covering with garden soil, letting it rest as suggested and then beginning to mist it so it roots, yet doesn't rot, and see what happens. Then you would have pups before you ever cut the rosette, and sacrfice nothing.

About putting the whole long stem in the ground vertically, I think it unnecessary. It is a long way for new roots to have to send the juice up the plant, and the roots will tend not to be all along the stem anyway, but grow from where you cut it in my experience. Planting so deep, a plant can eventually, years later, when you think the plant is happy, it will sicken and die of root rot, and you won't know why until you did it up and see it . I appreciate this gardener's forum, because nature is so diverse and clever, no one can know even a fraction of what there is.

Thank you so much for all this information!! I have done all the wrong things and fortunately so far my plants have survived but I now know better how to care for my agaves. My only questions is how pot bound should you allow the agave to get?

I beheaded my agave this morning and have one more to do. Although with all the horrible violence we are seeing I think I'll change that to cutting off the excess stem. I'm letting it dry and leaving the stem in the pot to see what might happen. Thanks again,

Yes! I did but I put it in water in a glass jar. Rooted quickly and is happy as can be still 2 years later! Good luck!

Hello! Gardeners have beheaded my very mature and beautiful foxtail agaves to my dismay! Does anyone know if they will ever grow back- and if so how long it will take them?

What did they do with the top sections? Why would some one do that to you? Your plants will be deformed and hopefully send up new pups around the base of the beheaded plant. I think the base will start to dry up and die. Pretty much like it bloomed. Any way, they set you back by 5 to 8 years.

Pictures?

Apparently my landlord told them to “cut them back” without my permission- I was DEVASTATED when I saw- it looks awful! I don’t know why anyone would do this! They were so lush and gorgeous cascading over my deck before - I wish I had a before picture- but here is a picture of what it looks like now- you can see the hacked off stems all around (they took quite a lot of beautifully flowering jade off as well) — the heads of the foxtail agave were all at least 2ft in diameter and draped beautifully over the cracked wall which is now fully on hideous display. And below that picture you can see the discarded heads... I’m hoping maybe I can replant them somewhere else in the yard.

Yes, they'll grow back, as long as there's stem there. Let them dry a day and then replant them and give them only minimal water, in a week or so, every week or so. They should reroot in the next few months. I'd guess you're in a Meditteranean-type climate, specifically SouCal?

Some shade over them until they root. Even an old bed sheet. Until cooler weather sets in. In a month or two. Sorry for your loss.

I have a very large foxtail agave, 4’ across and want to have gardener cut it back leaving a stem on it 20” long. It has grown too close to the pool and I’m afraid someone, probably me, will fall in. It already has some large pups on it. I want to move this giant elsewhere. Is the stem too long to root at 20”. Also should I wait for the winter to have this done? I have a sandy area in partial sun where I want to root it. I live in So. Calif

Any plant in an area you don't want it is a weed. If you want it to live then wait till mid fall or early winter and cut away. Plant up any pieces and you have nothing to loose. You have many pups that will take over for you. You could cut the tips of the leaves now if you want to be safe around it. Less chance of it stabbing you.