Typically, floppy leaves on an agave are an indication of a water issue - too much water or inadequate drainage.

There is also a possibility of it being some cold damage. It is very sensitive to any temps below 32F so some brief cold exposure could also have a similar effect.

@gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9) So assuming I have soil that is too moisture-retentive, the choices are:

• elevate the planting with existing soil to ensure drainage
• replace with a better-draining soil mix
• replace with native unimproved soil that has less organic material in it

It will look poorly untill it gets more sun. You could trim the surrounding shubs to give it more light.

@iochroma As I said in the original post, there is a companion plant completely in the shade that is quite perky. The companion plant has much more shade than this plant does. So this is not a sun issue.

@ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5 It was supposed to be a raised bed. If you have a raised bed, it does not matter whether your soil is potting soil, amended clay loam, or original native soil. You have no perched water table. As Tapla has said in threads where we discussed soil mixes for raised beds: in a true raised bed you almost cannot have too much organic material. Tapla's own raised bed soil mix is more than 50% organic.

The problem occurs when you amend the ground soil and fail to raise the bed sufficiently. Then organic material in the planting hole can become a water trap. And I know better than to plant something at ground level in soil that has too much organic material added.

This plant is behaving a little bit like it is planted at ground level in soil that is too organic. It acts like it might be waterlogged. But the plant is raised up from the ground significantly, so I don't see why it should be doing that. If I put it into a gritty mix in a raised bed in this area, I am sure it would pick right back up.

'Perc' stands for a percolation test or how fast your soil will drain. Soils that drain 1 to 3 inches an hour are desirable for most plants. Soils that drain less than one inch per hour have poor drainage. You will want to improve drainage or select plants that tolerate wet growing conditions for these locations. Soils that drain more than 4 inches of water per hour are very well-drained. These soils can be amended or planted with species that tolerate drier soil conditions.

You can find detailed instructions online to conduct and evaluate this test.

https://empressofdirt.net/well-draining-soil-test/#test

@gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9) Okay, the Perc test is underway.

Here is the result of my Perc test. At time 0, there are eight inches of water from the bottom of my test ditch to the surface level of the soil. According to the article that @gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9) supplied, at three hours (180 minutes) the height must be between 30% and 70% to be considered "well-draining soil". That corresponds to the values 2.4 and 5.6 inches from the base of the pit.

As can be seen on my time graph, at just prior to three hours I am cleanly in the middle of this target range.

Therefore, @ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5, I have "well-drained soil". So what do I do with that information to improve my plant?