Mangave Whale Tale

Plant into dry soil and wait about 1 to 2 weeks before the first water, then water about every other week while nights stay above 60°F. Once rooted, soak it and let the soil dry. It takes more water than agaves and grows faster with it, but soggy soil rots it. Give little or no water in winter.

In the Valley, give it some shade from the hot afternoon sun in summer. Put light shade cloth over a new plant for its first few weeks, longer if planted in early summer.

It handles cold to about 15 to 25°F when the soil stays dry. Wet winter soil hurts it more than the cold, so do not water in winter. Cover it in a hard freeze.

It makes only a few pups. When a rosette blooms, that rosette dies and any pups at the base carry the plant on. Let a cut pup dry a few days before planting.

It grows fine without feeding. If you do feed, use a light succulent fertilizer in spring or early summer, never on a new plant and never in fall or winter. No pruning is needed, just remove dead leaves at the base.

Drainage test first. Dig the hole and fill it with water. If water is still sitting in the hole a day later, you likely hit caliche, clay or hard soil, so fix the drainage before planting. If it drains very fast, the soil is sandy. Standing water around roots is a common reason new plants fail.

Weed cloth. Cut it away from the planting hole and where the roots will spread. Remove any plastic sheeting completely, since it keeps water and air out of the soil.

Rock or decomposed granite with no soil underneath. Bring in soil close in texture to your native soil, mix it with the soil below, and build up enough depth for roots before planting.

If you can break through. Use a breaker bar, pick, or jackhammer. Dig through the caliche and break out the solid chunks. Backfill with the soil you dug out, with no compost or manure in the hole. Confirm drainage before planting.

If you cannot break through. Dig narrow holes through the hard layer beside the root ball, not under it, and refill them with the same soil, not gravel. If it still will not drain, plant on a low mound of the same soil.

Root ball. Check the outside edges for any roots circling around. Loosen or cut those so they grow outward. Do not break up the center of the root ball.

Depth. The top of the root ball should sit at or just slightly above the surrounding soil level. Planting too deep can lead to rot and kill the plant.

Drip emitters. At planting, put the emitters on the root ball, on different sides of the plant. After about 2 months, move them to the outer edge of the root ball. Over the first year, add emitters farther out toward the edge of the branches as roots grow. Once a plant is rooted, never water only at the trunk.