Repotting an 8-foot agave

Today only B... and Curator J... were staffing the greenhouse. B did the watering of plants in rooms 4,3, and 2, while Curator J attended a meeting during the early morning hours.

B allowed me to complete the watering of room 1, and a couple of outside plants (although it was raining, so I guess the fertilized water was the only useful addition).

After we completed the watering, the next task was to repot an 8-foot Agave americana that had been donated by a former student of the University. The student had obtained the agave cutting from the U of M greenhouse some 30 years ago. The plant had grown very well over the 3 decades, producing many “pups” which came attached to the plant. The agave had been delivered on a palette and dropped outside the backdoor of the collection rooms.

Before I arrived, B and Curator J had removed several pups and retained three of them to be potted up in their collection. Curator J offered another of the unused pups to me, which I gratefully accepted.
Curator J and B had also been able to cut away the old plastic pot from the root ball, but the base of the old pot was still underneath the ball when I arrived. Next to the plant a very large new plastic pot had been placed to accept the plant.

Curator J and B had planned to tip the plant on its side, remove the remainder of the old pot from the bottom, cut away part of the old root ball, then tip the ball into the new pot, then set the plant upright onto a four-wheeled plant dolly.

Using thick gloves and long-sleeved shirts, we were able to complete the repotting. However, the spines of the agave leaves were very sharp, and managed to cut my forearm skin through the fabric, in several spots, on both arms. My arms are a bit shredded and scabby now.

After getting the plant upright in the new pot, and on its dolly, we hauled it down to the loading dock where we filled the pot with a 1:1 mix of the #4 arid mix and the #1a mix. The plant was left outside the loading dock to be picked up and delivered to the Cargill Building located across the street from the greenhouses. The Cargill Building has a large atrium suitable for a large agave (I have not yet seen the atrium).

Having finished with the large agave plant, I completed the potting of the three small pups to be retained in the collection. I’m not sure of the species name of the agave plant, it was not yet labeled, and I neglected to ask Curator J. I’ll try to remember to get the species name next week when I’m there again.

I finished potting the pups and left them sitting on the work bench for Curator J to label and accession into the collection database.

Finally, with a half-hour left in my shift, I grabbed a bucket of soapy water to scrub the scale from 3 small Zamia plants in room C2.

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