I have an agave plant that is growing a bloom. It is about 4ft tall and still growing. I have read that the plant will die after it blooms. Is that true,can I prevent it from dying by cutting the bloom stalk off or by some other method?
The same chemical that makes the stalk that blooms flowers is also found in the plant. So when they bloom, the original plant will die (they are monocarpic, so they die after flowering). However, it will produce more "baby" plants.
Here is a quote from a site about agave/ Century plants:
Agave americana, the most common agave in the Southwest, has the common name “century plant” because it supposedly takes a century to bloom. Actually, it’s 15 to 20 years…sooner, if you pamper it with rich soil and ample water. (Moral: If you grow Agave americana, be mean to it.)
