Recognize and treat diseases and pests

Differentiating correct illnesses from care errors

In this country, agaves have an enemy that is not noticeable either through damage caused by feeding or through certain discoloration: waterlogging. Since agaves are mostly in in the pot are cultivated, a special first preventive measure can be used Substrate use. In addition, agaves should also be hot in summer Temperatures should only be watered when the top layer of soil around the plant feels dry and crumbly. Individual leaves die after an initial one Yellowing as a rule, there is an oversupply of water. Sometimes the plants whose plant health has already been impaired can be replaced by a quick Repot to be saved.

The imminent danger from the palm weevil

Agaves are sometimes associated with the Cacti but tragically they have something in common with the palm trees: the threat posed by a pest against which no effective antidote has yet been found. The so-called palm weevil has not only threatened a large number of palm trees on various coasts for about two decades. The larvae of this dreaded pest have already been discovered in the trunks of the Agave americana. However, the density of palm trees and agaves in private gardens in Central Europe has so far been so thin that this pest has not yet spread threateningly here.

These pests also affect agave species

Certain types of pests also occasionally attack agaves and, in particular, can seriously damage plant specimens that are not very healthy. So-called scale insects and mealybugs can sometimes cause problems and unpleasant impairment of the appearance of agaves. With regular checks, colonies of these lice are noticed relatively quickly and can therefore also be controlled well:

• with special pesticides
• with biological means
• by washing the colonies with a sharp jet of water