Agave gentryi

I decided to repot the agave from my shopping post. I also decided to call it Agave gentryi until I get more conclusive proof of its identity.

I cut the pot off so these pups coming out the bottom wouldn't be damaged. It wasn't so much root bound as all the roots were growing right up against the pot. There was a lot of untouched dirt in the middle. This still seems like a good reason to give it more room. Somewhere in the ground would be best but I just can't decide where to put it.


As I was man-handling it this little lovely jumped out. I don't think it was trying to get me, I think it was just appalled at all the thrashing around. I'm pretty sure that this is a brown widow. I couldn't get a good shot of the red hourglass on her abdomen but it was quite distinct.

When I worked at the Natural History Museum, Brent-the-Bug-Guy had a little display with a brown widow in a flower pot. It said that they are even more dangerous than black widows. Super. Nevertheless I just shook her off into the bushes. There are black widows all over the yard and so far I've never regretted it. The only thing I don't like about them is that their webs are so sloppy, very unlike the orb weavers that spin that perfect, archetypal web, usually right where I'll walk into it.

I moved the agave into a five gallon pot. It still looks like a tight fit. I can't believe that this plant used to be in a one gallon.


The two biggest offsets went into their own one gallons and the smaller ones got crowded into some clay pots I had lying around.

The smallest ones had been deep in the original pot so they are still white. I don't know if these will make it but I didn't want to leave them with the parent when I would just have to take them out later. I'm not anti-offset, but I'd like for the parent to have lots of room to grow in the hopes that it will develop a nice symmetrical rosette.