My agave African adventures and collection>one agave a day

[Neli]

Day one after joining the forum and my first post....rushed in panic to the garden looking for mites he he he. After reading few posts (but too late) I realized mite damage is not detected with a magnifying glass. It is obvious I did not find anything, apart from few drying lower leaves which I suspect was from the transportation and transplanting. Well there is good side to it ( we must looking for positive things even in the most ridiculous situations) that I did not drug the microscope to the garden or you were going to laugh at me for a month.
As advised I took all the new agaves and put them in the next door plot on some empty shelves. Sprayed them all with sulfur and tomorrow I shall dose them with insecticide.

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[Neli]

The second thing I did was to add some more sand on top of the seeds and spray them also with sulfur.
They are only 3 days old so I shall report what happens later.
I make all my pots from cement >African patented invention he he he! All my succulents are in cement pots.

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I just planted some cuttings here to grow.

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This are medium size

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But I make also some very big ones.

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[AgaveGuy]

Very good looking pots. Good luck with your agaves.

[Viegener]

Are you making these pots or buying them? They are very nice.

[Neli]

Very good looking pots. Good luck with your agaves.

Thank you! Plastic pots are expensive here and dont last for long. The sand destroys them. I have like 50 different models he he he

[Neli]

Are you making these pots or buying them? They are very nice.

I make them and it is very fast and easy and I can teach you if you want

[Neli]

My agave mediopicta alba. Given me lots of babies over the years. Now it is time to redo my rockery.

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[Viegener]

Teach me, please! I hate most of the pots I see in stores. I want simple ones in clean shapes.

Also, I really love A. mediopicta. It's pretty common in California & people undervalue it. I think it's one of the best variegated agaves.

[Azuleja]

Teach me as well, please. I've been gathering containers and supplies to make hypertufa pots but yours are smooth and elegant.

[mickthecactus]

How heavy are they though?

[Neli]

How heavy are they though?

Does it really matter that much? How often do you carry them. They are heavier than plastic pots but nothing that bothers me much since my gardeners carry them he he he!

[Neli]

Teach me, please! I hate most of the pots I see in stores. I want simple ones in clean shapes.

Also, I really love A. mediopicta. It's pretty common in California & people undervalue it. I think it's one of the best variegated agaves.

here is a video how they are made. I made the video for my friends from Echeveria Australia group on Face Book
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This is how to remove the pots:
 
And this is the post on FB with all the details on how to make them:
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If you dont see them ask to jopin Echeveria Australia, if you fail tell me so I post the details for you. Look at all the comments.

[Neli]

This are some of my pots. I use as molds ordinary plastic pots for flowers or plastic dished.
The mix is 2:1 sand bulding fine sand for plaster:1 cement >gray normal cement.

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this pot I made using garden soil as mold.

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Same pot outside. I wanted it very rastic and stone like looking.

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this one I made using garden soil inside as mold.

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I have so many pictures of my pots.

[mickthecactus]

How heavy are they though?

Does it really matter that much? How often do you carry them. They are heavier than plastic pots but nothing that bothers me much since my gardeners carry them he he he!

Matters to me. I suspect most of us here don't have gardeners ho ho ho!

[Azuleja]

Thank you for the links, Neli Hypertufa has a lot of peat mixed in and is lighter than concrete. Often empty boxes or soil are used for molds. You have some beautiful shapes though. I'll have to be on the lookout for better molds.

[Viegener]

Thank you! Very interesting. The mix is 2 parts sand to 1 part cement? I made hypertufa pots long ago, with peat moss in the cement mix to make the pot lighter in the end. It's nice, looks very rustic, and can often end up covered in moss if you get the proportion of peat right (& live in a moist climate...). I experimented with adding perlite to make it even lighter, which works, but you have to be careful not to add too much, or else the cement is too weak. I wonder if lava rock pebbles would work for this as well, or vermiculite.

[Azuleja]

I know people use vermiculite, which adds a little sparkle. Lava rock would be worth experimenting with. I have a lava rock planter and plants love it.

[Neli]

I dont like the hypertufa so much. They are maybe lighter but you can not make them as thin as just cement and sand>on the end if you look at the thickness I dont think there will be much difference in the weight. Just make the mix as hard as you can so it does not slide. And remember all this additives make your pot not so strong. Agave with pups can even burst/break one of your kind of pots. Perhaps you can use soaked newspapers as fiber >mushed.

Another pot I made using soil on the inside.

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Take a dish with a shape you like. Line with carrier plastic bag inside fill with moist soil tight remove the container and plaster outside and make whatever shapes you want. Later when dry wash the soil inside.

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This one I used football on the inside.

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[Neli]

I said one agave every day he he he! I am like a proud mama. Like to show off my babies.

This is the garden of a friend in Zimbabwe. I bought the insert from him.Actually I bought 8 since I liked them so much. They came with lots of pups.

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[Azuleja]

Whoah, Neli, those pots are so cool. I'm bad at visualizing the process you described, but I do understand what you mean about strength and thinness. I love that you're posting an agave a day.

[Neli]

Whoah, Neli, those pots are so cool. I'm bad at visualizing the process you described, but I do understand what you mean about strength and thinness. I love that you're posting an agave a day.

Just think a bit and you will figure it out. It is simple,

Just to help you visualize.

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[Neli]

I saw you post about arid lands and I ordered some from them. They arrived today. All were dipped in insecticide and planted and isolated.

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Cute little ones

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I forgot I ordered this one from Itali and ordered again...but you never know maybe it is different he he he.

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I hope it is not the same as this one. Is it?

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some more pictures

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[Gee.S]

^ Careful there, Arid Lands is infested with Agave mite, as are all Tucson nurseries, except Starr Nursery.

[Neli]

^ Careful there, Arid Lands is badly infested with Agave mite, as are all Tucson nurseries, except Starr Nursery.

OMG! Thanks! I wish I new before ordering. I shall put them far from anything.

[Gee.S]

Your plants may be fine. It can take 3-4 months for mite symptoms to show. You may want to quarantine for now.