Hello, I am new to Arizona (Phoenix) and I am loving the plants here; I am originally from Alaska so you can only imagine the difference. I am having difficulty with my cactus, mostly the Agaves. I have been reading everything I can get my hands on but I am still confused. I think the problem may be overwatering but I am not sure. I thought if I posted some pictures I could get some accurate advice and a plan for getting my plants healthier. Is has been over 110 degrees here and many things are dying. I have been watering my cactus about once a week. My thought is that maybe the soil does not drain fast enough or maybe I water too much at one time. I used the soil that they came with and then the soil in out back yard. The soil is like clay with sand mixed in. A couple of the cactus are om the gound and a couple are in pots, big pots. When I bought the plants they felt real moist, they even had slugs on the bottom of the pots, they were real heathly looking but they are going down hill fast. When they started to look bad I thoguth they were too dry so I stepped up the water, them they started turning yellow and I got worried... I thank you for any and all the help I can get. I do love my plants and do not want to see them die.
I should leave this to people who grow Agave (they are not cacti) in hot climates, but if they had been cacti I would have guessed at sunburn. Had they been grown outside before you got them?
Thank you for your reply! Yes they were outside before I got them. They were beautiful when I brought them home. They started going down hill a couple weeks after I transplanted them. I have stopped watering them for the time being. Most of what I read says to error on the side of underwatering. The first two plants are in direct sun however the third plant is on my patio which only recieves indirect sun. Incidentally I have another agave on the patio in an identical pot that is still beautiful. Any other ideas? Thank you kindly for your reply!
I'm no expert but i have an Agave americana and when i bought it the leaves were spread outwards like they should be, but over the summer i had it in full sun when it was really hot and it started to close its leaves upwards towards the center, and a couple of the tips started to go soft, which by the looks of your plants also have their leaves closing instead of open as they should be. Anyway i have mine in a pot so i gave it some water and put it in the shade and it is now very healthy again, so i believe yours maybe getting a little hot (sunburnt) as mandarin said, try putting them in shade if you can for a while and see if they bounce back, maybe make something that will shade them from the harsh sun for a while. Good luck!
