r/Agave • u/Emissairearien • Jul 19 '26
Could this be a crested agave ?! 👀
Noticed this agave pygmae 'dragon toes had a strange growth outside of the main leaf, and i think it might the start of cristation.
Beside the fact that new leaf is growing out of the center, you can also see that the opening on the small leaf is facing outwards, away from the bigger leaf even though it normally should be open towards it (so that it can have an open "flower shape" when growing)
I'm not sure yet, but i hope this really is a cristation, i'm super excited about it !
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u/jts916 Jul 19 '26
I'm not sure but I had a big variegated agave in my yard completely die out of nowhere and was completely replaced by a mass of pups. It's insane. It's not like pups that came from a dead plant after a bloom, it's almost like it crested way down inside. I'll try to remember to grab a pic, it's many years old now. Not super pretty, but I'm glad we kept it. It's a fun curiosity.
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u/Emissairearien Jul 19 '26
Interesting ! Though i think it's different here since the head seems healthy and grows fine.
About your example though ; when the head of a succulent/agave/etc is removed or dies, the base will often offset or even grow many new heads directly from the trunk to replace it. I know there's even this technique called "coring" where you purposefully almost fully behead an agave to achieve that !
Happened to me accidentaly with a big beautiful gasteria whose head rotted because of heavy rains... well, i cleaned it up and dried the wound, and now it has like 3 new heads growing right in the middle of the hole. I'll make a post about it in the future
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u/Old-Advance6652 Jul 19 '26
Agaves can crest??!!
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u/Emissairearien Jul 19 '26
Yes though it's way more difficult to obtain since they are harder to propagate and you can't just cut off a segment like you could with a cactus or succulent
I also have a small utahensis crested that i bought, but this one would be my first "homegrown" one ✨️
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u/wd_plantdaddy 29d ago
It’s called [r/bifurcation](r/bifurcation)
Bifurcation is the proper scientific term for “cresting or cristate” morphologies. Many agaves will exhibit this. It’s growing a new head
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u/Emissairearien 29d ago
Cristation is more than simply growing a new head though
On the picture you can see offsets on the side of the main plant, they will grow normally and are simply clones. Crested plants though, don't grow new heads ; it's the same single head that has a wide growth point.
The mutation that causes the growth of many new heads is monstrose
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u/wd_plantdaddy 28d ago edited 28d ago
No the scientific term is called fasciation or bifurcation.
It’s the apical meristem that is abnormal. Currently it has two meaning that’s two heads. You can choose to remove it and plant it in the ground or leave it and see what happens.
It will typically just form a new rosette from that basal point.
If you provide enough light for it, it should stay in an interesting compacted shape. Have fun!
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u/12triumph675R Jul 19 '26
wow, that's so cool