Most agaves can be divided anytime, though cool weather is better. I let mine dry for 5 days, and they do fine.

Kevin

Ten days seems a little long to me. I'd feel comfortable with anything three days or longer, roughly speaking. I've divided agaves throughout the year, though they recover best (for me anyway) during the mild temperatures of mid spring.

Let us know what you do and how it works out. It can be quite a job can't it? I inherite a massive clump of beautiful but crowded good ol' Agave americana at this house and while I've popped out several large pups/offsets I'm too chicken to tackle the whole thing yet just out of concern for being scratched and poked to death, heh heh. Bawk bawk!

Good luck and keep us posted.
Grant

Besides being very careful (lol), what's the best way to go about dividing agaves? We have a couple in the front yard that are getting quite a few pups. Some are right up next to the mother plant and some are a foot or two away. I want to make sure I don't do anything that damages the main plant while getting the pups out.

For agave pups, I just use a sharp shovel and cut the runner between baby and the mother plant. I usually cut it half way between the two, then use the shovel to dig out the baby and then I trim the runner to just an inch or so long. I let the baby air dry in the shade for a few days and then plant or pot it up. It's pretty easy when they are far from the mother plants.

For the ones right next to the mother plant it's similar but I use the shovel also as a wedge to sort of pry/pop the pup/baby away from the main plant.

I do most of my agave division when temps are warm but not hot. If possible I'd wait until spring to do it just to avoid the chance of rot during the cooler weather approaching, although I must admit with some agaves that are making too many babies I'll do it any time and take my chances, LOL.

Good luck and keep us posted!
Grant

Thanks for the info, Grant. It worked beautifully!! We got 19 pups off of two mother plants today.

Now for my next question. How much roots are needed on the pups to be able to transplant them? I ended up with 5 that don't have any roots. I'm going to assume those aren't going to grow. Of the remaining 14, they range in size from maybe 8 inches in height to around 18-20 inches. None of them have a lot of roots and I'm not sure how you would keep the bigger ones in the dirt with just a few inches of roots. Any pointers on transplanting would be greatly appreciated. I have several people at work that are interested in adopting the pups so they won't go to waste if they are usable.

Thanks again for your help!!

Agave pups are pretty tough. I would use them all, including the ones without roots. I would plant them in pots with damp sand.

Prop the pups up in the pots with a couple of rocks and see what happens. They often will sprout roots.

Spending a year in a pot to get a good root system will help them get a good start. You can use them as potted patio plants for quite a while before you have to set them out in the yard.