‘Praying Hands’ is a brand Mangave, that boasts a unique artichoke-shaped habit of green and red tinged foliage. Much loved for its spiky, thick leaflets, you can count on this half-hardy perennial to create a bold focal point in your landscape this season and add some structure to dull corners. Happy to grow in a patio pot, greenhouse, coastal or tropical themed garden, keep angled towards full sun for a maximum height growth of 20cm, along with a spread of 35cm. Something completely different for your Mangave collection!
Grow Mangave in a container using very free-draining soil or cactus compost. Grow in full sun outside or within a few metres of a south-facing window in a conservatory/glasshouse maintaining a temperature of 8° – 32°C (46° – 90°F). Mangave can be grown outdoors in the UK between spring and summer as a patio plant or planted in a free-draining, sunny border as perennial bedding.
Water regularly in summer but allow the compost to almost completely dry out between waterings following a ‘drenches between droughts’ regime. Feed every 2 months in the growing season with a cactus fertiliser. Keep dry in winter. Except in very mild areas they will need to be brought indoors over winter.
Repot every 3 years or so, moving up into a pot just slightly bigger than the previous one. Mangaves can be propagated very easily from offsets that form around the base.
