Century Plant Agave parryi
Other Common Name(s):
Other plants called Century Plant:
- Phonetic Spelling
- a-GAH-vay PAIR-ree-eye
- Description
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Parry's Agave is a rosette-forming perennial native to the deserts of North and Central America. The plant generally likes drier soils and full sun and provides unique geometry and a slate gray/blue foliage to accent a sun garden. This plant, where hardy, is an evergreen which will retain its rosette of foliage into the winter.
Flowers grow from tall stalks that have the potential to rise to around 10-20' tall. One flower stalk will be produced from each rosette. These light-yellow, summer-blooming flowers produce seed pods. After flowering, the original rosette will die off and more rosettes will form off of suckers from the original plant.
This plant is used by Indigenous peoples in the Americas to make fibers and soap as well as food and medicine.
Other noted characteristics are that the plant suckers freely and root-rot can occur in overly moist soils.
VIDEO Created by Elisabeth Meyer for "Houseplants, Succulents, and Cacti", a plant identification course offered in partnership with Longwood Gardens.
- Profile Video:
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- var. huachucensis
- var. huachucensis
- var. huachucensis
- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
-
- var. huachucensis
- var. huachucensis
- var. huachucensis
- Tags:
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-
Attributes:
- Genus:
- Agave
- Species:
- parryi
- Family:
- Asparagaceae
- Uses (Ethnobotany):
- Native Americans use this plant for its fibers, to make soap, and as medicine. The liquid from a plant that is about to flower can be fermented to make pulque which can be distilled into tequila or mescal.
- Life Cycle:
- Perennial
- Recommended Propagation Strategy:
- Division
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- US and Mexico
- Distribution:
- AZ, NM and northern Mexico elevations of 4,000-8,000 feet
- Particularly Resistant To (Insects/Diseases/Other Problems):
- drought, dry and sandy soil
- Dimensions:
- Height: 1 ft. 0 in. - 3 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 1 ft. 0 in. - 3 ft. 0 in.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Edible
- Perennial
- Succulent
- Habit/Form:
- Clumping
- Growth Rate:
- Slow
- Maintenance:
- Medium
- Texture:
- Coarse
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
- Soil Texture:
- Sand
- Shallow Rocky
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Occasionally Dry
- Very Dry
- Available Space To Plant:
- 12 inches-3 feet
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b
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Fruit:
- Fruit Description:
- Seed pods
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Gold/Yellow
- Green
- Flower Value To Gardener:
- Showy
- Flower Description:
- Rarely flowers. Creamy yellow to green flowers on 6 to 15-foot stalk. It rarely flowers, taking 10-15 years, and dies after flowering but suckers at the base continue to grow.
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Leaves:
- Leaf Color:
- Blue
- Gray/Silver
- Green
- Leaf Feel:
- Leathery
- Prickly
- Rough
- Leaf Value To Gardener:
- Long-lasting
- Showy
- Leaf Type:
- Simple
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Rosulate
- Whorled
- Leaf Shape:
- Oblong
- Ovate
- Leaf Margin:
- Dentate
- Hairs Present:
- No
- Leaf Length:
- > 6 inches
- Leaf Width:
- 3-6 inches
- Leaf Description:
- Basal rosette of 2-foot, semi-succulent, gray-green to blue-gray, thick, toothed leaves in a tight whorl with a dark terminal spine.
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Stem:
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
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Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Container
- Patio
- Small Space
- Landscape Theme:
- Drought Tolerant Garden
- Winter Garden
- Design Feature:
- Accent
- Specimen
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Drought
- Dry Soil
- Heat
