Century Plant Agave

Sometimes described as fierce and outspoken, agaves give great bones to the body of your garden, support gardening style in the heat of summer and keep their composure through winter rain and snow.  Great structure, unique foliage, and a flower stalk that can stretch up to 40 feet in the air are a few interesting features of agaves. Some tolerate frost, but most grow in dry climates in zone 9 and above.  Smaller varieties exist for use as houseplants.

Often called “century plants,” this genus is comprised of succulent perennials that patiently grow and accumulate their reserves to put out one grand flower show.  Fortunately, flowering doesn’t take 100 years, but it can take up to 30.  They will typically hold out for five to ten seasons before producing a monstrously tall stalk of yellow flowers that is well worth the wait.  The offsets or “pups” are produced as the original expires.  Flowering is rare in indoor environments.

Agaves are found native in the most challenging desert habitats of Mexico and the southwestern United States.  They can survive the hottest, driest summer that North Carolina can bring.  Agaves will benefit from as much sunshine as you can afford and respond well to fertilizer and water in the summer.  Keep their feet from staying wet; agaves require very good drainage, especially during our cool, wet winters.  Sandy or gravely soil is ideal.

Sunny spots and rock gardens are great places for agaves.  Larger species, such as Agave americana, grow five feet wide and produce tall flower spikes, while smaller versions and other species, such as Agave parryi, can display a more compact stature with equally beautiful, although slightly shorter, flower stalks. Select silver, blue, or variegated leaves and colorful spines to draw even more attention to this succulent, no matter the size.

Quick ID:

• Rosette of fleshy, basal leaves
• Spines along the leaf margins and a large spine at the tip
• Tall spikes of flowers that bloom only once in the plant's life

Additional Agave Images at Juniper Level Botanic Garden:

• Interspecific Hybrids
• Non-Variegated Cultivars
• Variegated Cultivars
• xMangave (Agave x Manfreda)

VIDEO Created by Laura Barth for "Houseplants, Succulents, and Cacti", a plant identification course offered in partnership with Longwood Gardens.