Agave Lists

This page contains lists of agaves in my collection. I hope this will prove useful to gardeners in climates similar to mine (zone 9b; cool and wet winters, hot and dry summers).


AGAVES

[G] = in ground, [K] = killed, [P] = in pot

Agave americana ‘Mediopicta alba’	[P]	Slow-growing in a large pot
Agave americana ‘Mediopicta aurea’	[P]	Yellow stripe in the middle of the leaf as opposed to the white stripe found in 'Mediopicta alba'
Agave applanata 'Variegata'	[G]	Very small, good for pot culture. Often sold as Agave parryii ‘Cream Spike’ but definitely not a form of Agave parryii.
Agave attenuata ‘Boutin Blue’	[P]	Beautiful blue color but extremely slow-growing for me. Same as cultivar 'Nova'.
Agave attenuata ‘Ray of Light’	[P]	White leaf margin. New (bought 3/21/12).
Agave attenuata × ocahui ‘Blue Glow’	[P]	Vigorous grower. Stunning form and coloration.
Agave attenuata × ocahui ‘Sun Glow’	[P]	Sport of 'Blue Glow'. Bought October 2012 at Ruth Bancroft Garden. Has the potential to become one of the most attractive agave cultivars of all.
Agave attenuata × shawii ‘Red Margin’	[G]	Fast grower. Has started to pup.
Agave bovicornuta	[P]	One of my favorites. Striking cinnamon-colored spines and very visible bud imprints.
Agave bracteosa ‘Calamar’	[P]	‘Calamar’ is a tissue-cultured selection that does not offset. I’m not sure mine has grown at all in 3 years.
Agave bracteosa ‘Monterrey Frost’	[P]	‘Monterrey Frost’ is a tissue-cultured variegated selection. Purchased 4/14/12 at Ruth Bancroft Garden.
Agave celsii	[P]	Striking apple green color. Good grower.
Agave celsii ‘Nova’	[P]	Bluish green. Started to rot in a large pot. Now healing in a smaller pot.
Agave celsii ‘Tricolor’	[K]	Beautiful coloration but very slow grower. March 2013 update: After another winter that badly marred its leaves, I yanked it out and tossed it. Nice-looking plant, but too wimpy for zone 9b.
Agave chiapensis	[G]	Dark green leaves. Planted in full shade so a more open form instead of the tighter “artichoke” habit seen in the sun.
Agave chrysoglossa	[P]	Unique appearance. Thin strappy leaves with faint red margin.
Agave colorata	[K]	Slow grower, generic “agave” look, nothing special. March 2013: Rotted in the ground after being smothered by a rampant cape balsam.
Agave ‘Cornelius’	[P]	Great in a pot. Unique look.
Agave cupreata	[P]	Generic look; does not look like a miniature bovicornuta to me. Maybe with time…
Agave dasyliroides	[P]	Like chrysoglossa, it doesn’t even look like an agave. Looks more like a dasylirion, duh!
Agave desmettiana ‘Joe Hoak’	[P]	Finally found one in March 2013. With its greenish-gray leaves, easily one of the most stunning agave cultivars. Tender (28°F).
Agave desmettiana ‘Variegata’	[G]	Another favorite. Striking and fairly user-friendly agave. Fairly tender (28°F).
Agave ‘Felipe Otero’ (FO-076)	[P]	Bizarre spines. One of my favorites, but I let mine sunburn last year so it’s in an ugly phase.
Agave filifera sub. schidigera	[G]	The best thread-producing agave, in my opinion.
Agave flexispina	[P]	Bought Sept 2013 from Yucca Do. Fairly non-descript as a small plant.
Agave flexispina ‘Extruding Pain’	[P]	Rec'd as gift Sept 2013 from Yucca Do. Fairly non-descript as a small plant.
Agave funkiana ‘Blue Haze’	[K]	Faint striping on leaves. Finally coming into its own after 3+ years in the ground. March 2013 update: Rotted after 3 years in the ground.
Agave geminiflora	[P]	Another favorite. Reminds me of Dasylirion longissimum, but with filifers.
Agave geminiflora	[P]	Bought 2012 at Green Acres, Sacramento (Monterey Bay Nursery plant). Virtually no hairs compared to my larger specimen. Clearly, there are two distinct cultivars of A. geminiflora in the trade.
Agave ghiesbreghtii	[P]	Beautiful in a larger pot. Pronounced leaf striping.
Agave guadalajarana	[P]	Found on sale table at RBG spring 2013 plant sale. A bit neglected-looking but should perk up.
Agave guiengola ‘Creme Brulee’	[P]	My first specimen was killed by 28°F frost. Received another one in the summer of 2012 by Laura Balaora.
Agave guiengola ‘Creme Brulee’	[P]	Purchased a 1-gallon specimen at 2013 SCSS show and sale.
Agave horrida var. perotensis	[P]	Bought Sept 2013 from Yucca Do. Even as a small plant quite distinctive because of white teeth along the leaf margin.
Agave isthmensis	[P]	Very striking leaves. Frost-tender. Made it through its first winter (2012) just fine.
Agave × leopoldii ‘Hammer Time’	[G]	Variegated dwarf with lots of filifers. Bought 3/21/12. Spring 2013 update: rot in the center although kept dry through the winter. Uncertain whether it will live.
Agave ‘Little Shark’	[P]	Really pretty smaller cultivar. Very similar, if not identical to, 'Royal Spine'. See this post.
Agave lophantha ‘Quadracolor’	[G]	The best variegated agave, bar none.
Agave nizadensis	[P]	Bought July 2012 at B&B Cactus Farm. Unique unarmed agave with a light green stripe down the center of each leaf. Not too hardy--leaf tips had frozen and broken off at B&B.
Agave montana	[P]	Mine has narrow dark-green leaves. Pleasant-looking, but not a beauty.
Agave montana ‘Baccarat’	[G]	Fairly generic-looking when small but it has great potential. Bud imprints can be stunning on large plants.
Agave ornithobroma	[P]	Flexible leaves with papery terminal spines. One of the least armed agaves. Relatively fast grower in a pot, probably even faster in the ground.
Agave ovatifolia 'Frosty Blue'	[G]	Purchased at the RBG spring 2013 plant sale. Bluer than species.
Agave parryi ‘Cream Spike’	[P]	Small variegated plant. Perfect for pots where it can be viewed up close. I can’t tell it apart from Agave applanata ‘Variegata’. Might be the same thing.
Agave parrasana ‘Meat Claw’	[P]	Bought Sept 2013 from Yucca Do. Clumping even as a small plant. Fairly generic looking at this stage, but has the potential to live up to its name.
Agave parryi ‘J.C. Raulston’	[G]	Solitary (non-pupping) selection. Very slow grower.
Agave parryi var. huachucensis	[P]	Supposed to grow larger than the species. Mine is very slow.
Agave parryi var. parryi	[G]	Leaves are much more narrow and pointy than ‘Truncata’
Agave parryi var. truncata	[G]	Beautiful. The classic “artichoke” agave.
Agave parviflora	[G]	Tiny, one of the smallest agaves. Looks like a miniature A. filifera.
Agave polianthiflora	[P]	Tiny, one of the smallest agaves but with lots of filifers. Planted in a hollowed-out tufa rock.
Agave potatorum ‘Kichiokan’	[P]	Small beauty, good for pots. Spring 2013 update: fairly tender, some frost damage on leaves.
Agave potatorum ‘Shoji Raijin’	[P]	Japanese cultivar. Very compact; possibly the smallest agave in my collection. Not hardy. Sustained some frost damage in the winter of 2012.
Agave ‘Royal Spine’	[P]	Really pretty smaller cultivar. Very similar, if not identical to, 'Little Shark'. See this post.
Agave schidigera ‘Shira ito no Ohi’	[P]	One of my favorites. Small, and perfect in every way. See it here.
Agave titanota	[P]	Unique look. No other agave looks quite like it.
Agave toumeyana var. bella	[P]	Bought October 2012 at Ruth Bancroft Garden. Tiny but beautiful. Planted in a large shallow bowl with three variets of claret cup cactus.
Agave utahensis var. eborispina	[K]	Killed by overwatering. Extremely sensitive species!
Agave utahensis var. eborispina	[P]	Bought another one from Arid Lands in July 2012. Survived its first winter in total dryness. No signs of long terminal spines yet. May 2013 update: cling to dear life. I think I kept it too dry for too long...
Agave utahensis var. nevadensis	[P]	Bought 5/10/13 at Green Acres, Sacramento. Long spines already in evidence. I hope this one will become the stunner var. eborispina never did.
Agave utahensis var. utahensis	[P]	Bought July 2012 at Santa Fe Greenhouses. Survived first winter in complete dryness.
Agave victoria reginae	[G]	Symmetry perfected. See it here.
Agave victoria reginae ‘Variegata’	[G]	Variegated version. Not as pretty as the species.
Agave victoria-reginae ‘Compacta’	[P]	A supposedly smaller selection of the already fairly small Agave victoria reginae. To me, they look the same.
Agave vilmoriniana	[G]	Octopus agave—the name is well chosen!
Agave xylonacantha ‘Frostbite’	[G]	Bought Sept 2013 from Yucca Do. Very attractive variegated variety with ornamental but wicked-looking teeth. Planted in aeonium bed in the backyard.

To see all agave-related posts on this blog, click here.