Agave ID

[NC_Palms]

[Josue Diaz]

Looks like A. desmettiana

[Silas_Sancona]

9 minutes ago, NC_Palms said:

Second Josue's thoughts.. Has the look of  A. desmettiana but not 100%..  Considering  hardiness for desmettiana supposedly  falls somewhere between 27-25F, i can't imagine it surviving winters outdoors in an 8A climate.  Certainly possible it could be a more cold-tolerant hybrid however. 

[NC_Palms]

3 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Second Josue's thoughts.. Has the look of  A. desmettiana but not 100%..  Considering  hardiness for desmettiana supposedly  falls somewhere between 27-25F, i can't imagine it surviving winters outdoors in an 8A climate.  Certainly possible it could be a more cold-tolerant hybrid however. 

8

Doesn't A. desmettiana have smoother leaves? My agave seems to have more serrated leaf edges. 

[Silas_Sancona]

7 minutes ago, NC_Palms said:

Doesn't A. desmettiana have smoother leaves? My agave seems to have more serrated leaf edges. 

For the most part.. though i have seen some which have a few rubbery teeth toward the base of  the leaves.  Like i said though, i'd suspect yours may be a cross since pure A desmatt. is supposedly relatively tender.  Of course i could be wrong on exactly how much cold they can tolerate also.. Might e-mail Plant Delights and see what they think.. 

 Also seen Furcraea foetida, and some of the other, rubbery, yet basically smooth-leaved agave exhibit some teeth on the leaves as well.. Kind of surprised me the first few times i'd noticed since i was under the impression that F. foetida also possessed completely smooth leaves.. 

 

[Josue Diaz]

Desmettiana has some teeth when young, they disappear almost entirely as the plant ages. And I can attest to their hardiness being as Nathan described. They're good down to about 30. Below that, they start getting pockmarked and they begin "melting." A frost damaged plant would take an entire year to grow out of the damage. 

[Josue Diaz]

So I lied. I went out to see my mature and juveline desmettianas. They all have teeth near the base of the leaves. 

[NC_Palms]

Thanks everybody for your help. I am thinking this agave is a desmettianas., which means I'll need to remove it and pot it before the first frost. 

[NC_Palms]

I wanted to give an update on this agave. The coldest it has been here was 26ºF and we got ice and a few flurries a few days ago. The agave looks untouched. 

 

Also, it is producing some pups

[Josue Diaz]

Desmettiana will be ok down to about 25F. Below that you're trying your luck, and a heavy frost will damage the foliage. If you can keep frost off of it, desmettiana will look much better come spring. My oldest desmettiana bloomed last fall, and the flowers were all killed with frost and a low of 34F. 

[NC_Palms]

It thankfully won't get down the 25ºF any time soon, but I am prepared for when it will happen. Hopefully I can get this agave to survive the winter

[NC_Palms]

Okay, so I have another Agave that needs to be identified.  I really am not good with agaves lol

[Silas_Sancona]

20 minutes ago, NC_Palms said:

Okay, so I have another Agave that needs to be identified.  I really am not good with agaves lol

looks Agave funkiana- 'ish.. to me.. 

[NC_Palms]

14 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

looks Agave funkiana- 'ish.. to me.. 

I think you're right. Thank you