Inspired by Iwan's threads regarding them, thought it might be fun to share some of your favorite Agave species/forms. Among the many choices for the Desert garden,  placed in nice pots seated on a deck, or mixed in among other drought tolerant plants, Agave offer up many elegant choices both in color and form. Not all are massive or imposing.

Share your favorites

Some of my own, smallest specimens i'm currently working with first.. then some others, from other places..

Agave toumeyana V. bella


Agave pintilla, possibly it's own species, or a form of Victoria r. ( been debated by some in the past)


Agave parviflora ssp. flexiflora, from Southern Sonora, Mex. 



Agave.. not quite sure, maybe striata?


Agave pygmae


Agave chazori from the DBG's collection, one looks distinct compared to the standard green form I have / have seen in other collections/nurseries..


Agave zebra.. love the form and wicked teeth.


Perhaps a personal "holy grail" species atm.. No one sells it atm ( that I'm aware of) Hoping Desert Botanical shares pups someday. 
Best form of the Agave cerulata group, A. cerulata ssp. dentiens. Pictures don't do the color justice. No margin spines.. just pure silver-blue "Shark skin" feel. Imagine this paired aside Bismarckia, or really blue/silver forms of Coccothrinax or Copernicia.. 




Enjoy, and show us yours..

-Nathan

Agave striata (I think) on the right of the Butia, is one of my favorites.  I need to get a better picture.  Things are getting crowded here.  Also pictured, A. parryi var huachucensis (middle) and A. shawii.  I think this one is ssp. Goldmaniana.

Agave utahensis var eborispina.  Unfortunately, it is is losing the contorted spines since being planted in the ground.

 

Have many others, but will have to sort through a lot of pictures.

I love Agaves, but I just can't give them the full long-term sun that they demand to 

keep them happy long-term, so I have turned to Mangaves / Manfreda. 

My favorite Agave would have to be the old school, school bus size variegated Agave americana. That was basically how I was introduced to Agaves way back on my first trip to Florida maybe 25 years ago. 

Edited April 19, 20188 yr by santoury

Agave Blue Glow in a public park. The photo is from this morning. Does anyone know how hardy 'Blue Glow' is? Low this winter was 23F-24F. Three years ago it went through a low of 19F with no damage at all. 

My own potted Agaves photo, taken back in January this year.  

Edited April 19, 20188 yr by Palm crazy

Robert, maybe your eborispina is going through a transplanting phase? interesting..

Jude,
I used to like the look of A. Americana until I had to clean up a few after flowering, or to try to control pups.. not fun at all. Another thing with some of the bigger Agave, at least here, is that they can be Agave Weevil magnets. Its one thing to grow something like Agave ovata and watch it progress through it's life cycle.. Cleaning up huge, destroyed masses that stink well before you have had the chance to see it flower isn't as pleasant. Smaller, or more compact sp. seem to be less appealing to the Bugs. You can fit more of them into smaller landscapes as well.  

Rodger,  thinking 20-25F as an average cold hardiness on Blue Glow although, info from San Marcos growers suggests it has survived down into the mid teens, esp. if kept drier. 


A couple other Agave flowering around the neighborhood, and one giant Ocotillo, just for fun.

Agave vilmoriniana. "Torch Glow" Bougainvillea in the background.


Not sure on this one, planted all over commercial landscapes around Chandler though.


One big Ocotillo.

Silas,

Thank you for the lovely pics! Funny you should mention the smell - Having no sense of smell, I had no idea that the big dying mass would smell so bad, too. is that when people start drinking it?

 

Id sure hope not There are few things I can think of that smell s bad as a rotting Agave.. especially a big one..
 
Making Tequila or Mezcal involves harvesting of the heart of the plant after being roasted. Pulque is a viscous, milky beverage produced by fermenting the sap of certain species. Supposedly has a sour, yeast-like taste..  The description alone doesn't sound pleasant.

Photos of some our agaves below

Agave ovatifolia - great agave for FL heat/humidity that is also cold hardy to zone 7. Looks perfect all the time, reaches 5' tall by 6' wide. This one is now 2' x 6. Does not offset

Agave gentryi 'Jaws'

Agave tequiliana

Agave aff. Blue Wave

Agave sp - I call it my "Pelican Agave" because I found it on a street by that name as an offset of an agave in the yard of an abandoned house during the housing bust.

Agave 'Blue Glow' always looks perfect.

Agave scabra

Agave Kissho Kan - a true gem

The A. pygmae and chazaroi are so cool. Going on my wish list!

 

I have several parryi, which I'm particularly fond of. 

 

I have these weberii also which give me lots of pups year round. I like that these lack the marginal spines of most agave. 

Another favorite,  agave sisalana variegata. 

My Agaves.

Victoria reginae

Attenuata

And attenuata var. Serrulata

Purchased these as A. polianthiflora from UC Davis, but I suspected that they are A. pumila.  Definitely not polianthiflora.

 

Agave victoriae-reginae x A. lechuguilla.  Looks like a dwarf 'Sharkskin'.  In the ground since 2013.  Slow to offset.

I have to agree that 'Blue Glow' is a great hybrid.  My last A.  toumeyana ssp. Bella is hiding under the 'Blue Glow'.  They do not like being in the ground for me.

 

And here is why.

^Agree, most likely A. pumila, and nice ones too! 

White rhino loaded with pups

aloe erinacea

I know not an agave but a bitch-en plant and hard to find with any size

on Aloe erinicea Josh. Like the Container choices as well. You get any takers the others you had listed awhile back?

On 4/19/2018, 12:10:58, Silas_Sancona said:

Robert, maybe your eborispina is going through a transplanting phase? interesting..
....
Rodger,  thinking 20-25F as an average cold hardiness on Blue Glow although, info from San Marcos growers suggests it has survived down into the mid teens, esp. if kept drier. 


 

Not sure what is going on with this eborispina.  This has been in the ground since 2014.  It is in a shallow part of the bed close to clay soil, so probably not grown hard enough.  At best it gets a weekly artificial thunder storm once a week in the summer.  Eventually, I will build a rock wall to grow most of them.  The "dwarf" one is retaining its form  and was planted around the same time.

My Blue Glow have been undamaged with freezes down to the low 20's.

Some more A. utahensis var eborispina.  This one appears to be a dwarf so far.  I thought I posted these last night, but I guess not.

 

Peek a Boo canyon, long spine.

 

Another one waiting to go in the ground along with A. albopilosa.

 

7 hours ago, Josh-O said:

White rhino loaded with pups

Very nice.  There are a too many cool variegates out there.  

Agave utahensis in habitat. 

Went for a solo hike. Had the park to myself.  Even got rained on a couple of times. 
 

Other terrain photos to follow for anyone interested. 

Agave pelona. Slow growers. 

Typical Agave Victoria-Reginae. I could have a thousand of these and never get tired in them. Would love a ‘white rhino’ — I keep thinking the price will come down, but nope!

Lastly, Agave albopilosa. I’ve been growing this one (and the one to the right) for years, but I’m just too afraid to put it in the landscape. I have two more little ones that can be seen in the background.

Edited April 24, 20206 yr by msporty

One of my unique agave from earlier today. A Isthmensis x Colimana hybrid .

Probably among my favorites is Agave “Miquihuana Silver”. Found by Yuccado Nursery outside Miquihuana, Tamaulipas, Mexico. The first photo is a plant at their former nursery. The second is my largest, still in a container.

Agave Avellanidens. The first one is mine, the second is a unique variation at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. That Agave was huge, atleast 6 feet in diameter.

Another favorite, Agave Mapisaga var. Lisa, the largest Agave there is(20+ feet). Here’s a quick photo of mine about 30” wide , and then one of a former plant at the Huntington Botanical Garden.(not me)

Edited April 25, 20206 yr by Meangreen94z

Planted this one about 15 years ago.

What is this Agave? Is it scabra?

One of my favorites is Agave celsii/ Agave mitis.  There are apple-green and powdery white variants.  The color of the green one, and its slightly supple leaves, makes it an easy visual fit for lush tropical as well as arid garden designs.  The overall form reminds me vaguely of Agave attenuata, which I unfortunately cannot grow in my San Antonio winter temps; but A. mitis is only damaged in our worst winters (15*F) , and nearly always bounces back..  Plus, although it has a nasty terminal spine, the teeth along the edges are relatively innocuous.

I took these pics at an abandoned Stage Coach House in the Western Australian outback ( Murchison district ) in 2014. Brutally hot summers and bitter cold frosty winters a feature around the old gold mining town of Yalgoo
The only plants that grow here in this harsh country are these common ( weedy ) Agaves, Mesquite ( also weedy and Declared such in Western Australia ) and Date Palms ( leftovers from the days of the Afghan Cameleers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries )
 

Those pictures are great Greysrigging, I hope to one day take a month off and just travel across Australia.

 

Started from a pup about 13-14 years ago and it's been moved a few times. Has about 3' of trunk laying on the ground and is about 4' tall.

These photos are all amazing! When I get up from homework to stretch my legs, I'll try to remember to snap a pic of my tiny, baby octopus agave for the thread. I got it in a succulent subscription box this month.

This is my itty bitty octopus agave. Apparently he will curl when he gets older! 

On 4/19/2018 at 12:10 PM, Silas_Sancona said:

 

8 hours ago, RaychHasDatePalms said:

This is my itty bitty octopus agave. Apparently he will curl when he gets older! 

Very cool Raych! did you see these pics posted earlier? ^^ that's what your baby will grow into. 

16 hours ago, Meangreen94z said:

Those pictures are great Greysrigging, I hope to one day take a month off and just travel across Australia.

Mate.... you'll need more than a month.... lol.... but you would be welcome !

 

12 hours ago, Josue Diaz said:

Very cool Raych! did you see these pics posted earlier? ^^ that's what your baby will grow into. 

I did! I hope mine lasts that long.