Did I mention? another agave in my collection

[TropicsEnjoyer]

I realized I forgot to make a post about an agave I got from lowe’s about 2 weeks ago. Found Agave isthmensis kissho kan for 20$ and couldn’t resist a cool rareish agave. I have been quite active in the agave family lately, having bought 2 yuccas recently. But when palms no longer fit anywhere I have to look for cool compact alternatives. Here’s what it looks like. 

@Merlyn I credit you for getting me started with this addiction 😂😂

[Merlyn]

@TropicsEnjoyer yeah the various Isthmensis / Potatorum ones are pretty nice!  I've had issues with them rotting in the ground, but they do well in pots.  If you want a non-variegated super-pupper the one called "Confederate Rose" is really nice.  

[Urban Rainforest]

Agaves can be very addicting! I started buying them last year and have been slowly adding to my collection as I find something cool! I planted a few Kissho Kans at my bosses house years ago and this year I started a bunch of pups off of them.

[Urban Rainforest]

This is a trippy looking Agave Potatorum called Cubic.

[Urban Rainforest]

[Urban Rainforest]

Agave Isthmensis coastal form.

[Urban Rainforest]

Agave Isthmensis inland form.

[Urban Rainforest]

You only need one as you can see from my pics most Agaves are pupping machines!

[Urban Rainforest]

Agave Potatorum Cameron blue. I really like the scalloped edges on this one.

[Urban Rainforest]

Agave Titanotas are a whole other addiction of their own! I’m just getting started because there are hundreds of varietals, variegates and hybrids. Here is Agave Titanota ice blue.

[Urban Rainforest]

Agave Titanota black and blue. Notice the black pressing against the blue produces purple leaf imprints.

[Urban Rainforest]

Actually the first Titanota is white ice.

[Urban Rainforest]

Agave Titanota Lions Mane.

[Urban Rainforest]

More user friendly Variegated Agave Attenuata. No spines on this one👍

[TropicsEnjoyer]

23 hours ago, Urban Rainforest said:

Agave Titanota black and blue. Notice the black pressing against the blue produces purple leaf imprints.

Thanks for sharing your collection. It’s really a whole new world of possibilities with these plants. I don’t think I have the space for so many pots nor agaves in ground but diversifying my collection a bit is always nice. I have a pup of titanota black and blue but it’s super tiny I wonder how long it’ll take to form a real plant. Titanotas are really gnarly plants but they’re cool.

Also @Merlyn I’ll probably be keeping my agave potted, it’s a bit too small to be appreciable in ground, and I wouldn’t want to risk losing it to rot after hearing about yours. 

[Merlyn]

On 11/12/2025 at 7:02 PM, Urban Rainforest said:

Agave Potatorum Cameron blue. I really like the scalloped edges on this one.

"Cameron Blue" is a really neat one too.  I bought one of those about 6 or 7 years ago, and it's still going strong here!  It hasn't pupped at all, which is very odd.  But some TC plants never pup, and some do.  Like "Dragon Toes" has stayed relentlessly solitary, but other people report them being super prolific.

[Merlyn]

13 hours ago, TropicsEnjoyer said:

Thanks for sharing your collection. It’s really a whole new world of possibilities with these plants. I don’t think I have the space for so many pots nor agaves in ground but diversifying my collection a bit is always nice. I have a pup of titanota black and blue but it’s super tiny I wonder how long it’ll take to form a real plant. Titanotas are really gnarly plants but they’re cool.

Also @Merlyn I’ll probably be keeping my agave potted, it’s a bit too small to be appreciable in ground, and I wouldn’t want to risk losing it to rot after hearing about yours. 

I'd also be cautious with Titanota / Oteroi types in the ground.  I bought a "White Ice" looking plant from HD about 4 or 5 years ago.  It was great in the pot, but when I separated them out to several pups in 3 or 4 spots in the yard most died after 2 or so winters.  The one that's doing great is right next to a gigantic ponytail palm.  As the base expanded from ~4' to ~8' the agave just keeps slowly being pushed outwards along with the rest of the dirt.  I suspect the fine roots from the ponytail at the perimeter keep the ground pretty dry there, and it's nearly pure sand at that spot.  So that agave is doing great, despite being in AM shade / PM sun.  The others were not competing for soil moisture and were in areas with a bit more organics, and eventually rotted in the springtime after winter rains.  I've lost a LOT of agaves to that...

[Urban Rainforest]

7 hours ago, Merlyn said:

"Cameron Blue" is a really neat one too.  I bought one of those about 6 or 7 years ago, and it's still going strong here!  It hasn't pupped at all, which is very odd.  But some TC plants never pup, and some do.  Like "Dragon Toes" has stayed relentlessly solitary, but other people report them being super prolific.

My Cameron blue has not pupped yet either and I kind of like that. Some Agaves are a little too prolific and some actually will send pups many feet away from the mother plant and can really get away from you! For that reason most of mine are going to stay in pots! I have that collectors gene and its just one more thing I can collect. I find them very interesting with their differant colors,  texture and spines!

[Merlyn]

1 hour ago, Urban Rainforest said:

My Cameron blue has not pupped yet either and I kind of like that. Some Agaves are a little too prolific and some actually will send pups many feet away from the mother plant and can really get away from you! For that reason most of mine are going to stay in pots! I have that collectors gene and its just one more thing I can collect. I find them very interesting with their differant colors,  texture and spines!

Generally my favorites are the "limited" puppers, where you might get 1 or 2 offsets per year.  Ones like Ripple Effect are great that way.  You can pull a pup off and replant elsewhere if you aant.  Ones like Cubic and Confederate Rose are neat because they can grow into giant masses in a pot.  Ones like Funkiana or Xylonacantha are more like Americana...creating impenetrable stabby masses of thorns that are nice but also...er...not so nice!

I had several Americana and trashed most of them.  I had pups showing up about 15 yards away...not fun!  I have one Americana left, and it happens to be a nearly non-pupper.  

Oddly enough I have a couple of Weberi that are almost solitary, so far.  One made a single pup.  It's probably 8 feet diameter, so I am happy that it is reluctant to pup.  The joke I heard was something like, "You think you have a Weberi, but you actually have a hundred Weberi!"

[Urban Rainforest]

3 hours ago, Merlyn said:

Generally my favorites are the "limited" puppers, where you might get 1 or 2 offsets per year.  Ones like Ripple Effect are great that way.  You can pull a pup off and replant elsewhere if you aant.  Ones like Cubic and Confederate Rose are neat because they can grow into giant masses in a pot.  Ones like Funkiana or Xylonacantha are more like Americana...creating impenetrable stabby masses of thorns that are nice but also...er...not so nice!

I had several Americana and trashed most of them.  I had pups showing up about 15 yards away...not fun!  I have one Americana left, and it happens to be a nearly non-pupper.  

Oddly enough I have a couple of Weberi that are almost solitary, so far.  One made a single pup.  It's probably 8 feet diameter, so I am happy that it is reluctant to pup.  The joke I heard was something like, "You think you have a Weberi, but you actually have a hundred Weberi!"

Americana and weberi were 2 of the ones I had in mind when I said they can get away from you! One of the properties I maintain as a landscaper has Americana throwing pups right up through their pavers several feet away from the mother plant! No thanks lol!

I prefer the ones that stay smaller and throw maybe a couple pups a year like you said.

[Merlyn]

@Urban Rainforest I'd guess genetics has a lot to do with it.  And there's Weberi and Neglecta...which may or may not be synonyms.  Maybe one is more prolific than the other?  Dunno...

Here's my Funkiana "Fatal Attraction" cluster, which was one plant in the summer of 2019:

It's escaping under the blocks and into the grass.  The ponytail spot is a "Black and Blue" from an Agaveville member.  On the left is a "Crazy Horse" that also is growing well.  On looking through my list I think all the other Titanotas in the ground died, including my "White Ice" type I mentioned earlier.

[Meangreen94z]

Here is my Agave potatorum ‘Kissho Kan’ or sometimes called ‘Kichiokan’

[Urban Rainforest]

I just acquired this Agave Oteroi yesterday from a buddy of mine. I have been wanting one for awhile as it is one of the most iconic and hybridized agaves there is! This one however is an OG clone. I really like the spines on the leaves! They look like sharks teeth.

There is alot of debate by taxonomist and experts as to whether Oteroi is a Titanota or its own species? I dont really care so I’m just gonna enjoy it for the cool looking plant that it is! I definately plan on getting some of the hybrids.

[TropicsEnjoyer]

1 hour ago, Urban Rainforest said:

There is alot of debate by taxonomist and experts as to whether Oteroi is a Titanota or its own species?

Yeah I read like a whole giant thread on agaveville of people debating titanota/oteroi classifications, origins, characteristics, etc. Like at the end of the day the average person looks for a cool plant rather than the name. I really like those types of agaves too, I wish I bought a black and blue a while ago that was like 10$ on the lowe’s reduced rack, the teeth are really cool looking. But what goes around comes around. I need to restrain myself a bit anyway. 

[Merlyn]

@Urban Rainforest IIRC the latest conclusion is that Titanota are a bit bigger and different shape and color.  But I read others saying that their "Oteroi" grew a lot bigger if simply grown in richer soil with more shade. The Oteroi are the small round ball-shaped toothy ones.  Greg Starr's discussion is here:

https://starr-nursery.com/agave-oteroi-a-new-species-from-puebla-oaxaca/

And the formal description paper:

https://starr-nursery.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Agave-oteroi-final.pdf

 

[Urban Rainforest]

33 minutes ago, Merlyn said:

@Urban Rainforest IIRC the latest conclusion is that Titanota are a bit bigger and different shape and color.  But I read others saying that their "Oteroi" grew a lot bigger if simply grown in richer soil with more shade. The Oteroi are the small round ball-shaped toothy ones.  Greg Starr's discussion is here:

https://starr-nursery.com/agave-oteroi-a-new-species-from-puebla-oaxaca/

And the formal description paper:

https://starr-nursery.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Agave-oteroi-final.pdf

 

Merlyn, Thanks for posting the links to the Greg Starr Oteroi descriptions! The photos in habitat are stunning! I have watched tons of videos on you tube by the top experts in the field and Oaxaca looks like an amazing place with lots of biodiversity. Might have to check it out someday!