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Index : Landscape Plants
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- 39. Add Dramatic Landscape Effect with Agaves - Top
- If you want to add plants to your desert landscape for dramatic effect, try agaves. As a group, they possess bold, lance-shaped leaves that grow in a sculpted rosette pattern. Leaf colors vary from silver to grey green and deep green. Some are banded with yellow or white, others have beautiful leaf impressions that formed when leaves were pressed tightly together in the bud.
The 300 known species of agaves are native to the desert Southwest, Mexico and into northern South America. They prefer well-drained, alkaline soils and are often found in rocky sites along mountain slopes. Although agaves will tolerate light shade they prefer growing in full-sun locations.
Agaves could be classified as long-lived perennials. When an agave blooms, it dies. No one knows exactly how long they take to bloom. The general consensus is somewhere between 10 and 30 years. Fortunately, many agave species sprout small plants called pups that carry on after the Mother plant dies.
Not all species of agaves are well-suited for use in home landscapes. Many just get too big for the average home property. The most commonly grown agave in the Tucson area, Agave americana, the Century Plant can become a massive plant. It produces 10 inch wide leaves that project up and out from the plant base nearly 7 feet. It’s flowering stalk is tree-trunk-sized and when one blooms and dies, removing it is no easy task.
There are several excellent small agaves for home landscapes that I would highly recommend. They include;, Huachuca agave, Gentry’s agave, Queen Victoria agave, Ocahui agave, and Twin-flowered agave.
Huachuca agave (Agave parryi huachucensis) is a dense, squatty agave with short, broad, silver-green leaves. Crimson thorns line the outside of the leaves and leaf imprints left by the forms of adjacent leaves also add interest. This agave grows 2 feet tall, with a slightly greater spread. Pups readily form around the Mother plant. Like all agaves, little supplemental irrigation is needed. Monthly watering during the hottest, driest periods is beneficial.
Gentry’s agave (A. parryi truncata) is similar to the Huachuca agave, but it’s rosette is even denser and the leaves broader. It resembles the globe-shaped artichoke, with compactly layered leaves. Gentry’s agave grows to a height and spread of 2 to 3 feet.
Queen Victoria agave (A. victoriae-reginae) is a favorite of agaves due to it's dense, perfectly rounded form and unusual triangular leaves. Adding to it’s interest are the white lined margins which edge it’s dark green leaves. A slow grower, the Queen Victoria agave eventually reaches a height and spread of 18 to 24 inches. It’s perfect for growing in bowl-shaped clay pots.
Ocahui agave (A. Ocahui) has very long, very narrow leaves, reminiscent of a yucca, but does not form a trunk. Leaves have a reddish brown margin for added interest. This agave seldom develops offshoots, so it’s advised to plant several of varying sizes. If you loose one to flowering, the others will carry on. As with most agaves, planting in clusters is attractive and it mimics the natural tendencies of the plant to form colonies.
Twin-Flowered agave (A. geminiflora) is a gem for growing in pots or in the ground. It has long, narrow leaves similar to Ocahui, but the rosette is denser and more rounded. There are no marginal spines, but rather fine white hair-like fibers that curl off from the leaf edges. Plants lack off-shoots and grow to 3 feet around.
Written by John Begeman, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the University of Arizona, 520-626-5161. - Updated: August 21, 2005
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