PLANT DESCRIPTION - AGAVE

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AGAVE

Some like it hot!

And so do Agave.

Native to the Central America’s, and Mexico in particular, most varieties can also handle the cold (into the early minus C’s) especially if kept dry.

Super low maintenance, their biggest requirement is a coarse, gritty well drained soil.

Drought tolerant and totally comfortable in nutrient deficient soils.

Truly awesome plants, but be aware of two things:

  1. Spikes (some people take to the secateurs to ‘de-tip’ the spikes)

  2. Almost all varieties are monocarpic, meaning they flower once but, because of the energy they use up in doing so, they die afterwards. This is simply the nature of their life cycle and, dependent on the variety, flowering can take up to 25yrs. Not a problem though, as they should produce offsets (‘pups’) for a new generation of plants or once the flowering has finished either seed pods or bulbils (mini-plants) should be produced on the flower stalk.

The symmetry and architectural feel of Agave makes them prime candidates for xeriscapes and minimalist gardens as well as feature plants in contemporary settings.

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